### Charred Walls Of The Damned: Charred walls of the damned

#### 07/06/10 || revenant

Forming supergroups is like building something with lego bricks from different sets. Sometimes the pieces fit together nicely, and the results can be awesome (Hail!Hornet, Shrinebuilder). Sometimes the pieces don’t quite work together, leaving results that only serve to disappoint (Hellyeah anyone?). Unfortunately, Charred Walls of the Damned fits into the latter category.

Initially I was surprised to see that three of the four members of this group had, at one stage or another, been in Iced Earth. But in hindsight, when you consider that half the fucken population of America has been a past member of Iced Earth (such is their turnover), it really shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, should it? And now that you have learned that curious little fact, it should also come as no surprise their music bares more than a passing resemblance to Iced Earth’s. Fancy that, eh?

So who here likes Tim “Ripper” Owen’s high pitched vibrato screams? Because let me tell you up front, if you don’t answer straight up “I fill buckets of cum when I hear his vibrato screams” then you might want to consider giving this album a miss. That’s not to say this is a bad album, it’s fairly decent in fact, it’s just that Ripper screams every single fucking line. Seriously, there is no variety in his vocals whatsoever. Screams all the way, and every line ends like thiiiiiyiiiiiiiyiiiiiiiyiiiiiiis, it’s not long in and it starts to give you the shiiiiiyiiiiiiiyiiiiiiiyiiiiiiits.

And that is the real shame here. Ripper’s vocals are so overwhelming that many people will be turned off by that fact alone. There are some fine songs here, and everyone plays their part well. Christy, in particular, is fantastic behind the kit, with some excellent fills and sections, you wouldn’t know this guy wasn’t coming off a five year hiatus. His performance here is definitely a highlight.

But alas, it’s Ripper that steals the show. If I go back to my lego analogy, Ripper is the brick that puts all the other bricks out of balance, causing the whole thing to come toppling down. Charred (vagina) Walls of the Slammed have produced something decent, but unless you have an unhealthy love for Ripper’s vocals, you’d probably want to give this one a miss.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: Charred Walls Of The Damned MySpace
- Band
- Tim “Ripper” Owens: vocals
- Jason Suecof: guitars
- Steve DiGiorgio: bass
- Richard Christy: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Ghost Town
- 02. From The Abyss
- 03. Creating Our Machine
- 04. Blood on Wood
- 05. In A World So Cruel
- 06. Manifestations
- 07. Voices Within The Walls
- 08. The Darkest Eyes
- 09. Fear In The Sky