### Village Of Dead Roads: Desolation will destroy you

#### 20/01/10 || Smalley

Is it really that hard to come up with a decent metal band name these days? Though, all the bands out there with crappy names (iwrestledabearonce, anyone??) seem to almost always make correspondingly crappy music, so I guess they’re kind of like the various warning stripes on a snake; does the band have a dark, badass-sounding name? Check ‘em out! Mopey, pretentiously-long names like Bullet For My Valentine, or the group in this review? Stay away! Well, maybe not too far away…

“Desolation will destroy you” does have plenty of thick, doom-y riffs (I actually headbanged some!), along with a decent drum performance from Chris Williams, but the harsh vocals from Doug Carey are unfortunately rendered a bit too muddled by the production. Also, “Desolation” is a case where the size of a band can actually be heard; with just Chris on drums and Doug on lead guitar/singing, “Desolation” is (most of the time, anyway) a rather two-dimensional album in sound. Combine that with the overall draggy songwriting (despite the basically good riffage), and “Desolation” makes for a pretty unengaging listen all throughout.

And, though I got definite High On Fire vibes a good number of times here (definitely a good thing), without that band’s energy or sheer technical skill propelling the songs, Village ends up kind of floundering through all eight tracks here. Up the pep, guys, and bring in another member or two to fill out your sound, and your next album just might be worth checking out.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: MeteorCity
- Website: Village Of Dead Roads MySpace
- Band
- Doug Corey: lead guitar, vocals
- Chris Williams: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Our Cold War
- 02. Chemical Restraint
- 03. Giving The Snake Its Venom
- 04. Servants Make The Best Assassins
- 05. Of Sickness And Separation
- 06. Halo Becomes A Noose
- 07. Weight Of Loss
- 08. Leg To Stand On