Charred Walls of the Damned Charred Walls of the Damned Metal Blade Records www.MetalBlade.com Charred Walls of the Damned is the new project from legendary drummer Richard Christy (Death, Iced Earth). Written over a number of years, Christy finally finished writing the material and assembled an all star band to bring it to life. In addition to Christy, the band consists of Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Yngwie Malmsteen, Iced Earth, Beyond Fear), widely known producer Jason Suecof, and Steve DiGiorgio (if you don’t know, I’m not telling you). The album kicks off in a completely epic way with “Ghost Town,” a tremendously autobiographical sounding piece of metal madness to say the least. From there the album builds, especially in regards to Owen’s performance. He seems a little uncomfortable, maybe even ever-so-slightly out of sync on “Ghost Town” but as the album goes on he becomes a monster, making this his defining performance on an album up to this point. The opening guitar lick of “Manifestations” is as classic as they come; eventually giving way to a fairly melodic hard rock tune that will be stuck in your head for days. This song probably reminds me the most of Iced Earth as well, a comparison that doesn’t haunt the album like I had thought it might. Other highlights include the destructive force of “From the Abyss” and the impossible not to like “The Darkest Eyes.” Every songs seems more intimate than the last lyrically and it really hits home by the time the album wraps up. Given the obvious fact that Christy is the only one who likely considers this band his main gig, I half-expected it to come off similar to Tim Owens recent solo album- a great album but sounding less than original and certainly not sounding like a “band.” I couldn’t have been more wrong! Christy’s songs are not only brought to life by this collective, they are molded into something cohesive and heartfelt. They sound like a band, pure and unadulterated. I hope we here a lot more from Charred Walls of the Damned. This album is exactly what Metal music needs right now. Bottom Line: Don't hesitate to buy this! Key Tracks: All of Them Reviewed by: Mark Fisher <<Back To Reviews