Charred Walls Of The Damned
CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED
Metal Blade Records

Ever since winning the contest that made him a part of “The Howard Stern Show”, Richard Christy has become known, largely, as the unpredictable and silly clown that is willing to do anything for a laugh on the radio.  While his schtick may or may not be your cup of moonshine on the Stern Show, it’s kind of sad that people have forgotten how great a musician Christy actually is.  The former Death and Iced Earth drummer may be a buffoon on the radio, but he’s always been a world class drummer with unbelievable chops.  In case you’ve forgotten that, Christy brings you a new all star project called Charred Walls Of The Damned to jog your memory.

To say the least, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is an impressive album with some really world class performers on it.  Christy on drums, the great Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals, bass legend Steve DiGiorgio of Sadus fame, and producer Jason Suecof on guitar – it’s talent unlike what most “supergroup” projects ever bring to the table.  Surprisingly though, this feels much more like a band than a project.  There’s a distinct chemistry between these four musicians on CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED.  Listening to songs like “From The Abyss”, you sense a real vibe from the tune.  Simply, this doesn’t feel like 4 musicians trading MP3s back and forth until they are all meshed together by a skilled producer.  

While this may be Christy’s project in name, it’s once again Tim “Ripper” Owens who’s vibe and style christens most of this album.  Songs like “Creating Our Machine” are remarkably similar to much of the material that was on last year’s PLAY MY GAME release, while heavy single “Ghost Town” reminds of a lot of the guitar playing you heard on Owens’ album with Yngwie J. Malmsteen, PERPETUAL FLAME.  As mentioned, the guitar playing reminds of the virtuoso style of Malmsteen, which is surprising to hear from Suecof.  It’s not surprising that he can play guitar, but it’s surprising th hear how well he does just that throughout CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED.  For a producer, he can really play.  Songs like “Ghost Town” are surprising, to say the least.  

PITRIFF RATING – 8/10 – Ultimately, Charred Walls Of The Damned will be remembered or forgotten as “Richard Christy from The Howard Stern Show”.  That said, Christy has done nothing to embarrass himself.  CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is a blistering release that features brilliant musicianship, great vocals, and cool metal blasts.  Forget that the guy’s real job is that of a comedian; Richard Christy is still a world class drummer in a way only a few can compete with.  CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED delivers terrific, old school sounding metal.  Really good stuff.

Chris Akin

Buy Charred Walls of the Damned (W/Dvd)