Raise Hell City of the Damned
Black Lodge BLOD031CD May 19th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
City of the Damneds cover artwork is what I imagine Gotham City originally looked like in the mind of its creator. But Raise Hell dont raise hell anywhere near the Batcave theyve made Stockholm, Sweden their stomping ground, and this is the fourth in a string of full-length releases, which was temporarily redirected to include a split and an EP. Though I doubt Ill be revisiting this particular record, Im thankful that I actually enjoyed myself more as the trip progressed. Had I listened to the opener Devils Station without having to fully review this album, I wouldve immediately pressed stop and moved on.
To reiterate, the quartet know how to write songs, but of the first three tracks, only the lifeblood of City of the Damned seems to be flowing barrier-free. Thankfully, however, Reapers Calling ushers in a host of melody-soaked thrash tunes that each have their own set of redeeming qualities. Open Your Mind features alarming riffs, and despite the guitar tones found therein, Raise Hell manage to sound a tad more sinister than ever before. Reminding me of the constant, unpredictable slithering of a snake, Ghost I Carry lobs plenty of riff differentiation while the support functions as needed. Is there anything special to take note of in regards to City of the Damned? Essentially, no, but I will say that the record is very fluid once the Swedes hit their stride near the middle. Slayer fans will swear theyre listening to a cut off Reign in Blood once the riffs in My Shadow register, and speaking of groove, To the Gallows pours it on thick as does the pummeling I and cleanup hitter Rising. Still, the pickiest of you wont be thrilled by the grimy vocals no matter how good or bad the music is.
Strangely, despite the conspicuous thrash affiliation City of the Damned holds, prog/power tendencies do manifest themselves intermittently, especially during choir-style choruses (Rising, etc.). Nonetheless, Raise Hell do indeed spread a liberal amount of outright heaviness on top of certain songs, which are seldom devoid of an upbeat tempo. As I pointed out, though, I was pleased with the overall results of my sessions, yet I wasnt so pleased that I wanted to return to the disc once I was comfortable enough to write about it.
6/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Raise Hell Website
Official Black Lodge Website
Black Lodge BLOD031CD May 19th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
City of the Damneds cover artwork is what I imagine Gotham City originally looked like in the mind of its creator. But Raise Hell dont raise hell anywhere near the Batcave theyve made Stockholm, Sweden their stomping ground, and this is the fourth in a string of full-length releases, which was temporarily redirected to include a split and an EP. Though I doubt Ill be revisiting this particular record, Im thankful that I actually enjoyed myself more as the trip progressed. Had I listened to the opener Devils Station without having to fully review this album, I wouldve immediately pressed stop and moved on.
To reiterate, the quartet know how to write songs, but of the first three tracks, only the lifeblood of City of the Damned seems to be flowing barrier-free. Thankfully, however, Reapers Calling ushers in a host of melody-soaked thrash tunes that each have their own set of redeeming qualities. Open Your Mind features alarming riffs, and despite the guitar tones found therein, Raise Hell manage to sound a tad more sinister than ever before. Reminding me of the constant, unpredictable slithering of a snake, Ghost I Carry lobs plenty of riff differentiation while the support functions as needed. Is there anything special to take note of in regards to City of the Damned? Essentially, no, but I will say that the record is very fluid once the Swedes hit their stride near the middle. Slayer fans will swear theyre listening to a cut off Reign in Blood once the riffs in My Shadow register, and speaking of groove, To the Gallows pours it on thick as does the pummeling I and cleanup hitter Rising. Still, the pickiest of you wont be thrilled by the grimy vocals no matter how good or bad the music is.
Strangely, despite the conspicuous thrash affiliation City of the Damned holds, prog/power tendencies do manifest themselves intermittently, especially during choir-style choruses (Rising, etc.). Nonetheless, Raise Hell do indeed spread a liberal amount of outright heaviness on top of certain songs, which are seldom devoid of an upbeat tempo. As I pointed out, though, I was pleased with the overall results of my sessions, yet I wasnt so pleased that I wanted to return to the disc once I was comfortable enough to write about it.
6/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Raise Hell Website
Official Black Lodge Website
