Charred Walls of the Damned: Cold Winds on Timeless Days

A knack for mimicry: Low Meshuggah drone, out-and-out Maiden, your basic Dimebag.

Strategically tossed salad of epic death-metal/NWOBHM headed up by Howard Stern lackey Richard Christy, latter-day Judas Priest's not-the-Halford Tim "Ripper" Owens and the two other guys who apparently force folks to blurt the term "heavy metal superband" while peering at this with not-complete disinterest.

Owens doesn’t just do a great Rob Halford, he's also got Chris Cornell, Dio and the dude from Fates Warning on his vocal speed-dial, and he does have a knack for knowing which guy to mimic under every circumstance of riffage, whether it be low Meshuggah drone, out-and-out Maiden, or your basic Dimebag.

Christy's drums are reminiscent of everone from Nile to Suffocation, another aspect to this crew that's unoriginal, not that it's unlistenable by any measure.

By Eric Saeger

Homepage: Charred Walls of the Damned
Homepage: Metal Blade Records