Tuesday February 2, 2010 New Music

Only one release coming out today that is on my radar and that is the self-titled debut from Charred Walls Of The Damned. This is a solo project of sorts for metal drummer extraordinaire, stand-up comic and (what he is probably most well known for) Howard Stern sidekick Richard Christy. He, of course, plays drums (and wrote the majority of the music) and recruited Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth) to provide vocals, Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Testament, Sadus) to play bass and Jason Suecof (a producer who has worked with Trivium, All That Remains, Chimaira and God Forbid to name a few) to play guitar.

I've heard a few songs and it sounds not unlike what one would expect a record that guys with the collective musical resumes they have would make. For those who don't know what that sound is....think aggressive, thrashy, non-theatrical power metal with soaring vocals and superb drumming and bass playing (I'm not familiar enough with Suecof's guitar playing to qualify it as superb, but the guy is in incredible company in this band, so it is probably safe to assume that he can hold his own).

I had the pleasure of meeting Richard Christy this past Friday evening and I must say that he is one of the nicest "celebrities" I've ever met. My girlfriend and I must have taken 800 pictures with him (actually it was only 4) as we are both huge Howard Stern fans and he was completely gracious and polite to us and he also, like everyone else, thought my Iron Maiden scarf was awesome. He is certainly a good ambassador for not only himself, but also The Howard Stern Show.

I am definitely going to purchase the album because even if I wind up hating it, I won't care because I don't mind supporting Richard who I think is a super nice guy, an incredible drummer and a great comedian (let's face it...his prank calls on Howard Stern are one of the highlights of that show).