| CD REVIEW Storm Of Damnation |
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Band : Storm Of Damnation The short intro to this band's bio sheet sums up its history as follows: “Storm Of Damnation's project was created by the enormous love for the Grunge of Andrew and his great desire to build a group that produces this sound. On the scene since 2003, the slow maturation and success came in August 2007 when they start to work with one of the most important management agency in Europe...the Alkemyst Fanatix Europe thanx to they will be chosen under Copro Records label.” A you may have noticed, that's not very correct English (I don't need to think twice about whom made this summary either)...on top, it excludes quite a bit of historic facts about the band. So, during Winter 2003 lead singer/ guitarist “Andrew” (he's Italian, so obviously its an assumed name) and the first incarnation of his band step into a studio to record their first demo You Should Be Here, which they release in February 2004. During the same sessions they also record what was to become the title song of the Vegetable Man compilation album, issued by Italian label Oggetti Volanti Non Identificati Records in September '04. SOD also records the song “Verse Chorus Verse” for the international compilation In Memory Of Kurt...You'll Always Be In Our Hearts, released in memory of the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. Following good reviews to the first demo, the band heads out on a mini-tour of the Milano-Modena area with Alcoolica duing March 2004. After that the band's music is included in two more compilation album, and they also participate to their first festivals. In May 2004 SOD records its second demo End Of The...World, and the track “Revolution” gets issued onto 3 compilations. Immediately after the band is invited onto several mini-tours throughout Italy, thus increasing its live experience and slowly building a fanbase. Towards the end of the year the band gets to the first spot of the “Alternative Grunge” category of the Vitaminicband contest. In Spring 2005 the band is again in the studio, recording its 3rd demo Carelessness Of This Stupid World, of which the track “You're Only An Infamous” is inclosed in the track-list of the international compilation Akompilation Vol. 2. Follow more live appearances, among which several at festivals among which the band sees La Festa Della Musica in Servia as the most important (well, the “festival” taking place in 35 different places in Servia certainly makes it important enough, I'd say) and the 50 Anni & Dintorni festival, which gets tv exposure through the Toascana Channel station. In June 2006 the band gets invited to play at the Rock Planet event (one of the more important festivals in Italy), which that year also billed Misfits, Ramones, Lagwagon, Mad Caddies, Hardcore Superstar, Marlene Kuntz, No Use For A Name, Rise Against, and Juliette & The Licks among others. I'm not sure what happened next (the text I'm translating this from is in Italian, you know), but in October 2006 the band was apparently included in a split Kurt Cobain tribute release titled It's Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away issued through Pachoima Records, with a distribution in Europe (mainly UK and Germany), and the US. Another song by the band then gets onto two more compilation albums, and in March 2007 the band releases its first full-length album Tears Catch Fire. Containing 18 newly recorded songs, the album is released on a 4,000 copy rotation through Seattle Warriors Records. In August of the same year the band starts its collaboration with Alkemist, and new contributions to compilation albums (among which A.O.G Media Vol. 8 issued through a Texas based label, and Akom's 4th volume). A line-up change then occurs to include current members Tony (vocals & guitar), Strip (bass) and Alex (drums), and with their induvidual influences comes a broadening of SOD's sound to something slightly more complex. Again according to the above mentioned bio sheet, Nirvana and Placebo were the starting influences, but “...in spite of these solid basis the sound is not real precise within certain limits of a single subgenus. Sound from dirty melodies in a Grunge style that finish with clear riffs and careful rhythmics of Alternative Rock...,” and thus far I concur, but the statement on the band's changed music continues as follows: “Music is enriched with piano and violin arrangements performed by “guest” artists giving to the album a Jazz touch...,” and this is where after listening to the album I raise my brows...because the piano is only present in the one song “Thunderstorm/ The Artist In The Ambulance” (the latter a Thrice original from the album by the same title), and...a Jazz touch? Oh well...! Two of the songs on the album are with Italian lyrics, and therefore vocally the least obtrusive, because in all other songs (and that even more in the calmer passages) a certain degree of Italian accent does not fail to come through. Well, there's also the very nice instrumental “End Transmission”, but this is hardly enough to save the album. As if to demonstrate their agreement with this assessment, the band posted only one English-sung song “The Flames Burn Over”, and the two Italian ones at (www.) myspace.com/stormofdamnation...which is somewhat of a misrepresentation as in “The Flames...” the Italian accent is perhaps the least buggin'. Just to conclude this story: Broken Dreams was recorded at Pisa's West Link Studio with producer Alessandro Paolucci (Raw Power, Prozac+, and more) during June 2009, and songs off the album were aired by several radio stations (evidently mostly Italian) starting Spring 2010. Personally, I'm not surprised it took Casket Music so long to finally release this album, because one really good instrumental, two reasonably good songs (the Italian ones), and one passable one (the above mentioned “The Flames...”) hardly make a possible commercially viable album! My personal rating is therefore mainly for the band's effort...because the music itself ain't that bad, after all! 78/100 Tony. |