POWER METAL REVIEW - Damien - Stop This War (1989)

...Back doing reviews after a long while. Sorry about that, haha (although don't worry, there's plenty here to review).

Price Paid:
like...$3.

What Is It?
The sophomore album from Damien. I bought it based upon the cover alone, and interestingly enough I bought it the same day as Banshee's "Race Against Time". It is a pretty pure example of a mix between traditional and power metal. Overall it is DEVASTATING material.

The Rundown:
This record DESTROYS, and I get the feeling that the band and anyone who bought it at the time knew this after even a cursory spin. There is no lack of skill or musicianship on this one, that's for sure. The leads are crisp and agile, while the clean parts are tasteful and calm. The band arranged the songs well, leaving space for everyone to shine. Randy "Wolf" Mikelson's vocals are standout, especially on tracks like "Rising Dawn" where he contrasts a great singing voice with the ground-shaking screams in the chorus.

One of the reasons I bought this record was because of the song titles. I saw names like "Break Out", "Warlord", "The Priests Are Coming", and best of all, "Corpse Grinder". I thought "It can't be bad." Well, rest assured the songs all lived up to their names. I mentioned earlier that this album sounds like a mix of traditional and power metal. The band used great simple riffs as the bases for their songwriting...and by the time they were done they had things like a tapping lick or a sweep arpeggio layered with the choruses. Every little detail counts.

Recommended Tracks:
"Stop This War"
"Rising Dawn"
"30 St. Clair"
"Corpse Grinder"

Wrap-Up
Very catchy album, overall kicks major ass! Recommended. I just wish I would remember to put this one on more often. My rating would have to be an 8/10.