Black & Damned – Servants Of The Devil
Black & Damned – Servants Of The Devil
ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records
Release Date: 28/04/23
Running Time: 50:27
Review by Simon Black
6/10
More Power Metal than Hard Rock, this sophomore from Germany’s Black & Damned nonetheless is imbued of many of the qualities of both. From the anthemic Power feel of the songs to the more ballsy Rock / Metal instrumental and vocal delivery, this is fairly safe territory for many listeners having as it does plenty of balls, as well as those more catchy elements that Power Metal often over does. Thematically though this is fairly standard lyrical cheese of the type that Power bands again often overdo, but fortunately we seem to have been saved from a full-blown conceptual album that takes too long to unpick in favour of a loose thematic feel of fantasy fare.
Another massive point in its favour is the more down tuned and overall, darkly thematic feel it has, which suits vocalist Roland Seidel’s truly gutsy and Bluesy voice perfectly. The rest of the band have clearly a workmanlike attitude and judging by the photos are all seasoned players, but there’s nothing overly profound happening with the song-writing, despite having a lot of potential, which is a shame.
The songs don’t rush either, with most in or around the four-minute mark, which does at least allow time to build the thematic elements and allow the catchy riffs and melodies to lodge in the listener’s ear (something often lost when bands opt for a breakneck speed), and the more mid-tempo pace of the bulk of them works well individually. The downside is that it does get a little repetitive, and to be honest would have been punchier and more effective with a bit of pruning, but overall, with a well-balanced production sound I am left feeling that there’s plenty of promise here from what is after all a relatively new act that hasn’t had much chance to gel and hone things live due to Covid. It doesn’t taste bad at all, but needs a little longer to cook to stand out in a crowded genre market…
TRACKLISTING:
01. Hyena’s Call
02. Rise to Rise
03. Dreamhunter
04. The Quantum You
05. Golden Wings
06. Inside
07. Black and Damned
08. King and Allies
09. Hail to The Gods
10. Welcome to Madness
11. Servants of The Devil
LINE-UP:
Roland “Bobbes” Seidel – Vocals
Michael Vetter – Guitars
Aki Reissmann – Guitars
Pappe Lee – Bass
Axel Winkler – Drums
LINKS:
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