Damnation
The Unruly Sounds of Damnation
RAFR
Let me quote from the press sheet that came with this release: “Damnation is insane, evil, punk rock and roll from hell (aka Los Angeles).” With a corny intro like that, how can Damnation live up to such hype? I’ll tell you how, by taking the best parts of pre ‘95 Misfits, NOFX, and AFI to form an unoriginal conglomeration of a plump, slimy, peanut-riddled turd.
When I was younger, I would have enjoyed this thoroughly, me being a big fan of The Misfits, The Cramps, and other goth punk bands. I’m older though now, and I sadly am able to see through the cool outer sheen of bands like Damnation, straight to their inner core of crap. The songs here are flat, boring, old hat and uninspired, and unabashedly unoriginal. It’s my personal opinion that the guys in this band should be flogged for making such terrible rip-offs.
I guess I hate this so much because it copies early Misfits so badly. I don’t care what genre of punk you consider yourself, at one time or another, you probably held the original Misfits close to your heart – I know I did (for my money, it doesn’t get any better than “Hellhound,” one of the best punk rock songs ever written). I think that no one ever bothered to explain sacredness to the members of Damnation – the original Misfits’ style and output is sacred to the world of punk rock, and to copy it so poorly while trying miserably to hide the copying with new punk rock tricks, is just wrong. I wish the Glenn Danzig of 20 years ago could get his hands on you dirty copycats!
RAFR Records: http://www.rafr.com
