The music journey of the supergroup The Damned Things begins nine years ago when Scott Ian of legendary Anthrax started writing songs with Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy and now they are back to impress the audience with the sophomore album “High Crimes”.
The album starts with the explosive rock vibes and the rebellious attitude of “Cells” revolving around groovy rhythmic progressions and catchy segments amplified by the raw energy of vocals and some cool guitar leads.
“Something Good” has a playful cheerleaders style chorus that lets you know that this is a fun track with some evident alt rock vibes which lead to a widely accessible mix of guitar driven grooves and melodies.
“Omen” is full of crunchy guitar riffs and catchy melodic phrases especially evident in the super catchy chorus but the warm bluesy guitar variations have the power to grab your attention more than anything else.
“Storm Charmer” feels more complex and a bit darker as the band here experiments with synths adding loads of atmospheric accents to embellish the thrilling classic heavy rock structure which is certainly enhanced by the slow burning guitar leads.
The strength of “Keep Crawling” is generated by the memorable chorus and the soothing guitar melodies that often follow a slower slightly pensive & nostalgic mood but plenty of groovy guitar riffage guarantees a heavy rock momentum.
“The Fire Is Cold” closes the album with a faster punkish impact that relies on the wilder screams and the frenetic rhythmic section yet there are calmer moments featuring a passionate vocal delivery and bittersweet guitar melodies.
The enjoyable heavy rock spirit of “High Crimes” is palpable in each song and as expected the stellar quality of both songwriting and musicianship reflects the experience of the renowned artists behind The Damned Things.