GOD DAMN – Old Days

French Stoner Metalers of God Damn have kept it going since November 2004. In 2007 they released their first demo, and played 40 shows in various venues throughout France. They’ve played with bands like Alabama Thunderpussy and Firebird (ex Carcass), with a sound like a mix between Down and Black Label Society. The last part isn’t much of a shock considering that the two bands are among God Damn’s biggest influences.

God Damn’s debut album Old Days contains ten songs and has a running time of 39:46 minutes. Their music is highly recommended to anyone that likes Down and Black Label Society, and you can really hear the influences these bands have had on God Damn. Singer Renat’s voice reminiscent a lot like Phil Anselmo (Down, ex-Pantera), in fact he is probably the only singer in the scene with a voice that sounds just like Anselmo.

The riffs are cool and at times a bit technical, which is great for the variation. The guitar solos aren’t by any means as technical as anything Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society) would play, but you can clearly hear that there’s a lot of passion in the guitar playing and that comes out as a great thing on this record.

The band seems tight as hell with one exception; on the otherwise great sounding title track, “Old Days,” one of the guitars is out of sync with the bass and the other guitar for a couple of seconds at the start of the first verse. It’s a bit strange that they didn’t go back to patch that thing up.

A cool thing is that the band has included a Hammond organ on some of the songs. It’s an unexpected twist, but it sounds great and it brings extra diversity to the album. Apart from the track already mentioned “Unjailed,” “Lies” and “No Hopes Ahead” are the highlights on this album.

Old Days was recorded at Studio Cartellier, and engineered and mixed by their friend Raphaël Cartellier. Finally, the album was mastered in the US by Gary Long (Damage Plan, King Diamond). The only thing that drags the overall score of this album down a bit is the production. Overall the production is good, but there are a few places where it sounds like the guitar has peaked. You can especially hear this on the guitar intro to “When I Used To Have A Kingdom For My Own For Myself” when you hear a “crack” in the sound on the right channel. There are a few more on this album that are a bit harder to detect.

If you see past these “flaws” in an otherwise great work, then you’re in for a treat. The album is filled with a lot of good Stoner Metal, and musically God Damn delivers top notch with their debut release.

God Damn is:
Renat – vocals
Bij – Drums
Pich – Guitar
Jerem – Guitar
Charly – Bass

Track list:

1. Landing For My Pride
2. When I Used To Have A Kingdom For My Own For Myself
3. Dying In A Hole
4. Unjailed
5. Old Days
6. Lies
7. Break The Thunder
8. No Hopes Ahead
9. Hangover
10. Here Stands Serenity