Customer Reviews

Children of Doom

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album is different than some of the old Saint Vitus stuff with Wino or Scott Reagers. It isn't quite as slow, and is heavier than hell. I saw this tour as it went through Florida, and the band really gave it their all. Christian Linderson (Count Raven) sang his arse off. Both Dave and Christian put a lot of energy into this album and it reflects that energy...especially seeing them live. This is and was a great effort...I recommend C.O.D. highly. If you don't like this ...you don't like doom ..............

is this their best album?not by any means,but i dont understand why people blast this release.
this disc has probably their best production,which helps bring out the riffs - i also feel that the slow,sludgy pace is almost hypnotic."doom" indeed!
no,the vocalist is not on the same caliber as Wino or Reagers,but he doesnt suck either.
so,if you are a fan already,this is worth adding to your collection.if you are a newbie,it is a fine introduction to where St. Vitus was at (provided you can find a copy!)

This release is often slagged, but I'm convinced it's because Reagers and Wino just lend themselves to a cult following, and no other singer can replace them in the minds of diehards. There are some fairly forgettable songs here, undeniably, but there are some songs that can stand beside some of the best Vitus numbers. "PLague of Man" is a masterful plodder, and would fit well on Born Too Late. I think "Planet of Judgment" and "Fear" have probably the most hypnotic hooks ever put down by Vitus---especially the former. The title line is repeated over and over in a flat chant, and it borders on haunting. The opening song has a ridiculous chorus line ("We are the Children of doom, give us some room" over and over), but the music is acceptable Vitus fare. More than other albums, it seems to experiment with speed in odd places, and the vocalist (as with the later Count Raven vocalist as well) occasionally veers into Ozzy rip-off territory, whereas Wino only hinted at this, and it wasn't clear that it was contrived. Still, for the better plods, and the hypnotic hooks, I'd say it's definitely worth paying a used price for it. It may rank among the least impressive of Vitus' material overall, but that's similar to being near the bottom of the honor roll in school, in my view (maybe a bad comparison, as I'm sure you wouldn't find Vitus guys anywhere near the honor roll, even if they had the brains!)

I recommend this album to any doom fan. Saint Vitus are the masters, they rule!!!!

COD is really unfairly dismissed by lots of people. True, it't not VITUS' finest moment but it has plenty of classic crushing moments to appeal to even the most casual doom fan. The main problem lies in the vocals. The dude from COunt Raven is cool, but seems a bit outta place in Vitus. His vocals are just too flat and dull. The production is also just too clean and polished for what Vitus is. Alot of the grime and unbridled skronk is reigned in. That said, the record is heavy as [...] - its just that at times it sounds merely like a really good generic doom band instead of one of the GREATEST, most distinct sounding of all doom bands. At least the band more than made up for this "good" album with the next record DIE HEALING.

A lot of people want to trash this cd but if you give it a couple of listens you will realize it is very, very good. I am a long time SV fan and was wary of this release . . . But I am serious this is very good. Dave basically throws away the very slow doom with faster paced songs. I love Born Too Late but he decided to move on to something a little more fast paced. It doesn't completely give up on doom and the singing is great. If you like SV do not hesitate to buy this cd!! It really is a kicking mofo; I'm listening to it right now!! It is NOT a "last ditch effort" to relive the old days. It stands on its own!

Here's my take on the most controversial album by one of the truly seminal doom bands. First, Chris' vocals aren't as good as Wino's or Reagers', however, his voice is also not as annoying as on some of his Count Raven material. The other big question mark for most folks is the production. Yes, the sound here is very slick, and no, it does not work very well for SV's style. The MUSIC being played is pretty damn good, if not quite as slow as on earlier albums (though tracks like 'plague of man' still crawl at the classic pace), but remember that some of Vitus' best tunes were their faster ones (e.g.,'war is our destiny', 'white stallions'). The ultra-clean production really costs the album its heaviness, which is, of course, a staple of SV's aura. If this album had the same kind of production as 'V", it would be a monster, but that's just not the case. As it is, there are still plenty of solid songs, including an attempt at tr(h)ippie-esque material reminiscent of later TROUBLE ('imaginary man'). Definitely worth checking out for all you Children of Doom, but don't pay the ridiculous prices some folks are asking- it's not that hard to track down, and you'll wanna hear it for yourself before sinking alot of $ in a copy.

I'm a longtime Saint Vitus fan, but they took a serious nosedive with this. Don Dokken produced the album, but his presence was about the only high point here; he gives the band a more "polished" sound, but the material is about as dull and uninspired as it gets, which clearly shows that Vitus was going through the motions musically and on it's last legs--vocalist Scott Weinrich was replaced on this album by Christian Linderson, who is even more dull and boring, and imitates Weinrich almost to the point of parody.

Vitus did a rearranged version of it's own "Hallow's Victim" by slowing it down and naming it "Exhumed" (they should've left it buried), and guitarist Dave Chandler called himself "D.C. Vitus" on the credits (no doubt an ode to M.C. Hammer?). My overall opinion is, stick with the Scott Reagers-era albums on SST and don't waste your time and money; this CD is out of print and probably will never see the light of day again, and for a good reason: it sucks!