Customer Reviews

Climbing the Walls

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Along with Testament, Overkill, King's X, and a whole slew of other great bands, Wrathchild America had the misfortune of being "lost in the Atlantic". What that means is that they were signed to Atlantic records, un(der)promoted by the label, then unceremoniously dropped shortly afterward. What made W.A. stand out from their thrash metal brethren was that they were much bluesier. You could tell that from just listening to bassist/vocalist Brad Divens' whiskey drenched vocals. But that wasn't all. There were also elements of jazz and classical musical that could be heard. This was a band that should have been as famous as Metallica. I'm not exaggerating.

Formed in the early 1980s by guitarists Jay Abbene and Terry Carter, the band named themselves Wrathchild after the classic Iron Maiden song. A glam rock group from England threatened the American Wrathchild with legal action, causing the band to add "America" to their name. Later, they would add to their ranks Divens and an extremely gifted young drummer named Shannon Larkin, who is currently drumming for Godsmack. Nothing against the English (being almost half-English myself), but I think we had the better Wrathchild.

_Climbin' the Walls_ from 1989 is one of thrash metal's unsung treasures. The gamut is ran from the AC/DC meets Maiden title track to pure thrash ("Hell's Gates") to a very technical instrumental ("Hernia") to the creepy atmosphere of "London After Midinght" to a fine Pink Floyd cover ("Time") and to our final stop, the NWOBHM inspired "Day of the Thunder" - complete with tag team guitar solos. When so many of their fellow thrash bands tried to play as fast as possible, W.A. focused on variety and just plain good songwriting. Every song here is a winner.

W.A. would go on to release the slightly weaker but still very much worthy _3-D_ in 1991. That album didn't go over too well either. Then they would change their name to Souls at Zero while adopting more of an Alice in Chains-styled sound, while keeping the same members. You guessed it, that went over like a fart in a submarine too. Then they would finally call it a day some time in the mid-1990s.

Nowadays, both albums from W.A. are not easy to find since they have been out of print for at least fifteen years. But don't give up, thrash bands from yesteryear are rereleasing their albums when one least expects. I am confident that W.A.'s will once again see the light of day.

Wow. These guys rank up there with some of the best metal bands of all time, but did they ever get noticed at all? Not really. This is certainly a Lost Treasure pick.

Amazon.com doesn't even have the songs listed on this album, so here they are:

Climbin' The Walls
Hell's Gates
No Deposit, No Return
Hernia (*Instrumental*)
London After Midnight
Candy From A Madman
Silent Darkness (Smothered Life)
Time (*Pink Floyd cover*)
Day Of The Thunder

*my comments in asterisks*

They sing about everything from getting drunk (No Deposit, No Return), Demon's (Hell's Gates), Vampires (London After Midnight), madmen (Candy From a Madman), to being buried alive (Silent Darkness). They play fast, heavy, and slightly-melodic, with great lyrics, and they bring it full-force with this album. They were a great band that just didn't make it big enough to get noticed and I wonder if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is definitely a lost treasure.

I won't go into details about each song, but every song on here is a masterpiece that is sure to please anyone who likes their music heavy but intelligible. Even though they were an '80s metal band, they sounded more like '90s. (Just for clarification, '80s bands like Motley Crue, Dokken, and Firehouse were Pop Metal at best...Wrathchild America had more of an Iron Maiden or Metallica sound than that fluff.)

Their only other album I ever had (entitled "3-D") sucked, and I wondered if it was even the same band. And just as an aside: I heard they changed their name and went on to become known as 'Souls At Zero', but I haven't had the chance to check them out yet...

I must totally agree with the preceeding reveiw,,, this album kicks A !! I remember when this band toured PA.... no-one ever heard of them, but if i played their cover of Pink Floyds "Time", they wanted to know the band name and this album immediately!!! its a great, fast paced metal album. A must have!

Their 2nd album ( 3D )is not as ( shall i say ) "rythmic". but is very good, especially the instrumental. these guys were tight! If your a "metal head" like me you will appreciate what these guys did for their time.

The person who wrote the last review needs to go back to Rock 'n Roll High School. Anyone who know anything about music knows that TIME is a Pink Floyd song, not a Led Zeppelin song.

All that aside, these guys really kicked some serious butt around the Maryland/DC area in the eighties and early nineties. Originally known as just Wrathchild, they added the America to their names when it was learned that a glam band from the UK was also using the name Wrathchild. After releasing two albums as Wrathchild America, they changed their name to Souls At Zero. Former S@0 drummer Shannon Larkin is now drumming for Godsmack and has recorded with the likes of Glen Tipton from Judas Priest, Ugly Kid Joe and Vanilla Ice.

It's been over 20 years now since April of 1989, when Atlantic released Wrathchild America's first (and best) LP "Climbin' the Walls." This album remained out of print for almost that long and was becoming hard to find until 2008, when Wounded Bird Records finally reissued it. Two decades on, this CD still holds up as one of the stronger metal releases to emerge at the very tail end of the '80s.

Having been only 14 in 1989 when this first came out, I did not actually get to hear it for the first time until years later, when I found the cassette used at a local record store. I actually got into the group that they would evolve into later on in the the '90s, the short lived Souls at Zero, first. (Please see my review for the latter's 1995 opus "A Taste for the Perverse" elsewhere on Amazon. It's another recommended release.)

As for the album being reviewed "Climbin' the Walls," I am listening to it now and am still struck by how strong most of the songs are. The band's sound fell somewhere between traditional power/heavy metal and the more modern thrash metal characteristic of the late '80s. Track number two "Hell's Gates" for instance, recalls more the latter, played at a tempo reminding me somewhat of Metallica's faster late '80s output.

But the real strength of the band's sound (which was unusual for its time and very distinctive) was the way it recalled the catchiness of traditional metal of the past (and the delivery is tighter than a noose at that). Not surprising, considering some of the influences these guys cite in the liner notes of the original pressing of the album (which along with the lyrics were sadly left off the reissue). These included Twisted Sister, Foghat, Anvil, Accept and Saxon. Unusual, when most of their peers at the time were more concerned with one dimensional speed and mimicking Slayer. That means that guitarists Jay Abbene and Terry Carter produce some truly classic metal riffs on standout tracks such as "No Deposit, No Return," "London After Midnight," and "Silent Darkness (Smothered Life)." The Baltimore, Maryland outfit was rounded out by vocalist/bassist and former Kix member Brad Divens, and future Ugly Kid Joe and Godsmack member and the only one here who wouldn't appear in the later Souls at Zero incarnation, drummer Shannon Larkin.

All in all, if in the late '80s climate of speed and thrash metal, you missed the essential catchiness of bands of the past, Wrathchild America were here on this 1989 release to change all that. (Final sidenote: this record features yet another classic Ed Repka album cover, and it's among his best.)

I saw Wrathchild in the late 80's before they had to change their name w/ the America. I saw them at Kramer's Lake in Evansville IN. The lake was a swimming park rec area, and I had no idea there would be bands later that evening. I had never saw hair that went almost to the ground! No exaggeration. Anyway the band was incredible, they Performed Metallica's "Creeping Death" flawlessly nailing the solo too. I was amazed, this band and the other Victorian Blitz was their name were very good and entertaining.

it seems strange to me,that a band of such caliber as wrathchild america,never got the respect it deserved.
what we have here ,is a true masterpiece of heavy metal.

coming out in '89,the same year as 'alice in hell' and 'practice what you preach',sure as hell didnt contribute to the bands chance of being rememberd,but let me tell you:
this album rocks! fantastic players,great guitar riffs,
a realy good vocalist,some incredible middle sections through the longer songs, all of these make this a must for any self respecting metal fan.

listen to this c.d,youll thank me for it.

Been looking for this one for awhile. Underrated trash band from 80's-90's. Very cool to hear after so many years. CD got here quickly and in great condition

I happened to cross these guys many years ago in my youth when I worked doing stage setup for bands. I remember seeing them live and getting this orginal cassette during their initial roadshows. Needless to say, it remainedd in my car for many months. Very good live performance and just a great CD. I really thought these guys would make it and stumbling around on Amazon, I was suprised to find them here. Time to replace that old cassette.

Nothing much more to say here, excellent CD. I was just listening to it today as a matter of fact. I just happened to stumble upon the re-releaase looking for new great stuff. The only way I would have ever known about them was catching them on tour when they were having their big fight with the british band "Wrathchild" over their name. After Atlantic dropped them they started a new style under the name of Souls at Zero which which IMHO really sucked in comparison. Actually there is no comparison.