Damnation – Resist / 2000 Metal Mind / 12 Tracks / http://www.metalopolis.pl / Reviewed 02 November 2006

Damnation play a breakneck speed of metal that touches on the progressive genre quite a few times during songs like “Your Pain Is Not For Me”. The one problem that one can immediately hear about “Resist” is that the production is on the side of being a little tinny. This is good news for the guitars and vocals, as they are captured in full. However, the drummer is not given a fair shake with the production values being like this. Damnation keeps all of the tracks on “Resist” within a shorter timeframe; while there is one track that flirts with the six minute mark, a vast majority of the tracks end before the 4 minute mark. The band is able to craft a very cohesive sound that is what “Resist” works within, but at some point, it seems as if Damnation is not adding anything more to this sound.

Don’t get me wrong, the band is incredibly talented, but at some point “Absence: In Humanity” sounds a whole hell of a lot alike “Your Pain Is Not For Me”. The first real derivation for the general sound of Damnation comes in “Forsaken By Destiny”. In this track, the vocalist is able to shine, as the instrumentation eases up for a short period time, allowing the vocalist to tell an interesting story in-song. “Against My Enemies” is another noted change for Damnation, as it is considerably shorter (around a minute) and is instrumental. The removal of vocalist during this track is comparable to the reduction of the instrumental volume during “Forsaken By Destiny”.

The fact that both of these tracks are found in the second half of the CD shows that the band can right their ship if they notice that there is something amiss. One note, thought – this album is from 2000, and some of the problems associated with the production may just be because this album is so old. If Metal Mind would be able to take this to a good remastering firm, chances are that “Resist” would even be a more solid album than it is at the current time. As it is, I would like to hear more from Damnation to see if they were able to evolve their musical style base don the criticisms that undoubtedly other musical journalists levied against the band. As this point, “Resist” is a perfectly serviceable metal album, even if there are a few things that could be done to make the experience more enjoyable.

Top Tracks: Against My Enemies, Invisible Force

Rating: 5.5/10

[JMcQ]