Damage Control – RAW
Angel Air
http://www.angelair.co.uk/
Rating: B
Damage Control is a fairly new band with some familiar faces.
Formed in 2006 by guitarist / vocalist Robin George (Phil Lynott,
David Byron), bassist Pete Way (UFO, Waysted) and drummer Chris
Slade (The Firm, AC/DC), RAW is the trio’s aptly named debut
disc of straight ahead and in your face hard rock.
Comprised of thirteen high octane songs, there’s a distinct live
off the floor vibe running throughout. Some of the best albums
in hard rock in history is sound like they were knocked out in a
couple of days, and RAW gives you that instant adrenaline rush
right from the electric first chords of the title track. While
RAW is about the songs first and foremost, it’s obvious that in
a trio setting like this the guitar player carries the most
weight and gets to show off his chops, and this is something
Robin George doesn’t seem to have a problem with. By leaving the
effects by the wayside he opts for a simpler and direct
approach. It’s basically plug in, turn it up and punch record.
Tracks like “Damage Control”, “Alice” and “Pray For You And Me”
not only find him ripping off one ballsy solo after another, but
also demonstrates that the guy knows how to write a hook or two
as well.
RAW is a real solid and enjoyable slab of hard rock from
beginning to end. However, that being said there is a couple of
things holding this album back. First of all, while George is
definitely a competent singer he’s not really a powerful lead
vocalist. One could argue that this never stopped someone like
Joe Perry from stepping up to the microphone, but I couldn’t
help but think how these songs could have been taken to the next
level with a killer voice to really belt them into the
stratosphere. Ironically enough the band did entertain this
notion at one point before electing to let Robin handle things.
The other and perhaps more obvious drawback has to do with the
sound of the disc. As is often the case with recordings nowadays
someone, I’m assuming it was George who produced the album
himself, really went overboard on the faders because at times
the music comes dangerously close to clipping. If he had eased
off somewhat I don’t think it would have dulled the effect of
the music or his playing one bit. These may seem like a few
minor quips but for this reviewer it’s the difference between an
“A” and a “B”.
-Ryan Sparks
