Album Review: Evil Spirits from The Damned

Here at Castle Vanian, we've been eagerly awaiting the release of The Damned's new album, Evil Spirits. We weren't disappointed.

There's nothing worse than waiting ages for an album and then being disappointed. 

You all know the hubs, right?

Hi.

The Damned were one of the first things Jay and I clicked over when we first started dating. Jay shared The Shadow of Love with me and I fell for The Damned. Well, him too, but that's beside the point.


When Jay met me at the airport fifteen years ago, he had a present for me: a stack of CDs he thought I might like. One of them was The Damned's Smash It Up: the Anthology 1976-1987 and that sort of set the soundtrack to our time together. Our first concert was The Damned's 30th anniversary tour and here we are, over ten years later, still going strong.

The Damned are, too, but you know... let me have this moment. 😉

Aww. Look, there we are, leaving for the concert...

You might accuse me of being biased when it comes to reviewing a new album from The Damned -- I did roadie for them back in '86, after all -- and you're probably right. I guess I am biased. After all, I didn't start life as Jay Vanian.

I don't think so. I mean, I know how you are. If the album was terrible, you'd come down harder on The Damned because they're your favourite band than you would any other band.

...true.

Before we get into Evil Spirits, let's give a little introduction to The Damned for people who aren't as familiar with the band as we are.

The Damned started over 40 years ago in London, England. They were the original punk pioneers -- despite the Sex Pistols being more widely (and wrongly) given the moniker. The Damned have been going strong for more than four decades, gigging and releasing new material regularly.

They are the original punk band. Forget the Pistols. The Damned were the first band to everything. First single, first album, first everything.

I hesitate to call The Damned a "punk band", though, because their music has progressed so far from those roots. It's a sound that's too changeable to fit under any one category. One minute their sound is old school goth and, the next, they could be Sixties crooners. You don't get that kind of diversity often in a band's sound.

How do you categorise The Damned? The Damned are very diverse. There's such a huge diversity in their music and the way they perform that a lot of bands can't compare to. They've always gone against tradition.

Punk was supposed to be hard and fast but, when The Damned did "Curtain Call" -- a song that was like 17 minutes long -- people were like, "That'll never work." But it did. They've constantly been told that this won't work or that won't work but they do it anyway because, fuck it, they're The Damned. And it works.

I know that The Damned sound you love most is that Phantasmagoria era. (Personally, I prefer the So, Who's Paranoid? stuff) What were you hoping for with Evil Spirits? Did you have any expectations?

I just wanted something to entertain me. I was hoping to listen it and go, "Wow. That's The Damned." What about you?

Hm... A lot of times bands will release an album with one or two amazing songs on it. I wanted more than that. I wanted an album I could listen to and enjoy all the way through.

I guess we'd better start doing the actual review then.

Yup. Better had.

To start with, we should talk about the cover. I love the album cover. It's like an old movie poster.

It is. It reminds me of a couple of horror movies. There are similar scenes in Halloween and even Thing from Another World.

I think Dave (the lead singer of The Damned) has always been into horror. Is that right?

That's right. Dave was a gravedigger, once upon a time, you know. His fascination with horror infuses a lot of The Damned's music and imagery.

Like "Plan 9 Channel 7"?


And "Video Nasty".

Right.

Do you think that the cover for Evil Spirits fits the album? That it prepares you for what you're going to be listening to?

I do. It has that old fashioned horror vibe and that's the feeling you get from Evil Spirits.

It feels very rockabilly to me. Like horror... but with a cheeky grin. Creepy, but fun.

I think that's fair.

Before we go any further, I want to just whack the tracklist on here, so people will know what we're talking about when we refer to certain songs.

Evil Spirits Tracklist:

1. Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow
2. Devil in Disguise
3. We're So Nice
4. Look Left
5. Evil Spirits
6. Shadow Evocation
7. Sonar Evocation
8. Procrastination
9. Daily Liar
10. I Don't Care

So, from the ten songs on the new The Damned album, which was your favourite?

"Devil in Disguise". I love the lyric, 'Cause I'm the devil, a complicated rebel.

That's definitely one of my favourites, too. I love that sort of growl that it starts with. That's a freaking great sound.

Some of my favourite lyrics came from your least favourite song on the album, though.

"Look Left."

That's right. It's more melodic than some of the others but it's also a lot more political. I love the line, When everybody's looking left, what the hell is happening right? It's a song for people who are fed up with the state of global politics at the moment.

Masterful illusions

Digital magicians

Guided by the hidden hand

Lies become the facts

Righteous in the wrong world

My shackles, they are bound

Censorship is slavery

History is found

("Look Left", The Damned)

If that's not two fingers up at the likes of Trump, May, and Putin, I don't know what is.

"We're So Nice" was also one of my favourites. It's got a rockier sound. I think we both enjoyed that one.

The first three and the last one were the best songs on the album.

"I Don't Care" was a great song to finish on. I love the slow, heavy start and the way it kicks it up a notch later.

I could have done without the bendy sex straw at the end.

*snort* What?!

The bendy sex straw.

...the sax solo?

Isn't that what I said?

Why don't you go ahead and tell the people what you thought of Evil Spirits before I have to beat you?

Not every song is gilt and diamond-edged but as long as there are a couple of songs that remind you of how good this band is -- is, not was -- it's worth paying for. And half the songs on Evil Spirits are top-drawer Damned.

It sounded really familiar, too. Even though it's all new, it's like you've always known it.

You really can hear so many of The Damned's earlier songs in this album and that's good because it's what you know.

It's what you fell in love with.

Exactly.

You got a little nostalgic there...

I did. After the first couple of songs I just kept thinking, 'That's The Damned that I know and love.' It is, and it isn't. If anything, they sound better now than they did twenty or thirty years ago.

I just can't believe they still sound so good. That Dave still sounds so good. (Dude's still looking amazing, too.)

Dave hasn't missed a step.

These are guys who are about to draw their pensions. They've got no right be this good still. But they are. They're still pushing it. They're still relevant. They're still raging into the night.

Jay, (his then-girlfriend) Stephanie Slater, 

and other friends with Dave Vanian in 1986.

It's just sad that they only do an album every now and then. Seems like modern bands bring out an album every other year but you get some like The Damned that are somehow still going after 40 years -- most bands would fade away long before then -- but they keep you waiting.

It was worth waiting for.

Absolutely. Evil Spirits is real throwback stuff. Like I said, some bands as they fade away, you're like "Fair enough. You had a good run." But The Damned aren't past their sell-by date. They're not fading.

I think that's a pretty good way to sum the new album. The Damned are still here, they're still rocking, and they're not going anywhere.

Evil Spirits is available now from The Damned's official site.

This review was brought to you, as usual, by Wondra and Jay Vanian.

Do you agree with our review of Evil Spirits? Get in touch and let us know what you thought.