Take a little bit of Clutch, a dash of perhaps older White Zombie and mix it in with some modern catchy stoner rock groups and you'll have something that could closely resemble Damn 13. The group creates songs that are very groove heavy and catchy at the same time, but not necessarily in essence as heavy as a lot of the current nu metal crop, instead this is the kind of spaced out energizing metal/hard rock that hasn't been seen much in recent times. Vocals courtesy of Adamn formerly of Monster Voodoo Machine are spacey, and thrown out in a pattern similar to older Clutch. There's a hefty usage of overdub's and alot of embellishment on the end of words and verses as well as some mild effects such as light distortion and delays, giving a very chaotic sound, but one that is done with complete control. There is times when he takes it down a notch giving him time to show off some more smoother vocal croons but for the bulk of the tracks he's steadily repeating a catchy verse that builds up songs energy, eventually letting it explode into a break or fill. Guitars are tuned fairly high, a bit more fuzz drenched then say an all out distortion, but they keep things going at a fast pace, a bit of solo's here and there and some fill's with what even sounds like a slide at one point shine through the tracks give more fuel to the speedily paced song structure changes. Bass is also tuned relatively high complimenting the guitar, but interlocking more with the drums. The lowend interacts tightly with the percussion carving out a thick groove with chunky picked sounding riffs that don't shoot for a rumbling tone and instead go for a more warmer rounded constant hitting that thickens the overall sound and works well with the music. Drums are tight and consistent with a medium tuning giving a steady tone to the back beat along with lots of cymbal work, accompanied by snare and tom rolls give a good percussive skeleton to the music and if anything making the drums the main force behind the almost relentless song structure. With their arsenal of catchy, solid grooves with what could best be described as a stoner rock influence, Damn 13 are an interesting group, the material is a bit hectic and this could alienate some listeners but it does work well. A track such as "Destroy A Go Go" would fit incredibly well with a muscle car race as the two challengers careen throughout a populated city at high speeds, and this somewhat creates a slight novelty along with the music. Perhaps a bit of a lower tuning guitar wise could lead into a more dynamic range of the music giving greater dimensions and a bit more chunk and heaviness to the overall sound. A broader use of effects could also compliment the sound well, and make for a wider ranged experience as the music does seem to suggest a spacey atmosphere but feels inherently organic. Damn 13 are a band that's not for everyone as their music does suggest a bit of an older crowd, but this is by no means something that you would find your older brother listening to. Instead they're a very tripped out head on metal group that uses solid ideas and creates a distinct sound, but it seems that just a bit more spice perhaps in the form of more varied effects and a bit of a darker tuning is needed to take this group to a new level and gain them a more diverse fanbase as many people might be quick to write them off due to their loose organic sound and anemic use of vividly contrasting dynamics, but all things considered a good listen and a lot of promise is shown on this disc.
(3.5 / 5)