By: Jesse Striewski
My first introduction to The Damned back in the day came via their 1980 effort The Black Album, so the lineup my mind forever goes to is the one on that album, consisting of Vanian/Sensible/Scabies/Gray. Although it’s still not that exact same lineup here, having bassist Paul Gray back in the fold, as well as recording in the same place as said record (and its two follow-up releases), does give The Rockfield Files a hint of nostalgia to it.
“Keep ’em Alive” starts off this four track EP promising enough, but ultimately gets lost in its own repetitiveness. But “Manipulator” quickly puts things back into the right direction, while “The Spider the Fly” and “Black is the Night” each hearken back to the band’s most goth days, with the latter being the overall standout.
The Damned’s music may not be for everybody, but those familiar with their stuff should be able to appreciate something here. And having seen the band live a couple of times myself (the last time being well over 15 years ago now), it would definitely be interesting to see this lineup go out on the road, whenever the world finally gets back to those days.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
