Grave Disorder

The millennium brought a different look for the Damned and an album to boot. The core nexus of Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, along with bassist Patricia Morrison, keyboardist Monty Oxy Moron, and drummer Pinch (ex-Janus Stark and English Dogs) continues to create a sound which has long defied categorization. A dark mix of punk, goth rock, and alternative, the Damned have been around so long that they have outlived labels, influences, and even the need for description. The gothic end is well-represented with a tribute to horror legends, an ode to the dominatrix, the nihilism of "Thrill Kill," and the scything of religion on "Amen." That latter track will play as well with the punks, as will the scathing "Democracy" and the wittily sarcastic look at dot-com life on "Song.com." But if the lyrical themes are what listeners have come to expect, the group still has the capacity for surprise, if only because they continue to reinvent themselves without any reference to the contemporary musical scene. So, whether they're showing off their hypercharged speed punk, foisting metal guitar into the maelstrom of darkness, toying with a Doors-ish keyboard sound, slogging through swampabilly, playing with pop, harmonizing to heaven, floating across a proggy and dreamy guitar passage, or even dabbling in rave, all of which they do on Grave Disorder, it's still identifiably the Damned. Expect the unexpected. Moron's keyboards are particularly crucial throughout, adding twists of swirling mists, bubbly psychedelia, haunting atmospheres, and smoky lounges in hell. If anyone's responsible for keeping the Damned sounding fresh, it's him.