{"id":6732,"date":"2018-05-03T23:06:10","date_gmt":"2018-05-04T03:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=6732"},"modified":"2018-05-21T08:20:41","modified_gmt":"2018-05-21T12:20:41","slug":"the-damned-evil-spirits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/","title":{"rendered":"The Damned
Evil Spirits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>I know what you\u2019re probably thinking because I\u2019ve already been there myself. I love The Damned to pieces, but don\u2019t necessarily want to hear anything new by them. If you\u2019re a classics-only type of punk rocker, well then, I dig, man. The risk of going total Henry Rollins apeshit when this latest cookie from the UK punk idols gets chucked on the turntable could be the tipping point for some of you. A better idea would be to throw your worn-out original pressing of Damned Damned Damned<\/i> on and blast the skronk out of your cruddy shithole with \u201cFan Club\u201d and \u201cNew Rose\u201d on repeat until your speaker cabinets belch and bleed fuzz bombs and your neighbors are pissed to high buggery and beating on your walls.<\/p>\n

As tempting as it may be to let loose and rend this saucer a new one, don\u2019t reach for the sledgehammer just yet my fellow punk fiends. Honestly, this is not a bad album. It could\u2019ve been much, much worse. But it\u2019s not. True, it won\u2019t be like hearing the piss \u2019n\u2019 vinegar frenzy that is \u201cNeat Neat Neat\u201d or the brooding psych-punk stammer of \u201cI Just Can\u2019t Be Happy Today\u201d for the first time. But it is The Damned we\u2019re talking about, and not, say, some other influential pillar that emerged from the filth and fury of the \u201877 movement who\u2019s no longer with us.<\/p>\n

This album definitely won\u2019t change your life, much like the group\u2019s 1977 self-titled masterpiece probably did, but who would\u2019ve thought that 40-plus years after they formed, we would still be using \u201cThe Damned\u201d and \u201cnew record\u201d in the same sentence? While it doesn\u2019t come with the customary sticker that promises to be their smartest effort since their 1979 classic, Machine Gun Etiquette<\/i>, it\u2019s actually a somewhat surprising and memorable offering from the lads. Most bands in their position at this point would\u2019ve probably continued to plod the world over with one greatest hits tour after the next, and then when that got old, maybe they would regroup in the studio and sling out an all-acoustic record of fan favorites, or better yet, a cover\u2019s record. Not Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible.<\/p>\n

The allure of The Damned in 2018 is that they\u2019re not trying to reinvent the wheel or rehash days gone by with Evil Spirits<\/i> (Search and Destroy\/Spinefarm Records), which is their first long-player in 10 years. One thing that\u2019s quite nifty is how surprisingly catchy some of these tunes are. Songs such as album opener \u201cStanding on the Edge of Tomorrow\u201d and \u201cThe Daily Liar\u201d grind along with a garage-rock stomp and an all-too-familiar goth-punk vibe that serves as a reminder that The Damned never really went anywhere in the first place, they just had other business matters to attend to for the last decade.<\/p>\n

Yet another added bonus with Evil Spirits<\/i> may be the group\u2019s recruiting of famed record producer Tony Visconti, who spent the better part of the 1970s in the recording studio with the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy. Strange as it may seem, it\u2019s not too far out upon second thought, when you consider The Damned chose power-pop smith Nick Lowe and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd notoriety to anchor the soundboards for their first two albums respectively. With Visconti on board, it turns into a pretty loose affair that doesn\u2019t sound labored or botched in any sense. Rather, he captures the band with a somewhat raw sentimentality that ensures upbeat numbers don\u2019t dip too far into red territory.<\/p>\n

Those of you who hold The Damned\u2019s mid-80s repertoire, specifically 1985\u2019s Phantasmagoria<\/i>, near and dear to your hearts will be in good company with Evil Spirits<\/i>. This is not to suggest that Vanian or Sensible have completely mellowed in the elder stages of their career (quite the opposite) nor is there any indication that the former will smear a giant blonde, skunky stripe on the side of his mane again (can\u2019t vouch for that however). Much like Phantasmagoria<\/i>, the production quality is slick this time around, as Vanian and company rub a bit of pop sheen on bustling numbers like \u201cThe Devil In Disguise\u201d and \u201cProcrastination,\u201d while things get all-out jammy and psychedelic during the title track.<\/p>\n

On \u201cShadow Evocation,\u201d Vanian\u2019s ghoulish vox evokes a Scott Walker-in-a-funhouse affectation, while organ maestro Monty Oxymoron conjures up a dank soundtrack of spooky, ethereal psychedelia that recalls throwbacks of \u201850s horror flicks set in boneyards and laboratories. Once the chorus kicks into high gear, the rhythm section of bassist Paul Gray (who last played with the group in 1983) and drummer Pinch chisels away with a fervor that doesn\u2019t disappoint. The same goes for the follow-up track, \u201cSonar Deceit,\u201d which bops and bounces in a quasi\u2013spaghetti western pulse of the Cap\u2019s echoey guitar spindles and blaring trumpets.<\/p>\n

Anarcho-punk group Crass wrote a song called \u201cPunk Is Dead,\u201d which in turn became a rallying cry scrawled everywhere in bathroom stalls, on basement walls, in journal entries, on people\u2019s skin and the like. Now, 40 years on and The Damned are the last ones standing and not having any of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know what you\u2019re probably thinking because I\u2019ve already been there myself. I love The Damned to pieces, but don\u2019t necessarily want to hear anything new by them<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[34,2225,2138],"class_list":["post-6732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-spinefarm-records","tag-the-damned"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I know what you\u2019re probably thinking because I\u2019ve already been there myself. I love The Damned to pieces, but don\u2019t necessarily want to hear anything new by them\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Sabbath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Sabbath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Sabbath\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/7b601dd3e5f75d0a061aadc64d6a3975\"},\"headline\":\"The Damned Evil Spirits\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\"},\"wordCount\":889,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Album Review\",\"Spinefarm Records\",\"The Damned\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Album Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\",\"name\":\"The Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"The Damned, Evil Spirits\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Damned Evil Spirits\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"description\":\"a music webzine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"width\":339,\"height\":149,\"caption\":\"The Agit Reader\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/7b601dd3e5f75d0a061aadc64d6a3975\",\"name\":\"Chris Sabbath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf071c44005c06b8596ee694ea9d246d025b70a32157cd95e6e8fcd31230d3d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf071c44005c06b8596ee694ea9d246d025b70a32157cd95e6e8fcd31230d3d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Sabbath\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/chrissabbath\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader","og_description":"I know what you\u2019re probably thinking because I\u2019ve already been there myself. I love The Damned to pieces, but don\u2019t necessarily want to hear anything new by them","og_url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/","og_site_name":"The Agit Reader","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","article_published_time":"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Chris Sabbath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@agitreader","twitter_site":"@agitreader","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Sabbath","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Sabbath","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/7b601dd3e5f75d0a061aadc64d6a3975"},"headline":"The Damned Evil Spirits","datePublished":"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/"},"wordCount":889,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg","keywords":["Album Review","Spinefarm Records","The Damned"],"articleSection":["Album Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/","name":"The Damned Evil Spirits - The Agit Reader","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-04T03:06:10+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-21T12:20:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/The_Damned-Evil_Spirits.jpg","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"The Damned, Evil Spirits"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/the-damned-evil-spirits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Damned Evil Spirits"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","name":"The Agit Reader","description":"a music webzine","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization","name":"The Agit Reader","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","width":339,"height":149,"caption":"The Agit Reader"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/7b601dd3e5f75d0a061aadc64d6a3975","name":"Chris Sabbath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf071c44005c06b8596ee694ea9d246d025b70a32157cd95e6e8fcd31230d3d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf071c44005c06b8596ee694ea9d246d025b70a32157cd95e6e8fcd31230d3d?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Chris Sabbath"},"url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/chrissabbath\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Up74-1KA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6734,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732\/revisions\/6734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}