Review by Vinny for D.A.M. - Human Wreckage (1989)

Death and Mayhem (D.A.M. for short) hailed from the northwest England seaside town of Morecambe Bay, which is not far from where I live. I can remember seeing them in the various metal mags back in the day advertising their wares, with the mascot that reminded of an unmasked Dr Doom from the Marvel comics, but somehow, I never got around to hearing them at the time. With this being my month for a nomination in The Pit, I thought there was no better an opportunity to sample their debut album from 1989. Human Wreckage scrapes a 50% mark on Metal Archives, but we all know how bonkers people’s opinions can be, right?

Well, Human Wreckage starts off well enough. Opening track proper, ‘Death Warmed Up’ sounds a lot more alert than the title would suggest. Some rugged chops and a decent solo make it a finer opener indeed. The first criticism is hard to ignore as an issue though. The drums are way too far back in the mix, relegated to more of a supporting role as opposed to a central driving position in the mix. This certainly helps the guitars and vocals to shine. However, it adds a timidness to the edges of what I am listening to. Riffs and vocals can only go so far as to flesh out a song, and without the firm skeleton of the percussion department things soon start to sound a little wishy-washy.

Some of the song writing is also unfortunately questionable. When they slow down the pace on Prophets of Doom, the cracks do start to show. The track at times sounds like it is falling over itself and this a theme that recurs sadly over the course of the rest of the album. It is as if D.A.M. exhaust their song writing prowess after three tracks. When they go slower, it really is a mistake. ‘Infernal Torment’ would only work with a Dave Mustaine style sneer on it, and Jason McLoughlin ain’t no MegaDave unfortunately. It is only really the late Mark “Elly” Etherington’s lead work that saves Human Wreckage from being a complete car crash at times. This is their debut album, coming just a year after their demo, so some leniency is perhaps well entertained in reviewing this album. However, as feature releases go, I have picked better.