Band:	The Damned
Album:	Darkadelic
Style:	Gothic rock, Punk rock
Release date:	April 2023

01. The Invisible Man
02. Bad Weather Girl
03. You’re Gonna Realise
04. Beware Of The Clown
05. Western Promise
06. Wake The Dead
07. Follow Me
08. Motorcyle Man
09. Girl I’ll Stop At Nothing
10. Leader Of The Gang
11. From Your Lips
12. Roderick

Hold on to your hats, my fine lasses and gents! Here you'll be sent on a wild trip, reminiscing the classic '60s psychedelia and '70s punk eras. You'll be damned not to immerse yourself in this Darkadelic rock time machine.

The Damned are a UK punk rock band which formed way back in 1976. So, you could easily say they've been around for quite some time now — 47 years in fact. Nowadays, they're but a shadow of that pure, true, punk rock identity they once held back in the day. With darkened gothic tendencies creeping into their style and turning towards the solid, modern, standard sound quality production, they have shown they are more than capable of adapting their style as they go with the times.

However, despite maybe toning down just a wee bit over the years, this band still have the same young rebellious attitude surging through their veins. These punk rock master veterans have clearly proven to us yet again that age is just a number, and they once again show no indication of calling it a day — which turns us to the twelfth release under their belt: Darkadelic. This is an album that incorporates a variety of styles. It's far from traditional punk rock. Here you are met by a strong reminiscence of the experimental stages of that late '60s psychedelic rock era, as well as the '70s punk rock flare, which is still the beating heart of The Damned's style.

Throughout the album's 48 minutes, you'll be met by twelve trippy, perhaps even sometimes spooky, keyboard melodies, which are very The Doors-like, especially when accompanied by those groovy bass lines. The vox varies from each track depending on the mood and style. You'll get presented with mellow, soft, trippy-like vocals, whilst on other tracks Dave Vanian performs punk rock shouts. The trippy, distorted effect from the bluesy guitar solos is a highlight indefinitely, as they scream “it's the '70s!” all over again.

The crazy direction which the songwriting sometimes takes even shows glimpses of early Alice Cooper material. Take the track “Wake The Dead”, for instance, with its spooky lyrical theme and strange psychedelic gothic soundscapes. Each track has a different approach in style, all intending to recapture the glory days of rock, from the upbeat catchy opener “The Invisible Man”, to the powerful love-like ballad “Western Promise”. There is one track, though, that's different from the rest entirely: the closing track “Roderick”. It's basically a piano-based symphony, which will surely leave some raised eyebrows.

For those more accustomed to extreme metal, you might find yourself out of your comfort zone listening to this, especially if you're of a younger generation and have no knowledge or have yet to discover music before '80s thrash and heavy metal. But, give it a shot and you could very well surprise yourself.