 Dr
Chud's X-Ward - Diagnosis for Death (2004)This is an album that seems divided, as if Chud wasn't sure whether he was going to try for a horror punk album or a hard rock album. The punk-ish songs sound horribly forced. The hard rock songs are definitely the strong point, and Dr. Chud should focus on these ones. Of course, being that he was a drummer and songwriter in The Misfits everyone will expect horror punk out of him. If you listen to this album expecting that you will hate it. "Powerless" and "Heavy Metal" have a cock-rock vibe to them, which is kind of fun after hearing a million "woah oh *insert horror title here* woah oh oh oh" songs. "Blue Skin" is slower, pretty easy to listen to, though not very catchy, but an okay song. "Goodbye" is my favorite song on the CD, it's almost 7 minutes long, kinda mellow, it's got a heavy metal feel to it at points, nice intro and ending. This song is the best example of why Dr Chud should stick to hard rock. "Rabid" is a little weird, happy sounding, keyboards, I can't tell if i like it or hate it. "Mommy Made Luv 2 An Alien" is a decent enough song, it drags on a little too long, a minute could easily be shaved off without being missed. The subject matter is a little weak, the title needs a spell check. "Spiderbaby" could easily be a misfits b-side, that's not really a bad thing either. "Bury You Alive" is a song that i'd rather not hear again, it's okay for the first few seconds, the lyrics are weak and repetitive the hook is really just lacking, song goes on for what seems like forever then fades out on a chorus. All in all the music is pretty good, the lyrics tend to be weak, and the song's don't have many hooks that get stuck in your head. The singing itself is way better than i thought it would be. I'd take this over any Project 1950 stuff. Yeah, no review from me would be complete without insulting Project 1950. The cover art for "Diagnosis for Death" is pretty cool looking, it's got a monster doctor eating a jack-lantern's brain, while a large breasted nurse pokes it. The booklet has a comic telling the story of "Spiderbaby" with the song's lyrics. The CD itself has videos for "Mommy Made Luv..." and "Powerless" that can be viewed on your PC. Hooray for bonus material! So yeah, I don't think this album is a total loss but it could be better in a lot of parts. For all i know the songs might sound a million times better live. Hopefully the next X-ward album will have more of the hard rock stuff, and less attempts at punk. Hey, it worked for Danzig. http://www.DrChudsXward.com  
2.5 / 5 skulls- Sean www.brutalfattery.com |