Charred Walls Of The Damned

Formed as a supergroup within the metal genre, Charred Walls of the Damned sprang from the vision of Richard Christy, the longtime Iced Earth drummer who also serves as a radio personality on the Howard Stern Show. Landing that Stern Show role in 2004 prompted Christy to step back from active involvement in metal, limiting his output to occasional stints with the power metal act Leash Law and the gorecore unit Caninus—far fewer than the busy pace he maintained during his Iced Earth years. By 2009 he voiced a renewed commitment to music, assembling the lineup he had long envisioned by bringing in vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (Iced Earth, Judas Priest), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus), and longtime friend Jason Suecof, who handled guitar duties and production. The group inked a deal with Metal Blade and issued its self-titled debut album in 2010. Prior obligations kept DiGiorgio and Suecof off that year’s U.S. tour, so the road lineup instead featured guitarists John Comprix (Beyond Fear, Ringworm) and Matt Sorg (Ringworm) plus bassist Dennis Hayes (Beyond Fear, Iced Earth). The explosive follow-up Cold Winds On Timeless Days arrived in 2011 to strong acclaim, yet another five years passed before the members could set aside their separate endeavors and reconvene under the Charred Walls banner. That return yielded Creatures Watching Over the Dead, the eagerly awaited third studio album, which surfaced in 2016.