METALLICA Drummer Introduces CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED To 'Orion Music + More' Audience

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED — the project led by acclaimed metal drummer and "The Howard Stern Show" regular Richard Christy (ICED EARTH, DEATH, LEASH LAW, CONTROL DENIED, BURNING INSIDE) — performed this past Sunday at Orion Music + More, the two-day festival created by METALLICA that was held June 23-24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey. METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich personally took to the stage to introduce CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, telling the audience, "I'm very proud to introduce these guys. They record for… My friend Brian [Slagel] has a label out in California named Metal Blade Records, who some of you may know. They put the fucking first METALLICA recording out to the world, so we thank Brian for that. And these guys… I've made a new friend here in the last couple of years whenever I go up on 'The Howard Stern Show'. His name is Richard, and he's the drummer over there with the purple earplugs — very fashionable. So please fuckin' help me give it up for — including Richard, including Ripper; you guys all know Ripper, right?! — and the rest of the crew based out of New York City: CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED."

Check out video footage of Ulrich's introduction below.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's lineup for the Orion Music + More performance included Richard Christy oin drums, Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH) on vocals, Cleveland guitarists John Comprix and Matt Sorg, and Ed Stephens on bass. Comprix is Owens' bandmate in several projects, and Sorg plays with Comprix in RINGWORM.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's sophomore album, "Cold Winds On Timeless Days", sold around 1,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 14 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Cold Winds On Timeless Days" was released on October 11, 2011 via Metal Blade Records. Audiohammer's Jason Suecof produced and Mark Lewis mixed, while mastering was handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York.

The writing process for "Cold Winds On Timeless Days" actually began while the band was mixing its 2010 debut. Christy used his experience on the first album to write songs that catered not only to each member's playing style, but to Jason Suecof's production style. The result: demos that turned out nearly identical to what ended up on the album.

With 12 songs clocking in at 58 minutes, fans are getting a lot more music this time around. Recording twelve songs in a short amount of time is no easy feat, but one that was accomplished because of the stellar talents in the band. Christy elaborates further: "I wanted to get a natural sound out of this album, I wanted everyone to be well rehearsed, not that I wanted the album to be rushed, but I wanted the spontaneous live feel and not over think anything too much." Christy describes "Cold Winds on Timeless Days" as a "perfect storm of producing."