UMUR
"Climbin' the Walls" is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash/heavy metal act Wrathchild America. The album was released through Atlantic Records in April 1989. While Wrathchild America was officially formed in 1988, the band´s origins date back to the late 70s and through the 80s they were known under band names like Atlantis and Tyrant. Wrathchild America themselves didn´t last long either, as they only released two albums under this monicker before changing their name to Souls at Zero and also changing their style to a more groove metal oriented sound. However no matter what band name they went under, they never achived any noteworthy commercial success. Atlantic Records must initially have believed in them though as they spend money on recording a music video for the title track.
Of course commercial success doesn´t always equal quality and visa versa, and "Climbin' the Walls" may not have been a commercial success for Wrathchild America (or Atlantic Records), but it´s certainly a quality product. The music on the album is a combination of traditional heavy metal and thrash metal but with an occasional blues tinged rock´n´roll feeling. It´s a greatly energetic release that´ll make you smile while you play air guitar to the many great guitar leads on the album or scream you lungs out to the infectious vocal lines. Even though the album is full of energy and sometimes fast playing, this is not very aggressive music. There´s an organic loose feeling to the playing (don´t mistake that for untight playing though because these guys are greatly skilled) and it´s apparent that these guys are having fun and there are some nice humourous lyrics to some of the tracks too. The songwriting is at times rather unconventional, so even though the skeleton of most tracks follow a regular vers/chorus structure, the band always make sure to incorporate a couple of sections that´ll surprise you and keep you on your toes. And as the band are skilled composers too, those sections sound natural and flow well with the rest of the more "regular" vers/chorus sections of the tracks. Wrathchild America are also skilled musicians and they pull off these unconventional (and the more conventional) sections with ease and conviction.
There are 9 tracks on the 43:43 minutes long album, including a cover version of "Time" by Pink Floyd, which Wrathchild America nail in a convincing manner. There´s not a single bad track on the album but highlights include the title track, "No Deposit, No Return", the instrumental "Hernia" and "London After Midnight".
The sound production could have been a bit more powerful, but it´s still a greatly enjoyable production, where you are able to hear all instruments in the mix (including the bass, which is somewhat a rarity on 80s thrash metal albums). Upon conclusion "Climbin' the Walls" is on all parameters a greatly enjoyable release if you enjoy your thrash metal with traditional heavy metal leanings and delivered with great energy and in an uplifting mood. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.