Wretched is a band that I, admittedly, have never been too crazy about. Sometimes I’m not sure why I haven’t really been able to get into them, seeing as how they have quite a few things in common with The Black Dahlia Murder, one of my favorite bands. Perhaps that is part of the problem, although I still have not been able to pinpoint it completely. Son of Perdition, Wretched’s third album, is set to be released on March 27th via Victory Records.
Son of Perdition starts off with Oblivion, an orchestral introduction track that the band probably could have gone without, although I guess it does establish the atmosphere of the album in general. After Oblivion, we start to get into the real meat of the album. One of the most noticeable changes is the addition of vocalist Adam Cody, formerly of Glass Casket. Cody’s vocals are solid, but are not necessarily anything extraordinary.
Most of the album is comprised of quick drumming, technical guitar riffs, and varying vocal styles. While the talent is obviously there and some of the riffs are pretty good, most of Son of Perdition fails to be interesting. As I mentioned earlier, Wretched is quite similar to The Black Dahlia Murder. The latter is considerably better and I find that this is due to more prominent vocals and much more interesting guitar riffs. Wretched just feels like a more watered-down version of The Black Dahlia Murder, although there are definitely worse bands and Wretched is not completely terrible.
As on their previous albums, Wretched has largely failed to impress me and keep me interested with Son of Perdition. Some of the songs, however, are good, such as Repeat… the End is Near and Dreams of Chaos. While it is not a complete failure, Son of Perdition does not necessarily leave me coming back for more. There are a few other bands that are much better alternatives to Wretched and do a better job in playing the style, although Wretched undoubtedly has quite a few fans and I’m sure Son of Perdition will experience a warm reception from them.
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