This album saw the darker side of The Damned blossom- but it is far from the doom and gloom normally associated with goth. The Damned always made even their darkest songs fun.

Their isn't a weak song on here- only that I find the production of History of The World a little at odds with the rest of the album. Wait For The Blackout is a great opener but Lively Arts is astounding. The real genious of the album lies in the final 3 tracks however. 13th Floor Vendetta is a dark, atmospheric slower paced song, whilst Therapy breaks all the rules of song arrangement. The final masterpiece is the 17 minute Curtain Call- from the mind of the vampiric Dave Vanian. It truly is a masterpiece, and does not bore despite its length. Are The Damned still a punk band? Yes, but they are making more than jst punk rock- and all the better for us. Drinking About My Baby, Hit & miss, Sick of This and That are great to pogo to- but it is the brilliance of stuff like Curtain Call that is most entertaining.

The excellent
I don't know about anyone else but "The Black Album" is probably my favorite from the Damned. It's sandwiched between two other great and possibly better known albums - "Machine Gun Etiquette" and "Strawberries". But I think the songs on this album flow better and I keep coming back to listen to songs like "Wait For the Blackout", "Twisted Nerve", "Hit or Miss" and "History of the World". The dark goth-like tracks "13th Floor Vendetta", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", and "Curtain Call" are some of my favorite Damned tunes. This album is a perfect blend of the old, hard and fast Damned and the later psychedelic pop Damned. Get it, you won't regret it!
KISSING COUSIN ALBUM TO guess WHOS , where they prove theyve got all the smarts to play around alot and release a great diverse collection some real oddities thrown into the mix, DOCTOR jeckhl, hydRian; a diverse collection of oddball, very excellent muscian MUSCIANS,. this album is almost PAINTERLY into THE MIND, PHANTASMORIC, indeed, GARAGE ABSTARCT EXPRESSIONIST bursts ... BOTH SCARY and blushin, JACK THE RIPPER, black neonSMOKE AND WHISTLEs,crystal theres a lot of pokin FUN, AT POP CULTURE. REFERENCES ABOUND in this ONE, THEY are alot smarter than the SWARMY clash, for sure. BUY IT and impress yourselves, MULTIPLE AND meaningfull.EIGHTIES MAN,

forgotten
I just want to say that "The History of the World, Pt. 1" is the best song in...the history of the world! Never remembered what album it was on, so I've been collecting different versions on anthologies. Here it is! Relax and enjoy! I loved it circa 1980 and have rediscoverd it in the 21st Century!
The Damned are one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history, and this album solidifies this reputation. With the Black Album, the Damned took their sound one step further; the darker, more psychedelic and melodic side explored on Machine Gun Etiquette, the previous record, was more fully realized with this album. The results are quite positive; the Damned display both their hellish side, represented by the punk energy present on the album, and their more sophisticated side, which is reflected on the quieter, more sinister moments on this release. The influence of the Doors is especially present on this album, a legacy that first made its appearance on Machine Gun Etiquette; in fact, I feel that the band's trademark sound (a sort of psychedelic-influenced death rock) displays more Doors influence than that of Echo and the Bunnymen, a band that is made out to be the most Doors-influenced of all the bands from the early post-punk period. The Black Album is also one of the albums that helped establish the early gothic rock movement in music. Although labeling both the Black Album and the Damned "goth" is extremely limiting, one would have to admit that this album has elements that are quintessentially gothic, such as the influences of classical music as well as the medieval and horrific imagery and mood captured in both the music and the lyrics. However, it is perhaps the overall dark feel to the album that forever links it to what most people consider to be gothic. The Black Album has many excellent tracks, including the classic "Wait For the Blackout," "Twisted Nerve," and "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde." It does, however, have a few weak moments. The song "Hit or Miss" is somewhat of a throw away, and "Therapy" has too much padding-- the faster part of the song is the only really appealing moment (and quite a moment it is, one must admit!). But the gothic anthem "Curtain Call" steals the show, as it is the culmination of the evolution of the Damned's sound at that point in history (1980); besides this, it is just an awesome song that displays the sophisticated song-writing that these "cartoon punks" were and still are capable of. All lovers of pop, punk, post-punk, psychedelic, alternative, goth, and especially death rock should be inclined to add this classic to their collection!