Wrathchild America
Climbin’ The Walls
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Released 8/22/1989
Recorded May of '88
Label Atlantic Records
Producers Mark Dearnley & Wrathchild America
Brad Divens – lead vocals, bass
Jay Abbene – guitar
Terry Carter – guitars
Shannon Larkin – drums
Tracks
1 Climbin' the Walls
2 Hell's Gate
3 No Deposit, No Return
4 Hernia" (instrumental)
5 London After Midnight
6 Candy from a Madman
7 Silent Darkness (Smothered Life)
8 Time" (Pink Floyd cover)
9 Day of the Thunder
Released on August 22, 1989, CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS, the major label debut album from Martinsburg, West Virginia thrash metal savants WRATHCHILD AMERICA, is undoubtedly one of the most uniquely profound thrash metal albums in all of heavy metal history to be crafted by one of the most extraordinarily talented (and criminally underrated) bands in the entire genre.
And to think, for many metalheads back in the day, their very first experience with this album was in a LIVE concert setting, opening for Testament. Just imagine how blessed one would be to see a band as unbelievable as WRATHCHILD AMERICA (for the very first time) opening for an established act like Testament and being completely blown away after just one show, having NEVER heard the album before getting to see them LIVE!
With a stylistic palette that blends thrash, heavy metal, and 70’s classic rock, there is absolutely NO ONE else in metal who sounds ANYTHING like them. And if you’re jonesing to purchase a copy of CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS, not to worry, because it was recently re-released (along with their second and final album, 3-D) as part of a two-CD package with a couple of bonus tracks.
Get ready for a trip back through time to the days of yore, when thrash was still riding high and the opening band for Testament absolutely blew the minds of everyone in attendance when you JOIN US for one of the greatest and most underrated metal albums of all time with WRATHCHILD AMERICA: CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS.
(Also, just in case you might be wondering, there’s an early (we’re talking “6 years ago, during the Hodges Era” early: 02/20/2020) episode appropriately dubbed WRATHSAZ, which is a combo episode featuring both WRATHCHILD AMERICA and the darker, groovier, heavier incarnation that followed, Souls At Zero.)
CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS
Thrashy and very punchy. It certainly has that Paul Di’Anno era Maiden production quality to it. The mix is like the 70’s plus the first 2 Maiden albums…some slight progressive elements going on in the slower solo section. It’s a uniquely individual thrash sound with elements of 70’s classic rock bands in the mix as well.
Around the 3:00 mark, you can hear elements of what would come later on 3-D, and at 4:12: THRASH!
“People say you gotta pay,
To play in a winner’s game,
Well, I am me, a lunatic’s friend,
And nothing stays the same…”
HELL’S GATES
Even though they’re a thrash band, their primary distinction is that absolutely NO ONE sounds like them. It starts off slowly and then launches into the galloping guitars and double bass.
2:05- slow things down a bit, more of these kinds of instrumental breaks would be further developed on 3-D two years later. If this album had the 3-D mix it would be a completely different album.
“Now you can’t help but wonder
About your after life,
When you wake up dead:
Horns or halo, burn or fly…”
NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN
It’s like the 70’s Aerosmith style with some thrash intensity thrown in for good measure (a nice blend of the old and the new).
1:58 – “Hey man, is this a country song?”
2:25 – “NOPE! But it’s a perfect setup with a great punchline!
Much more heavy rock and roll than thrash, but it’s still fun. (Read those lyrics)
“But as I took my last drink,
I threw up in the sink,
And I noticed that the empty bottle read…”
HERNIA
As in “heavy” or injury from “heavy lifting”. Definitely a heavy instrumental and a nice showcase of their collective musical diversity. The bass licks thrown in with the dueling guitar solos is so fucking 80’s in the best way possible.
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT
A very creepy and atmospheric intro (with what sounds like a 12-string bass …). A sign of their more progressive musical palette. Strangely, that main riff almost has a Ghost vibe to it (like something from the first Ghost album).
3:04 – The chorus seems like a completely different and totally unrelated song. Before descending into the guitar solo, there’s almost this weird, dark, southern rock meets thrash heavy metal vibe going on.
3:53 – The big, thematic buildup to the big climax is extremely descriptive and disturbingly visual.
“Watch your neck,
What’s that shadow on the wall!?
A virgin boy on a black stallion,
Just walked across my grave…Oh NO!”
CANDY FROM A MADMAN
Doesn’t start off sounding very thrashy (but don’t worry…it’s coming!).
:28 – Not so much thrashy as it is heavy. Some very vividly descriptive lyrics and killer hooks.
2:30 - …And now, the turning point (or tipping point, as it were). Kinda like that weird breakdown in the middle of Desert Grins (from 3-D), it’s a complete departure that comes thrashing back HARD at 3:32.
4:44 – The walkdown of the song and the big buildup to the climax…read those lyrics.
“Life to him is a four-letter word,
So, hold your mother’s hand and hide your eyes…”
SILENT DARKNESS (SMOTHERED LIFE)
Weird…there’s that strange, heavy, southern rock, 70’s infused intro riff (definitely guessing some Aerosmith influence in there somewhere).
Again, the lyrics tell a very dark story and are perfectly articulated by Brad Divens, arguably one of the most articulate vocalists in the entirety of thrash.
3:09 – Another turning point, and a much darker and grim turn in the murderous narrative.
“It’s all a harmless, drunken joke to them it seems,
I can’t laugh I’m running out of air…”
TIME
A cover of the Pink Floyd classic (sans the clocks) from Dark Side of the Moon. It’s a bit absurd to assume that the thrash and metal bands of the 80’s weren’t influenced (on some level) by the great classic rock bands of the 70’s. The inclusion of this cover is an excellent homage to the mighty Floyd.
To put things in perspective (specifically with regard to the concept of time), this album came out in 1989 and Dark Side… came out in 1973. That’d be like a band in 2026 releasing their version of a cover that was originally released in 2010.
The solo is absolutely spot on. And even listening to this version, you can practically hear all of the vocal and choral background singers from the original Pink Floyd studio version.
Now imagine hearing a thrash band in the late 80’s (a band you’ve NEVER heard of or even seen before) playing this song. Now imagine if they had the balls to CLOSE with this song!
“Home…home again,
I like to be here when I can…”
They even nailed the outro.
Bravo, gentleman.
DAY OF THE THUNDER
Triumphant, power metal vibes. Maybe this album has more power metal and heavy metal vibes than thrash vibes, although Wrathchild America does an excellent job of blending all of the genres together seamlessly.
(You can hear the subtle Metallica influences in there as well.)
Again, excellent work guys! THANK YOU so much for making this album a reality!
“It’s the day of the thunder that all men shall hear,
He who serves under one,
The old wizard quotes from the book which he reigns,
Thy will shall be done…”
Show Notes:
(00:01): “See? That’s how much Bill loves #KISS…let the record show…”/ Gene Simmons vs King Diamond makeup confusion lawsuit / “Dwarf butt shot…it’s the gnome butt shot…”/
***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***/ “Nothing that can’t be fixed with a razor…that was the tipping point of that episode…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!***/ “Just like the thunder, (weather) used to be real in the 80’s…”/
“I was on my boat Friday, enjoying the beautiful weather…and today, I’m wearing a hoodie…”/ “Y’all are here for the metal…Metal Bitchery that’ll be our side podcast where it’s just me being angry…about everything…”/ #lifecoaching / “It could be the lack of poon…” (“Me and Wristina were still hanging out…”)
(05:12): Check out our new “pop punk” side project: Bad Shoulder / #SmogMountain /
***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / ***EMAIL US (your #shittah) at metalnerdery@gmail.com and WE’LL PLAY YOUR SHITTAH!!!*** /
“Here’s the fuzz…” #Erosions HOME GROWN / #AwwwMannnn
/ “I was gonna use the R word…(retarded?)”/ “In the spirit of this…I thought they were Hong Bong…”/ “You’ve gotta watch the video…”/ #BongKong WEIRDMAGEDDON
/ “The bass player is trippin’ balls!” /
“They’re from Portugal…I’ll bet they probably fly one of two airlines…”
(14:54): ***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Instagram #TikTok and #Facebook / ***EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com / ***GIVE US A CALL AND VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / Johnny O… / “I like my coffee like I like my Sabbath…Black.” / “They weren’t pieces of Shittah…they were portraits of Shittah (“It’s very #OlanMills - ish…”) / “So natural and uncomfortable…”/ “Sorry, I blew in your ear…my sticker pecked out…”/ “Hold on, let’s play some new Metal Church…”/ “I was listening to Metal Church by Metal Church on Metal Church yesterday…in fairness, THAT should have been the opener…for the album.”/ #MetalChurch BRAINWASH GAME / F.A.F.O. (Dead To Rights – April 10, 2026) / “Fuck anus, find orgasm…” / #ThrashFamilyTree / “I’m glad they’re remembering the fun…”/ “It sounds like Metal Church…go check out the #InsideTheMetal of that…” / #KeepItThrashy
(23:55): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: WRATHCHILD AMERICA – CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS / ***Check out our #WrathSAZ episode from way, WAY back!!!***/ “I think that one got way more exposure than 3-D…”/ #WrathchildAmerica / #MikeTysonASMR / “I didn’t buy it until I saw them with #Testament…” (NOTE: Bill and Russ saw them LIVE before ever hearing the album) / “We’re doing that next…”/ Released August 22, 1989 / “I didn’t cup it…” / ***Re-released along with 3-D (2-CD set…with bonus tracks) recently on Cherry Red Records / “BTW, if you’re a #Godsmack fan or an #UglyKidJoe fan…”
“They had that one song, right?”
(29:55): CLIMBIN’ THE WALLS / “It’s kinda power metal-y a little bit…”/ “It’s just throat box noises…Brad Divens always had articulate, clear, up-front vocals…”/ “(Groove metal) was the natural evolution from thrash…”/ “That’s it! Your ‘cut time’ is your groove metal…”/
“They formed in the late 70’s…1978…”/ “We’re doing the whole dive, bro…”
(35:32): HELL’S GATE / “Take your pants down…”/ “There was an Orion moment there…I heard influences…”/ “How can you not be influenced by what you like?”/
NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN / “I think this is about sex…maybe.” / “When she went ‘hawk-tuah…” / “He’s looking at me…he’s making eye contact…” / “I hear influences…this album has a weird 70’s feel to it…” / “When I’m listening to it, it puts me right back at the concert…”/ “I would have not known who they were without them opening for Testament…”/ ***Is anyone familiar with Baroness’ “Purple” album?*** / “All that to say…with opening bands…”/ Reflecting on Wrathchild America opening for Testament and Pantera / #tittape (“Don’t you tell anybody…”)
(44:49): HERNIA / “If you gave that a different mix, it would be a thrashier album…”
“It (the mix) makes it sound like early Maiden…”/ “When they go to the woods for the weekend, they take vampire jerky…”/ LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT / A moment of #TypeONegative ‘vamping’ that totally matches with the music…/ “That reminds me of #Venom so much…”/ “That might be the most gayest thing I’ve ever heard in metal but it’s still pretty awesome…”/ “You’ve gotta remember, this was ’88…you didn’t have virgin boys on black stallions though…”
(53:23): Side 2 Killer Opener / CANDY FROM A MADMAN / “Here we go…”/ “That fucker is looking at me! He’s got a lazy eye…” / “That’s the payoff…that’s what I wanted to hear…”/
“Their live show is so much different than their studio stuff…”/ “In fairness…the 3-D album sounds much more like they sounded LIVE than this sounds…”/ “If you got to see them live, it’s kinda like getting to see Pantera live (in the 90’s)…”/ #Blessed / SILENT DARKNESS (SMOTHERED LIFE) / “The lyrics are very visual…”/ “Very untraditional thrash…thrash redux…”/ “They sound like if you could take thrash and sprinkle it in the 70’s…”
(1:03:00): “That’d be a hell of a ballsy closer…”/ TIME / “No clocks, btw…”/ “Is he still lookin’ at you?” / “You CAN’T fuck this up!” / “We didn’t have the album… (and the shocker of hearing them cover Pink Floyd’s ‘Time’)”/ For the LIVE experience to blow people away enough to seek out the band’s debut, that’s saying something… / “Do you realize that Black Sabbath came out (Friday) February 13, 1970?”/ “But technically, that’s also Black History Month adjacent…”/ “Who’s Jason?” / “Is this ‘88 thunder?”/ DAY OF THE THUNDER /
“That does sound like early Maiden…a little bit…”/ “That’s kinda power metal…”/
“I like it even more-more…now that Russell pointed out the Maiden thing…I can’t unhear that…”/ “I’ve got the magic now!” / “Let’s go for 3 in a row…”/ #booong / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / “Tell us in the comments what you’re thinking…” / #MattLooksAtTheComments / “You know what I found out the other day?” / “Why wouldn’t you think it would be on?” / “That butthole had some mileage bro…”/ #LOL / #untilthenext #outroreel