DamagePlan is the vehicle for ex-Pantera duo Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul to emerge from the recriminations surrounding the break up of their previous band. Replacing Phil Anselmo on vocals is Pat Lachman, one time guitarist with Rob Halford's solo band. It is without doubt that anyone who buys this album will compare it with previous Pantera efforts. So how does it stack up? Opener 'Wake Up' is a solid piece of metal mayhem with Lachman growling away and so it continues with 'Breathing New Life' and 'New Found Power'. 'Pride' contains slightly more melody than previous tracks with Lachman's voice being subjected to some hideous electronic effects in the verse. 'Fuck You' should simply not be considered as a song as to my ears it exists simply to get as many expletives into three minutes as possible. Could this be a dig at Pantera's erstwhile lead singer? 'Reborn' gets back to the mid-pace grind that the CD opened with, and so the album continues.. Can you tell I am bored now..

All in all DamagePlan are a band that have to deal with the legacy of Pantera and in attempting to do so they have failed to come up with anything new. With the return of Halford to Judas Priest, Lachman obviously had to find a new position but maybe he should have stuck to playing guitar rather than taking over vocal duties and Darrell and Vinnie should try to patch things up with Anselmo as quickly as possible.

Let us know your views on 'New Found Power'

Track List

Wake Up
Breathing New Life
New Found Power
Pride
Fuck You
Reborn
Explode
Save Me
Cold Blooded
Crawl
Blink Of An Eye
Blunt Force Trauma
Moment Of Truth
Soul Bleed

Line Up

Pat Lachman - Lead Vocals
Dimebag Darrell - Guitars
Vinnie Paul - Drums
Bob Zilla - Bass