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Saint Vitus > C.O.D. > 1992, CD, Hellhound Records > Reviews
Saint Vitus - C.O.D.

Give Us Some Room - 65%

Twisted_Psychology, September 3rd, 2023

With Saint Vitus seeming to reach a certain culmination with V, it certainly makes sense for C.O.D. to feel like an attempt at a new era. This is most obvious with the recruitment of Count Raven vocalist Christian Linderson but there’s a certain expansionist attitude also indicated by the bigger production and much longer runtime than before. In an odd way, one gets the sense that the band was starting to understand their status as elder statesmen of doom metal.

While the production (courtesy of Don Dokken of all people) does remove some of the band’s grimy edge, making for a noticeably lighter sound, the musicianship indicates that they never lost their identity. The band’s penchant for sluggish tempos is well-maintained with plenty of warped soloing on top and Linderson feels like a great reconciliation of Reagers’ demented ravings and Wino’s biker sneer. The rhythm section has a more mixed presence as the drums still maintain heavy booms with a more controlled tightness while the bass is rather faint in comparison.

The songwriting also ends up rather mixed, especially when you consider the hour-plus runtime almost makes it as long as any two previous albums combined. Sometimes it’s tricky to tell whether it’s due to the writing or production, but the tone tends to feel off. On top of the riffs being simultaneously unmemorable and too repetitive, darker songs like “Shadow of a Skeleton” don’t seem to get the atmosphere they want while songs like “Imagination Man” and “Get Away” feel too stiff for their wistful psych vibes.

Fortunately, there are still a couple bright songs to be found. “Children of Doom” makes for a rather fascinating case study as the come-together lyrical theme is a stark contrast from the lone-wolf laments of a “Born too Late,” but it has a good riff set that makes it feel almost like a happy sequel. “Fear” also comes out well as a punchy anthem that makes due on the promise of “Planet of Judgement.”

I wouldn’t call C.O.D. an outright disaster, but there’s a sense that Saint Vitus might’ve been trying too hard with it. It feels somewhat at odds with itself as the unfocused structuring and uneven presentation suggest that its almost celebratory demeanor doesn’t have the confidence to really see it through. Linderson may have been able to use this as a springboard for some excellent bands later on, but there is a sense that Saint Vitus was getting outclassed at their own game.

Saint Vitus trying out the Swedish doom sound - 75%

Doominance, October 5th, 2014

When Wino left Saint Vitus in the early 90s to reform The Obsessed, Saint Vitus recruited Swedish doom vocalist Chritus Linderson to handle the vocal duties on the 'C.O.D.' album. With Scott Reagers and Wino being his predecessors, Linderson had some big shoes to fill, but he did a very good job. His voice suits the doom and gloom very well. He sounds like a mixture of Ozzy's better days and Zeeb Parkes of Witchfinder General.

When listening to C.O.D. for the first time, the biggest difference (apart from the vocals) is the production. On previous albums, Saint Vitus have gone for the dirty, muddy and fuzzy production to add a certain murky atmosphere. That applies to both the Reagers era and the Wino era. On C.O.D. however, the production is much cleaner, and to be fair, it was "that time", when bands were generally went for the cleaner, crispier sound. Some Vitus fans may argue that this was a major downer, but it doesn't bother me too much, even though I prefer the original feel of Vitus' music.

The music is still very doomy, albeit in a slightly different way. Previously, Saint Vitus had a very unique sound with the dirty production, basic setup and primal attitude. On C.O.D., like the production, the music seems a bit more planned and organized. The riffs are doomy, yes, but are vaguely comparable to the Swedish doomsters (Candlemass, Count Raven...), and even the chaotic, unpredictable solos that Dave Chandler usually conjures are often finer sounding and not so random and wild (bar on "Imagination Man"). Whether Chandler, as the chief song-writer of Vitus, decided to go this direction on his own, or Linderson's Count Raven background had a say in it (perhaps both), we don't know. But it's a bit different from the Saint Vitus we all know.

But different doesn't necessarily mean bad. Experimenting isn't anything new in doom metal. The makers, Black Sabbath, experimented loads and usually succeeded in doing so, so why shouldn't Saint Vitus do the same? With a new era came a new style, and even if it made some fans turn their backs to the band, it remains a very decent doom offering in a time where metal was dying (and doom metal was unheard of pretty much).

The album's first few songs are excellent. A mixture of slow, heavy and almost epic doom tracks and faster, shorter rockers fill the first half of the album. The title-track, "Shadow of a Skeleton", "(I Am) the Screaming Banshee" and "Imagination Man" are all very good, noteworthy songs. But if you're a seasoned Vitus fan, you'd know that most albums by the doom titans are between 30-35 minutes in length, while C.O.D. is considerably longer. That, combined with the new style may alienate some Vitus veterans, and I must admit that once the first (excellent) half of the album has been passed, the remainder may become a bit tedious. The songs just aren't as memorable as the first few ones, so trimming some of them off wouldn't have hurt.

C.O.D. is the weakest Saint Vitus album to date. It's not a bad album by any means, but it's just overall weaker in every aspect than the other albums and also much longer and less memorable. It's definitely worth a listen, though, and might be a Count Raven and/or Candlemass fan's favourite Saint Vitus album, if there ever was one.

Saint Vitus - C.O.D. - 75%

Witchfvcker, April 24th, 2014

Out of doom metal legends Saint Vitus’ dependably bleak discography, C.O.D. (or Children Of Doom) stands out as a bit of an oddity. Being their first album since 1986 not to feature Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s unique set of pipes, the band brought in Christian Linderson from Swedish stalwarts Count Raven to fill in on vocal duties. While by no means a lacking vocalist, Linderson’s voice was more in line with the epic doom-sound spearheaded by Candlemass, rather than the usual snarls and wails of Wino and original Vitus frontman Scott Reagers. C.O.D. also featured a cleaner production and more upbeat songwriting than its gloomy predecessors. It has in turn been buried by time and dust, only recently resurfacing as a re-issue from Season Of Mist.

Due to the aforementioned points, C.O.D. tends to be dismissed as a sub-par Saint Vitus album. While accusations of selling out appear ridiculous pertaining to a band so firmly rooted in the underground, this collection of songs are a departure from their usual fare. Opener “Children Of Doom” is a call to arms, not as dark but a spiritual companion to the classic “Born Too Late”. The tone is decidedly lighter than what one would expect from the masters of doom, but the sound is unmistakably Dave Chandler’s work. Main offenders are tracks like “(I Am) The Screaming Banshee” and “Imagination Man”, which feature catchy riffs and almost rock & roll-vibe. They are good songs, but lack the typical Saint Vitus-atmosphere.

Linderson is, admittedly, no Wino or Reagers, but his Ozzy-esque voice are a good fit with the slightly less doomier-than-thou vibrations of C.O.D.. The signature reverbed guitar of Dave Chandler is, of course, still present, albeit less distorted than usual. A notable exception is the eccentric “Get Away”, which is a drum-driven nightmarish trip and a highlight of the album. The 2013 re-issue includes two bonus tracks, “To Breed A Soldier” and “The Chameleon”, also featuring the talents of Linderson. These songs are, interestingly, considerably slower paced and heavier than most of the album, and well worth a listen.

As a part of Saint Vitus’ discography, C.O.D. pales in comparison to its companion pieces. Never the less, the band shows a willingness to experiment, and for the most part they succeed. Many of the songs are memorable in their own right, and the band were firmly back in their doom boots two years later. Despite being one of their weakest albums, this re-issue C.O.D. deserves a second chance from fans of the band.


Written for The Metal Observer

Black Sheep - 73%

GuntherTheUndying, November 17th, 2013

"C.O.D." is the black sheep of Saint Vitus' discography and often considered the band's weakest moment from what I can tell. To be honest, this is actually a fairly decent product, miles away from a bed-shitting abomination like "Risk" or the like. There's no stylistic confusion or big identity issue going on here: "C.O.D." is all about the doom. The album is sort of difficult to swallow for two reasons: the vocals, and the production. The gentlemen of Saint Vitus brought in a bloke named Christian Linderson of Count Raven and others to sing on his first and last Saint Vitus full-length (Wino had been out of the band since 1991 at this point) while the fuzzy distortion of previous Saint Vitus offerings was replaced with a polished production job. Remarkably, "C.O.D." isn't as conflicted or mismanaged as it could've been. In fact, it's quite enjoyable.

Despite the changes going on around the group, most of "C.O.D." remains moderately consistent compared to what the band had released during the Wino years. Two noticeable differences are the surplus of quicker anthems and the lack of miserable beatings like "Dying Inside," although Saint Vitus is pretty much riding the doom train here. The group's sound simply feels like it had been mildly altered for Linderson's vocals and the clear production, but not for modernization or mainstream props. Dave Chandler's riffs still roast like brisket over a grill, and most of the tempos slowly hammer and crush onwards. The only thing "C.O.D." truly lacks, however, is a prime cut that rises above the rest. Some of its offerings are better than others, sure, but none are universally superb despite the stable consistency.

The fact that the twelve songs together clock out after an hour's running time without a true gem makes the record a little tedious towards its final moments. Needless to say, I could survive without "Bela" or one of its neighbors. Linderson, on the other hand, does a wonderful job filling the void left by Wino. His stylistic approach is reasonably similar to Wino's, and he in general delivers a filling performance within this garden of doom; he's a perfect example of a replacement vocalist who lives up to his or her predecessor's standards. The production, too, is a change of sorts; the thunderous drums and polished guitar tone are miles from the fuzzy characteristics of previous outings. It's an acceptable frontier, but it doesn't validate the total Saint Vitus experience.

And that is perfectly fine at the end of the day. Though I'm sure having a wonky sound quality and a new vocalist would derail the average band, Saint Vitus managed to avoid any artistic pitfalls and actually released a fairly enjoyable album. "C.O.D." remains a fine listen without moving forwards—it's more of a stationary piece than a progressive one. With that being said, Chandler and company delivered a gratifying collection of doom that remains honest to the Saint Vitus legacy. Obviously not an essential buy, but "C.O.D." has its glimmers of brilliance, and that cannot be said about most slumps. Even when the efforts of Saint Vitus aren't very good . . . they're still pretty good.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

C.O.D. without the mercury. - 84%

hells_unicorn, March 15th, 2010

Before there was Children Of Bodom, but not before there was "Children Of The Grave" or "Children Of The Corn", there was "Children Of Doom" (or C.O.D. for short and for those who like some fish mixed in with their metal), a rock solid offering of doom that would make the Ozzman and company proud, but apparently not all in their core fan base. This is the most contentious of Saint Vitus' offerings, and not without good reason. Although former Count Raven vocalist Christian Lindersson isn't stylistically all that different from Wino or Reagers, and the band as a whole doesn't really do anything stylistically out of character on here, the production and the general presentation has taken a dramatic shift that had some crying sellout. While I personally do not share this sentiment, it must be admitted that the resulting product here is a bit closer to Count Raven than what Saint Vitus had become known for on their previous studio endeavors. Whether or not this is seen as a good thing depends largely on how attached one is to the older, muddy and occasionally fuzz steeped atmosphere established and maintained through the duration of the 80s.

To elucidate a bit further on exactly what is going on here, it is necessary to draw some specific distinctions between this album and the more commonly known Saint Vitus of the SST productions era, and the subsequent 5th album known as "V". On all of said albums, the character of the arrangement was a good bit darker and muddier, particularly insofar as the guitars were concerned. The production of the drums was noted for its retro feel, being heavily present in a manner more befitting of Sabbath or Zepplin, lacking the somewhat processed and in-your-face character of more posh mixing work that started coming about in the late 80s with the advent of albums like Def Leppard "Hysteria” and Metallica’s "Black Album". But most important of all, the arrangement was known for its bareness and more conducive to a live setting, as guitars were not really tracked much beyond singular rhythm sections which were only accompanied by a lone lead track when a solo would pickup the slack for whoever was screaming into the microphone. "C.O.D." essentially goes the other direction and embraces the tracking and mixing practices of more mainstream releases, though thankfully Vitus did not go the direction of Metallica stylistically and has not stripped their songs of the necessary meat and potatoes.

Whether or not these changes in sound presentation were an experiment for personal artistic enrichment by the band, or an attempt to smoothen things up for wider listening consumption, what results is yet another fine collection of heavy, down tempo goodness. The riff work is still ground pounding and memorable, though a bit more punchy and less muddy, the vocals still retain a woeful quality, the rhythm section maintains its characteristic looseness in feel in spite of the added clarity of the mix, and Chandler has actually outdone himself in the lead department and put together some of the wildest solos heard in the genre, while remembering the obligatory noise usage and choppy passages that manage to push their way past the slick feel surrounding them. Some of their faster material such as "A Screaming Banshee" and "Imagination Man" tend to lose a bit of the punk rock edge typical of Vitus' mid 80s work and comes off like a heavier version of Billy Idol, but largely the character of this album lends itself a bit towards an epic sound, albeit without the operatic vocals. Good examples are provided in "Planet Of Judgment" and "Get Away", both of which come oddly close to a Solitude Aeternus character with something of an outer space-like feel at times in the case of the latter. Generally the riffs are a bit more repetitive, but the somewhat more melodic character of certain sections meshed with the larger sounding atmosphere definitely points it in an epic direction.

Ultimately this album seems to be doomed in many quarters (no pun intended), but it does not deserve to be ignored. Sure, there's a bit of additional guitar tracking on the infectiously catchy title song "Children Of Doom", the grooving yet epic "Shadow Of A Skeleton" and a few other selected works, but it doesn't steal any of this album's thunder. People often tend to forget that Sabbath themselves did a good amount of experimentation with their tracking methods, churning out unquestionable classics like "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and "Sabotage". Naturally the technology that makes a clearly defined and somewhat pristine sounding work like this was not available in 1974, but this isn't really much of a reason to denounce music that takes advantage of the tools of the day. Judging it solely on the merits, apart from any expectations that could possibly be built upon the sonic consistency of the 5 previous albums, this is somewhere between the band's first two albums in terms of quality. It doesn't quite reach the raw quality of the debut, but it tends to stick by you a bit longer than the faster and heavily Black Flag influenced “Hallow’s Victim”. It's a worthy pick up, though it will probably appeal to fans of Candlemass a bit more than anything else put out under the Vitus name.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on March 15, 2010.