Album review : WRATHCHILD AMERICA – Climbing the Walls / 3-D (2 CD remasters w/bonus tracks)

Cherry Red [Release date : 24.10.25]

Back in 1984, founding member, vocalist and bass man, Brad Divens gave up a career in the straight world to “make it” with his Thrash Metal band, Wrathchild America.
It was a high risk strategy, but it’s a not unfamiliar story.

Regrets? I’m sure he has a few, but according to Daren Sadler’s liner notes, based on interviews with Divens and the band’s drummer, Shannon Larkin, they loved every minute.

Including 5 solid years of touring, mainly doing covers, getting musically tight, becoming a dynamic, cohesive unit.

This led to a 2 album deal with Atlantic Records, one of the industry giants, Climbing The Walls in 1989 and 3-D, two years later.

As with most things, it’s always about timing. A 12 month delay in releasing Climbing The Walls’ saw it blow past the Thrash Metal sell by date. The Seattle Sound had elbowed them out.

Hardcore fans still attended gigs headed up by the likes of Pantera, Exodus and Slayer, but interest was waning, and that didn’t sell albums for third and fourth billing bands.

Still, it struck the Billboard Top 200 a glancing blow.

Good songs like ‘Hell’s Gate’ and ‘Day Of Thunder’ were fuelled by Shannon Larkin’s powerful rhythms … his hard kick knocked out a relentless beat, but the music seemed to be stuck in the moment, lacking the muscle and blood we associate with the genre.

The follow up, 3-D came two years later, reissued here with 2 bonus tracks.

By now, the world of metal had tilted on its axis. And so the band chose to deliver a patchwork quilt of musical pieces… mixing metal, prog and jazzy moments.

This was quite unexpected, designed perhaps to represent the psychological changes gone through by a band at the edge.

Sought after Producer, Alex Perialis did a superb job in shaping the band’s sound into something identifiable.

‘Spy’, ‘Gentleman Death’ and ‘Surrounded By Idiots’ stand out.

Atlantic dropped the band once it became clear that 3-D wasn’t selling.

Subsequently, Brad Divens built a highly successful career as a live sound engineer, working with Motley Crue, Garbage, Linkin Park and many more. Larkin moved on to Ugly Kid Joe, and later a lengthy stint with Grammy nominated Godsmack.

Climbing The Walls (1989) ***
3-D (1991) ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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