The Black Album

A punk band releasing a double album three years out from its debut might seem antithetical to some but hey, go tell the Clash. As for the Damned, their own stab at scope was not quite to the level of Machine Gun Etiquette, but as an underrated proto-goth album of sorts, The Black Album retains reasons for interest. Dave Vanian in particular had settled into a vocal approach that allowed him a chance to show real elegance in a romantic-vampire vein, evident on “Wait For The Blackout,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and the side-long near prog epic “Curtain Call.”