Rockland County has always had the perfect equation for producing Metal bands in mass quantities. Mix equal parts boredom, mischief, intoxicants, rage, and disdain….shake well, and serve in a giant skull cup marked “Fuck You” and you have a classic suburban Metal brew! That’s why there were literally hundreds of “Metal” bands in Rockland ….a veritable “Metal Workshop” if there ever was one?If you we’re a Metal band from Rockland…chances are you weren’t that talented, doing anything remotely innovative, and not really looking to far beyond playing “Cheers” in Nyack once every two months…usually to 10 of your friends. It was easy….and it was guaranteed! To stand out, and to carve a different path from this inert scene….a Metal band had to have a different approach, an almost outsider point of view, something unique to offer beyond the ‘chuga chuga chuga…thud thud thud” that was mind numbingly prevalent in Rockland. One band that had that approach, who stood out, and carved a unique path through the muck, and sludge of Rockland Metal was Permanent Damnage from Pearl River, N.Y.
Permanent Dam
nage started off initially as a three-piece band called“Noyes”….named after the surname of the brothers in the band…Darren (Guitar / Vocals) and Kent (Bass) Noyes. They retained this name for a few years, and moved through a succession of drummers until finally landing the hard hitting and talented Tim Roche (ex-Drill), which helped to round out the line-up, and give the band the ferocity it needed. After a name change to the certainly more Metal name of “Permanent Damnage” this secured line-up would go on to be the version of the band that achieved the most recognition and success.Permanent Damnage had a unique sound, and to describe that sound, one has to harken back to a different time…a time less influenced by bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and seemingly more influenced by bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and even to a certain degree some touches of Southern Rock. While all the “Metal” components are certainly there in Permanent Damnage’s music….there is a vein of “classic rock” that seems to run through their songs that give them a really different sound, one that raises their particular version of “metal” above the others who were simply grinding it out. There is thoughtful songwriting mixed in the onslaught, there is melody wrapped around the power, there is progression intertwined in the riffs, there is a sense of tradition in the songs that was definitely not the norm for all other Rockland Metal bands…..it works, and it worked really well for them.
Permanent Damnage managed to break out a bit of the Rockland confines that trap so many other bands, and played quite often in NYC, New Jersey, and many other surrounding states….to much acclaim and success. They managed to release one proper LP called “Dirty Mary”, which seemed to sell very well at their shows, and they continued on for a few more years…..expanding and refining their sound before the band came to a halt in 1997, and each band member moved on to other projects both personal and musical.
It could most certainly be said that if Permanent Damnage had continued on, and achieved the success they sought…that they would have been most definitely ahead of their time with their melodic / heavy “arena” sound (as evidenced by certain bands of lesser talent and vision currently tearing up the charts with the exact sound Permanent Damnage seemed to be doing long before anyone else).
Alas….some ba
nds are only meant to exist for the exact time that they do, and they move on. Permanent Damnage was a bright spot in a rather mundane Rockland Metal scene, and high praise goes to them for having the balls to be themselves, and in the process creating some really great music that we are proud to share with you! Enjoy!Chris Skelly
January, 29, 2012
Permanent Damnage
Freedom Supression
I'll Never Need You
Pain
What Are You Trying To Say
