Wrathchild America | Climbin' The Walls/3-D | Dissonance Productions

Release Date: October 24^th, 2025

Format: 2CD

Genre: Thrash/Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal

Country: United States

Wrathchild America came out of Martinsburg, West Virginia, working hard through the late seventies and eighties until Atlantic picked them up in 1988. The first album “Climbin’ The Walls” brought them to wider attention with its mix of thrash energy and traditional heavy metal roots. The follow up “3-D” opened their palette even more, pulling in progressive ideas that later shaped their next incarnation as Souls At Zero. The reissue from Dissonance Productions brings both albums together with bonus material and a detailed historical write up by Darren Sadler, giving listeners a complete look at a band that never stayed stuck in one approach.

Hearing these two albums side by side shows how Wrathchild America pushed forward from one release to the next. “Climbin’ The Walls” comes across raw and sharp edged, driven by tight riffing and Brad Divens’ cutting vocal delivery. The songwriting moves in punchy patterns, shifting between thrash pace and heavier mid tempo sections. Even their take on “Time” feels natural within their style. The album still has the wild energy of late eighties American metal, and the production reflects that era without sanding anything down.

“3-D” widens the picture. The band explores more adventurous structures, bringing twists in rhythm and tone that keep the listener alert. The heavier parts hit hard, while the stranger corners of the record give it personality. These shifts never drift off course, they show a band willing to stretch their sound without losing the tough backbone that defined them. The bonus tracks fit smoothly with the rest, giving a small window into sessions that already leaned toward experimentation.

The packaging strengthens the release. The liner notes dig deep into the group’s long road, from relentless touring in smoky clubs to sharing stages with Metallica and Slayer. The interviews with Divens and Shannon Larkin add welcome detail, letting the history sit beside the music instead of floating as trivia. It is a strong archival release that respects the material and presents Wrathchild America as the restless metal band they always were.

“Climbin’ The Walls/3-D” stands as a solid reintroduction to a band that deserved more attention in their time. The music captures a moment when American metal was shifting fast and bands like this tried to carve their own path. The reissue gives modern listeners the whole story in one place, making it easy to understand how Wrathchild America built their reputation and why their name still sparks interest among underground metal followers. Better pick the original albums from these Dissonance Productions series coz the lyrics are missing (if you are afan of it), as the same happens in all these reissues. It would be better to be released as separate albums as they've done in the past with Artillery, Avenger, Venom and others. It’s clear for collectible reasons.

Score: 8.0