Certain Death’s Debut Album ‘Strange Garden’ is an Instant Classic
Photo credit: Tyler Kufs
Have you ever wished you could wipe your memory so you could experience your favorite classic rock album for the first time? Sometimes, even the most devoted rock fans get listening fatigue when it comes to the genre’s archetypal bands. If you’re looking for a new band to scratch that musical itch, Certain Death’s debut album Strange Garden will become the new mainstay on your listening rotation.
Certain Death was founded in 2020 by lead singer and guitar player Henry Black and has since expanded to a full lineup made of drummer CJ Young, guitarist Matt White, and bassist Jared Schapker. A little Western, a little metal, and not shy about shredding guitar solos, Certain Death’s smoldering sound is retro without being redundant. The result is an incredibly catchy album with songs that would feel right at home on a classic rock station. Seriously—the songs sound so timeless that you could probably gaslight your parents into believing they remember attending Certain Death concerts in the good old days.
The album opens with “Cut,” a slick, dark song with a heavy melody that grounds Henry Black’s soaring tenor. Far from a straightforward song, the band’s technical prowess is on display through the complex layering of harmonies and indulgent instrumental bridges. Like a reanimated corpse, the song’s pace alternates between lightness, stumbling and dragging. Fitting with its title, “Paranoid” screeches open with feedback and frantic drumming. The lyrics “This room’s a hospital / Full of broken strangers / Who seem to know my body / And wanna work my angles” tighten the tonal claustrophobia until you agree with the repeating refrain that paranoid anxiety creates more of itself.
Photo credit: Tyler Kufs
In “Free,” a twangy, reverberating riff and steady beat like a cantering horse is paired with lyrical proverbs and folkloric metaphors that create the impression of a Western fable: “Gotta cut your skin to prove you bleed / “Life is cheap but I feel so free / “The devil moves his strings like a coward flees.” Some friendly advice for Spotify listeners: Turn on the gapless playback setting to get the most out of the perfect transition from the ending note of “Free” into the opening drop of “NHR.” I also hope you’re ready to dance because the guitar-forward melodies in “NHR” inspire your preferred method of headbanging, grooving, and air drumming.
Get in, losers—“Locomotive” is taking us on a ride. (Stand clear of the closing doors, please.) With its dense bass line, textured riffs, and exuberant solos, this song is energetic, engaging, and a little unhinged, capturing the vibe of an average night in New York’s subway system. The next stop is “Gates of the Forest,” a haunting acoustic interlude that breaks from the album’s previous intensity. The momentary exhale turns into bated breath with the simmering opening of “Moon on the Rise.” A laid-back, restrained melody builds into a scorching guitar solo and heavy, rhythmic callback to “Cut.” Twangy guitar layered on top of whining, echoing slides on the titular track “Strange Garden” answer the question of what the lovechild of Pink Floyd and the Dire Straits would sound like.
With a name like Certain Death, it’s not surprising the lyrics lean a little morbid—“I saw the blood on both my hands, saying, ‘What the hell did I do?’” Lines like “Nothing ever ends, it just changes,“ walk the tightrope between nihilistic apathy and existential crisis. After all, what’s more rock-and-roll than a fascination with mortality? Okay, yes, studded leather jackets, but besides those.
Certain Death is self-described as “a love letter to an era of amp towers, flashy guitars, long hair, and polyester department store suits.” With their homage to traditional genre elements that they’ve reinvigorated and reimagined to claim their own sound, you can tell that Strange Garden was written by rock fans for rock fans.
Listen to Strange Garden here, and follow Certain Death on Instagram for updates about upcoming shows.
