Battles

Personnel: John Allen (vocals); Skidd Mills (guitar, keyboards, programming); Vic Karrera (guitar, talk box); Nick Kay (guitar, background vocals); Anthony Arambula (bass guitar, background vocals); Jason Heiser (drums).Audio Mixer: Skidd Mills.Recording information: Dragonfly East Recording Studio; Eastside Johnny's Westside Studios, Dayton, MD; Skiddco Studios; SOund Kitchen, Franklin, TN; Wrightway Sound.On their third album, Baltimore hard rockers Charm City Devils take a step back toward their raucous roots on Battles. Where their previous effort found them exploring a straightforward post-grunge sound, Battles finds the band throwing a bit of gritty, down and dirty blues rock into the mix. With more of an edge to their sound, it feels like the band are righting the ship after a less than stellar sophomore outing, and fans of the band will be pleased to see Charm City Devils make a return to their rocking ways with an album absolutely brimming with swagger and cool. ~ Gregory Hean