Damnation of Adam Blessing/Glory – Nightmare (1973)
Cleveland acid rock combo the Damnation of Adam Blessing was formed in 1968 from the ashes of a pair of local garage bands, the Society and Dust; led by frontman Blessing (aka Bill Constable), the group also included guitarists Jim Quinn and Bob Kalamasz, bassist Ray Benick and drummer Bill Schwark. After months of relentless local gigging ó often as the opener for hometown heroes the James Gang ó the Damnation of Adam Blessing signed to United Artists and issued their self-titled debut LP in 1969. followed by a tour in support of the Faces. Second Damnation followed a year later, generating the minor hit Back to the River; with their third album, 1971s Which Is Justice, Which Is the Thief, Schwark was replaced by Blessings drummer brother Ken Constable. In 1973, the group renamed itself Glory, releasing a self-titled LP on the UA subsidiary Avalanche before disbanding.
Reviewer: A music fan
Damnation of Adam Blessing were very well put together hard rock with a full palette of arrangement colors and even a great vocalist. – Joe Carducci, author, Rock and the Pop Narcotic
They had great songs, a distinctive, powerhouse vocalist, and as a band they cooked – Mike Stax, editor, Ugly Things magazine
They disappeared after going out in a blaze of Glory in 1973.
In September of 2000, Damnation of Adam Blessing returned after 28-year hiatus to perform to a packed house of 3000 fans at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland Ohio.
In the tradition of such C-town luminaries as the Raspberries, James Gang, Pere Ubu, and Nine Inch Nails, Damnation of Adam Blessing was a true Cleveland original. Actually, many fans would argue that they were head and shoulders above those local contemporaries — not to mention plenty from outside Ohio. Their music was much in the vein of the eras hard rock, but the arrangements were far more advanced. While most heavy rock acts featured screaming or shouting vocalists, Damnation tested the waters with low-range, gospel-like harmonies and Adam Blessings grinding yet melodic leads. Songs would quickly shift from simple rock arrangements into idiosyncratic middle-eighths — sometimes over a pounding rhythm, sometimes enhancing a ballad. And when it came to hooks, Damnation could lure in the listener like a walleye out of Lake Erie.
While such greatness may not have been the formula for hit records outside of Cleveland, it didnt go unnoticed by the truly hip of this world. The groups cult following swelled in the years following their 1973 demise, and by 1999 the dam burst with a huge feature article by Doug Sheppard in Ugly Things magazine. In the meantime, the original four albums became collectors items, laying the groundwork for a 3 CD Italian box set reissue on Akarma Records of the bands first three albums (May of 2000.)
