Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Album Number 7 from the So Cal thrashers and the first one in 5 years so quite a break between albums, these guys are due to be out on tour with Kreator later in the year around Europe, let’s get into this one!
The Sword and the Cross
A sword strike that turns into a guitar divebomb that kicks this off, with a real sort of power metal melody before the snare hit and that chugging riff comes in, punctuated with the floor tom groove, crisp production is the first thing you notice, really precise playing and the little breaks in the riff to really bring out the words, great chorus with the double kicks under it, lovely little run into that solo right there, then back into the chorus again. There is a lovely little breakdown into a half time middle section with a straight-ahead riff just grooving along there, then there is a harmony guitar section with some atmospherics drifting into the sound before another solo hits and some nice trem work in there and a lovely little harmony run, really lovely playing, then bang into the verse riff again and the tempo picks up and then the song plays out, great opener!!!
A Better World
I love that drum fill and the way the riff comes in just before you think it will, nice, that riff reminds me of At the Gates straight away, even the part after, Blinded by Fear vibes are 100% there, although that part with the thrash beat and the static slow chords is really nice, the chorus with the melody guitar and rhythm on the other side is really cool, then into a quick melodic solo, that’s a really grindy double bass section, then that solo is prime James Murphy with the harmonies and the bar work, loved that, this is a straight punch to the face song, but i cannot shake the ATG’s vibe, and that is not a bad thing, another banger!!
Neuromancer
Kicking off with a really nice bass line, and actually that is a great bass sound as well, this is a wall of death, everyone in the pit song, that riff and the slow double bass, that will be class live, yeah that verse is just nasty, loving that slow double bass groove, nice doubled vocals there, and again how crisp is that production, the bell of ride cymbal pinging away, then when you get past the second chorus there is a real nearly Steve DiGiorgio bass line, before the tempo switches again and the shredding begins, lovely playing again, melodic in parts and then loads of technique on show but not for the sake of being flashy, also some really nice drum work in the background on the fills, this is actually nearly like a Leprosy era Death sort of track the more i think about the riffs and double bass parts, and that is never a bad thing, three for three at the min, loving all these songs so far!
The Jackhammer
Aptly named as this one comes in like a Jackhammer right from the start, there is no letup, its full pelt from the start, nice change to the chorus going to a backbeat, then a little groove part before we get slapped back down into another verse, oh yes, that middle section where it drops to half time, that is awesome, again that’s a pit part right there, then nice change to add the kicks in, now there is a Kerry King solo at the start then some really nasty blues phrasing and licks in there, really gritty, nice ending as well, yeah, no weak songs yet!
Through a Glass, Darkly
Cleanish guitar intro to this one, nice working that harmony into the spoken vocal part, really nice, then the sledgehammer of a riff beats down, really slow driving groove to this one, it’s a nice break in the middle of the album just having a more grove orientated track, still plenty going on, lovely little harmony guitar parts, like the double vocal in parts, really nice transitions between parts of this songs, using breaks and harmony guitars to segue into different areas, Chase, take a bow, that’s a solo, that’s lovely, note choice, feel, phrasing, absolutely loved all the parts to that solo, then back into the tortured vocals over a slow chord sequence that just fades out to the end, brilliant track!
Strike from the Sky
Well, you sort of know after the last track, this one slams right in from the off, nice high scream off the bat on this one, full one thrash tempo and a solo to kick it off, very Death Angel, that’s who that reminds me of right away, but that chorus with the harmony being carried by the guitar is really cool, and again some lovely drum fills from Carlos in there, then a nice break into the middle section and it all goes half time driving away, some nice gang vocals in there, again a great solo comes then it breaks to a lovely trem picked harmony riff and the bass playing counterpoint back into the chorus again, furious track!
Cage of Air
There we go, voices come in and then a clean guitar starts to play over the top of it, remember when every thrash album used to start like this, I have nostalgia straight away, and then like the riff comes in, blast beats, check, ATG riff check, yeah this totally reminds me of the Swedes for sure, it might be the vocal delivery and the harmony guitars in the verse but it’s a yes from me, the chorus is great, the guitars carrying the melody line on it, the middle is a great change of feel with a real sort of groove part on the drums and then the guitar solo comes in with a melodic hook before it starts properly, there’s a really nice break part with a harmony guitar then comes in a classical guitar part as a break in the song, really atmospheric, then it builds with a nice tom groove and some clean harmony before it builds again into a lovely half time section, this is pure Swedish Death Metal to me, not thrash, absolutely love this track, this is the best on the album for me!
The Last of my Kind
Piano on this album, why yes, love that intro, then it all gets shattered as the blast beats and screams kick in, this is furious but so melodic, love the verse but that chorus, it has melody, aggression, epicness all tied up in the chorus, I love the thrash to blast beats in the verse, lots of tempo changes in this one, that transition in to the middle with that melodic guitar section over the riff is glorious, then comes this trem picked mid-tempo riff and then this really cool riff comes in over it as the band goes half time, there are some really nice bits of dissonant chords before the solo, and what can i say, that solo is absolutely perfect, very Brandon Ellis neo classical in feel, then a really nice harmony section with a very interesting melodic bass line under it as well, before it plays out to the clean guitars and orchestration.
10 out of 10
Flawless…….
I would nearly say that if you’re a fan of Swedish Melodic Death as well as a thrasher, you have to listen to this album, playing, production, arrangements, songs, it has it all, out on the 14th March, go buy it!!!
Tickets and info: https://warbringermusic.com/
WARBRINGER ON TOUR:
North American Co-headline w/ Allegaeon
The Vortex of Violence
3/18 — San Diego, CA — Brick by Brick
3/19 — Phoenix, AZ — Last Exit Live
3/20 — Albuquerque, NM — Launchpad
3/21 — Oklahoma City, OK — 89th Street Collective
3/22 — Haltom City, TX — Haltom Theater
3/23 — Austin, TX — Come and Take it Live
3/24 — Corpus Christi, TX — House of Rock
3/26 — Orlando, FL — Conduit
3/27 — Jacksonville, NC — Hooligan’s
3/28 — Bensalem, PA — Broken Goblet
3/29 — Brooklyn, NY — Woodshop
3/30 — Montreal, QC — Foufounes Electriques
3/31 — Toronto, ON — The Garrison
4/1 — Detroit, MI — The Sanctuary
4/2 — Chicago, IL — Reggies
4/3 — Lawrence, KS — The Bottleneck
4/4 — Lincoln, NE — Bourbon Theater
4/5 — Denver, CO — HQ
4/6 — Salt Lake City, UT — Metro Music Hall
4/8 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
4/9 — Vancouver, BC — Rickshaw Theatre
4/10 — Portland, OR — Hawthorne Theater
4/11 — San Francisco, CA — DNA Lounge
4/12 — Los Angeles, CA — Teragram Ballroom
SUPPORTING DECAPITATED WITH CRYPTOPSY + CARNATION:
INFERNAL BLEEDING OVER EUROPE 2025:
5/3 — London — Incineration Fest
5/4— Exeter — Phoenix
5/5 — Cardiff — The Globe
5/6 — Newcastle — Anarchy Brewery
5/7 — Glasgow — Slay
5/8 — Manchester — Academy 2
5/9 — Birmingham — XOYO
5/10 — Nottingham — Rescue Rooms
5/11 — Norwich — The Waterfront
5/13 — Lille — The Black Lab
5/14 — Enschede — Metropool
5/15 — Munich — Backstage
5/16 — Aarau — KiFF
5/17 — Lindau — Vaudeville
5/18 — Vienna — Szene
5/19 — Budapest — Dürer Kert
5/20 — Prague — Fuchs2
5/21 — Schweinfurt — Stattbahnhof
5/22 — Dresden — Blauer Salon
5/23 — Kraków — Hype Park
5/24 — Warsaw — Proxima
5/26 — Berlin — Hole44
5/27 — Aarhus — Voxhall
5/28 — Hamburg — Logo
5/29 — Vechta — Gulfhaus
5/30 — Dortmund — Junkyard
5/31 — Sint-Niklaas — Casino
6/1 — Paris — La Machine
6/3 — Frankfurt — Das Bett
6/4 — Karlsruhe — Substage
6/5 — Milan — Legend Club
6/6 — Bologna — Locomotiv
6/7 — Lyon — Lions Metal Fest
SELECT EU DATES + FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:
7/20 — Heidelberg — Halle02 w/ Kreator & Rotting Christ
7/21 — Obdertraublin — Airport-Eventhall w/ Kreator & Rotting Christ
7/22 — Memmingen — Kaminwerk w/ Kreator & Rotting Christ
7/23 — Tolmin — Tolminator Festival
7/31 — Rasnov — Rockstadt Festival
8/2 — Vagos — Vagos Metal Fest
8/6 — Jaromer — Brutal Assault Festival
8/7 — Kortijk — Alcatraz Fest
8/9 — Derbyshire — Bloodstock Festival
8/15 — Dinkelsbuhl — Summer Breeze Festival
8/16 — Kudrefin — Rock The Lakes Festival
WARBRINGER IS:
John Kevill — Vocals
Adam Carroll — Guitar
Carlos Cruz — Drums
Chase Becker — Guitar
Chase Bryant — Bass
NEW ALBUM, WRATH AND RUIN, OUT MARCH 14, 2025 | ORDER YOUR COPY HERE
