With a name like Warbringer you know not to expect songs about love and fairies, and similarly your childish tales of Ninja Turtles and superheroes you’ll find in the works of Bonded By Blood and the likes. Yes, these guys are all about bringing the war, pestilence, famine and other such unpleasantries, while giving the eardrums a full on brutal pounding.
It’s always interesting to watch a young band develop, and returning less than 18 months after their debut, it’s safe to say that this isn’t just a smooth continuation from where they left off with War Without End, but rather there’s a notable amount of progression. It’s not that it’s any heavier, or any faster or more brutal, or whatever other clichés bands repeatedly claim their latest work is going to be on Blabbermouth, but the songs are catchier, and while I’ve only had a limited amount of time to listen to this, it has succeeded in leaving an impression.
Starting things off with ‘Jackal,’ I’m thrown straight into a pummelling, downright relentless battery that straight away has me thinking of modern day Exodus circa Tempo of the Damned. This album has me drawing comparisons to the modern output from classic bands, as it has the kind of polished production while under the surface there is a real barbaric ferocity chipping away at the glossy plane. The blunt edge comes forth on ‘Severed Reality’ projecting a thuggish hardcore vibe, while the Mille Petrozza-esque vocal assault really marches the battalion forward on to the front line. This blunt-fisted aggression stands up against the razor sharp guitars and a pervasive, triggered series of drum blasts that gives Warbringer their edge.
‘Living In A Whirlwind’ takes you off with a steady riff before whipping you into a vortex of uncertainty that makes you want to jump into the pit and thrash like a maniac. There are some nice steady thrash riffs that hurtle along at a suitably fast speed such as on the Destruction-esque ‘Scorched Earth,’ which will have you waking up next morning wondering why your neck is so stiff. The atmospheric ‘Nightmare Anatomy’ breaks up the albums momentum, which for a moment has me checking I am still listening to the same album. This instrumental certainly has me mellowing out as it takes us into an unlikely ambient shoegazey terrain and shows once again that this band aren’t merely a one-dimensional thrash machine. It leads neatly into ‘Shadow From The Tomb’ which seems to mix up straight forward thrash passages with ferocious black riffs that come off as though their strings are coated with a layer of frost.
At 40 minutes, the brevity of this album adds to its appeal; like many of the seminal thrashterpieces of the 80s this doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s not a groundbreaking release but it is solid, energetic and hugely enjoyable. A must have for the true thrasher. Catch them if you can when they play the London Scala with Sacred Reich on June 21st.
http://www.myspace.com/warbringer
http://www.myspace.com/centurymedia
