Review Summary: "Well War of Ages is definetly metalcore, with the obvious presence of breakdowns and metalcore guitar riffs. However, they also solo a decent amount, and they fit very well with the songs and add emotion to them."
War of Ages is a Christian Metalcore band from Erie, Pennsylvania. I know what your thinking, that there just your every day christian band who play metal. Well War of Ages is definetly metalcore, with the obvious presence of breakdowns and metalcore guitar riffs. However, they also solo a decent amount, and they fit very well with the songs and add emotion to them. Also, don't be put off by their christian genre. The lyrics are definetly christian, but aren't annoying by any means. Most of the songs are about friendship, war, and life in general. Now for the actual review.
The album kicks off with "Guide For The Helpless" and starts with a fade-in intro and a nice catchy guitar riff. After repeating the riff a few times the song slows down and the vocals come in. Leroy (vocalist) isn't the most unique sounding screamer out there, but he definetly isn't bad and gets the job done. The song ends with a pretty good solo and fades out.
"Strength Within" starts off with a nice little harmony riff, sounds sort of punkish, but not too much. The highlight of the song is the outro which is nicely done with a very catchy guitar riff. Definetly a good song to listen to if you want to hear some music from this band. The fifth song off the cd is "The Fall of Pride" and has easily the most chaotic solo out of any of the tracks. I don't know if War of Ages has any influence from Slayer, but this solo reminds me 100% of a Slayer solo, but it fits the song quite well. The song then ends calmly but as soon as your getting used to the softness the next track kicks in. "Heart of a Warrior" has my favorite intro out of all the songs on the album. It begins with a sweet sounding double kick by drummer Alex Hamp and a riff on guitar. Even the bassist shows off some of his skill with a bass fill near the half-way point of the song and the guitars come in repeating a similiar riff.
My favorite song on the album "Stone by Stone" shows that War of Ages was saving the best for last. It starts with a typical metalcore riff and then the vocals come in. The song slows and softens near the 3 minute mark and Leroy starts speaking in a soft voice about mankind and how if we continue to rage war, we will have to rebuild the world. After his impressive speach the song intensifies and he goes back to his harsh vocals repeating the lines, "Brick by Brick. Stone By Stone." An awesome way to end this album.
Well this was my first review, and I had to do a review for this cd after I saw it didn't have any. So any feedback would be great.
Recommended Tracks:
Guide For The Helpless
Strength Within
The Fall of Pride
Heart Of A Warrior
Stone By Stone
Pro's:
Good soloing
Well written lyrics
Good drumming
Some impressive breakdowns (If you like breakdowns)
Con's:
Can get repetitive sometimes
Breakdowns (If you don't like breakdowns)
Only 10 tracks
A very good cd for metalcore fans out there, and christian fans alike. I stronly suggest downloading some of the recommeded tracks and if you like them, buy the cd. There are no fillers in my opinion so there should be no disappointment. 4.5/5