Review Summary: Dread Champions of the Last Days is not flawless by any definition of the word, but surprisingly developed considering how young the band was at the time.
A sleeping giant is a slow-burning danger, a disaster waiting to happen, no matter what form the giant is in. Even when it’s sleeping, people fear to wake it, because of the disaster it will cause. Even the halfway state between sleeping and fully awaking known as “dozing” is dangerous, because you’re not sure if the giant will wake up and kill you or grouchily go back to sleep. When the giant’s awake, the giant is the most dangerous thing on the planet, and though some fear keeps you intrigued by its rage, most of your body wants to get the heck out of Dodge, pronto. So then, this is a fitting title for Sleeping Giant. The cycle of a giant’s waking and sleeping could easily be compared to their discography, and
Dread Champions of the Last Days depicts the men of the band as dangerous, but still sleeping. They haven’t truly found their potential, but they eventually will be fully awakened and at their height.
Dread Champions of the Last Days is a fitting starting point for a band that would slowly grow more talented.
The entire record has a sloppy, abrasive tone. Whether it’s the trouncing, B-tuned guitar riffs or the incensed snarls and bellows of vocalist Thom Green, no trait is glossy. Yes, this could be weighed as a hefty blight, but for SG, it’s akin to a prime cut of meat. With the already sloppy tone to the music, a sloppy production job is like icing on the cake. Guitarists Geoff Brouillette and Eric Gregson pounce on their fret-boards and grind chugs out like there’s no tomorrow, forging pleasing riffs and leads that never border on avant-garde, but never wash out to ceaseless crunching and chugging. A dubious yet pleasurable high point is the capacity and know-how of drummer Travis Boyd, and his rapid, irascible bashing and pedaling is on par with Matt Greiner (ABR). None of the instrumentalists (save maybe the bassist) are a colossal fault of
Dread Champions of the Last Days.
As for the actual songs, some seem entirely unnecessary. The intro track “The Army Of One” is around three minutes of spoken word that decries the anti-Christ fused with angry roars and animalistic riffs, and while the track brings a certain potency, it seems needless. The trio that finishes out the record, comprised of “King of Kings”, “O Praise Him”, and “This Is The Word” try to be progressive metal epics, but are conclusively too redundant to enrapture the listener. However, this is little more than a molehill compared to the sonic mountain other songs deliver. Tracks like “This Calls For Patient Endurance On The Part Of The Saints”, “Narrow Road”, and “Behold The Pale Horse” gush of fervor, with razor-sharp guitars, spine-chilling vocals, and whiplash drumming. “Whoremonger” functions as a slow-burning experimental track that sounds like old-age P.O.D. crossed with deathcore, with Thom alternating between rapping, singing, and his trademark, un-paralleled screams. It’s interesting placed between two of the record’s heavier songs, but despite the peculiar placement, “Whoremonger” is an album highlight for sure.
Lyrically, Sleeping Giant strive to be potent and unforgettable. Occasionally it works, but most of the time, they take it a little too far to the extreme, and border on scare-tactic Christianity. While “Whoremonger” usefully cautions against lust and sexually aggressive women, at times subtle, at times up-front references to the anti-Christ on tracks like “New World Order” could be construed as barely fanatic. In the worship department, the final tracks on the album are straight cries out to God. If you are a believer, these track will lyrically be a personal enjoyment for you, but if not, they’ll be easily skippable.
Dread Champions of the Last Days is not flawless by any definition of the word, but surprisingly developed considering how young the band was at the time. Indeed, the album does still display the trappings of a young metal band (like the occasional over-emphasis on the loved and hated breakdown), but also pictures the band’s potential to mature.
Dread Champions of the Last Days isn’t a necessary pick-up unless you can either find it for free or are a die-hard fine, but it proved to be a stunning outset for Sleeping Giant.
