review: War of Ages

War of Ages

Void

Facedown Records

13 September 2019

This is the ninth album by the Pennsylvania, U.S. band, according to Wikipedia (War of Ages is not on Metal Archives, whether that’s because no one has submitted the band or because of the website’s prejudices, that’s unclear). Active from 2002 until the present, in 2019 they return with their American melodic extreme metal.

The first thing that stands out is the work of the production team and the band in getting a very nice bouncy sound that is attractive to the contemporary ear. In other words, they worked the studio magic a lot on the album and it has given very good results that should be interesting to fans of the style. It seems like they took their time in the production of the album and like there was a standard that they wanted to meet, instead of just rushing out album number nine. At any rate, that’s the impression that one gets when listening to the album. The contemporary studio magic will be a selling point for those customers of the post-2010 American melodic extreme metal sounds.

The album presents an effective mixture that threads together the classic European melodic death metal, the American metalcore components, and a fun addition of other small details that bring out other layers. Here and there, you might hear some blasting drums, some pop-oriented melodies, some catchy choirs that are slightly reminiscent of 1980s rock/metal productions; there is a bit of a hip hop vibe in the vocals in some small segments; a bit of symphonic bits here and there. In summary, this is post-2010 American melodic extreme metal, but in a rather more polished or sophisticated production.

The songs offer much to the open-minded listener that wants melodies and grooves, without worrying too much about what particular genre it is. The songwriting works with the grooves and the melodies, and from there they open up the doors to doing songs that are different from each other in various ways, but still part of the same entity. In 2019 the band and its production team have opened up the melodies and the choruses. The longtime supporters will be pleasantly surprised with the production and the songs, and new potential customers are going to be hooked on the melodies.

Their lyrics, as always, communicate the same love that has characterized them since the beginning. They do not claim an original message or anything like that; just the same mission to deliver words that can inspire and uplift people. Anger and hatred are the opposite of what motivates the band. If believe in Jesus with all your heart, you will find here reinforcement of your faith. If you do not, the pleasant surprise of a different type of lyrics might just be something to think about. The important thing is not to be guided by stereotypes or prejudices against heavy metal music that seeks to communicate a different type of message when compared with the vast majority of metal bands. Listening to/reading these lyrics, we find that there is not a single curse word (hopefully, this is factually accurate!), which makes the music friendly for the little people riding in the back of your car or playing in your living room.

In summary, the War of Ages American extreme metal is replete with mosh pit or head bobbing grooves and with an abundance of big melodies in the guitar and in the sing/growl/scream vocals. A very catchy album.

War of Ages - "Miles Apart" OFFICIAL VIDEO

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