The Warriors "War is Hell" CD
[Eulogy]
Hmmm... this definitely has a bit of a different and creative sound to it, but the screaming vocals, which are sort of cool in how over the top and relentless they are, have been recorded with a little overly harsh texture so they dominate the mix and can at first really get in the way of my enjoying some otherwise in your fucking face metallic hardcore - emphasis on the metal. I'm talking 90's styled midpaced chugga chugga massiveness with dark note-based lead riffing and some added dissonance that certainly give this an aesthetic unlike most of what's out there these days. It's not 100% original by any means, but this sounds way more like something that would've been garnering attention in 1995 than it does in 2004 - and trust me, that suits me just motherfucking fine! "Red, Black and Blue" is a little groovier and fucks with some rhythmic vocal arrangements and slight hints at discordant melody (musically and vocally) that I really enjoy; "Ripped to Bone" opens with a pounding rhythm behind some strange guitar textures and almost has a post-hardcore bent at times; "Lightning Strikes" uses a lot of faster picking patterns and layered octave chords for more of a punishing His Hero is Gone sound (fucking killer but also uncharacteristic of the rest of the CD); etc. The songs are definitely shorter than you'd expect from this generally midpaced style, but I love that, it keeps things focused and really hones the power. There's some truly searing material here, I'm sort of impressed. As mentioned I think the recording is holding them back a bit, but that's mainly because the vocals are mixed too loud. The guitar tone is thick as fuck, you can hear the bass, and I think the drums have a nice warmth to 'em. Everything could use slight polishing, probably the percussion most of all, but I think the music sounds fine. I like the vocals as well because they're just fucking over the top screams with a lot of bitter attitude, totally pissed, but they really can be a distraction due to their acerbic bite and placement at the head of the mix. Were they mixed a bit lower this could be one fucking rager of a disc. Hell, it still is, but fuck, man... these dudes could really crack some skulls if they work out the kinks. The layout keeps it simple with a lot of black and some fiery oranges and yellows, including a few band photos, lyrics, the usual. Most of the content is overtly personal, with a few tracks hinting at potentially larger issues or dealing more directly with scene topics and such, so the title of the record is definitely one referring more to internal battles than anything else: "And of your brave now broken world what will remain? This war means more than metaphor. This fight is all too real. The front lines are right here..." Good stuff overall. I'm actually pretty pleased with this. Imagine a mix of 108 (check out "Transistor" especially), Earth Crisis and/or Chokehold, and Inside Out or something. I have really fucking high expectations for this band at this point. There's something special about this disc. They're not quite there yet, but there's an underlying spark here that could fucking explode with that extra little push. I'd probably have given this an 8/10 were the recording more in order. Recommended. Watch out for this band... definitely. (7/10)
Running time - 29:48, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Red, Black and Blue, Transistor, War is Hell, Lightning Strikes]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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