Band: War Of Ages
Title: Arise And Conquer
Label: Facedown
Release Date: 7/22/2008
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. All Consuming Fire
02. When Faith Turns To Ashes
03. Through The Flames
04. Salvation
05. Sleep Of Prisoners
06. Wages Of Sin
07. Yet Another Fallen Eve
08. Generational Curse
09. The Awakening
10. The Deception Of Strongholds
At this point War Of Ages have become nearly veterans in the melodic hardcore game, with Arise & Conquer being their fourth full length (if you count the re-write of their debut as a new one). They have become a well respected band for who they are, work and touring ethic, and live shows. The band has once again delivered a brutal, much improved, new album.
Now I don’t mean much improved in a negative way that mocks the older albums because I enjoyed them all, but this album has far surpassed all of it. Fast paced guitars, a solid rhythm section, and thunderous breakdowns are all over this album as you’d expect but there are also some surprises including better solos, faster songs, and *gasp* even some singing. This time the band wisely teamed up with Tim Lambesis (of As I Lay Dying) and his ear for metal really shows through. You’ll notice pretty quickly that the low end, including bass and drums, are much more pronounced and give the effort a fuller, more forceful sound. This was not the case with the past few releases and is something that makes this album blow them away.
“When Faith Turns To Ashes” is one awesome track! Fast finger work keeps the track moving and is one of the more straightforward metal tracks opting out of the usual breakdown. It works for me! “Through The Flames” absolutely pummels your chest with the intensity of the drums. The song really exemplifies everything we have come to enjoy from the boys of Erie. Surprisingly, we do hear some more melodic “sung” vocals in the chorus which is something new and welcomed. They don’t overdo it and become poppy and out of place, but it added to the song for me. Hopefully they’ll be able to branch out more in the future. “Salvation” is one of the catchier songs guitarwise and early on has a nice guitar solo reminiscent of the hair metal days. This is one area the band greatly improved upon. They always had solos but they are just all around better in this album. “Generational Curse” is a blistering track which shreds pretty much throughout. I like that the band went more metal in a bunch of the songs and sped things up. The closer, “The Deception Of Strongholds“, starts off real quiet and gives way to an awesome harmonized guitar solo, which actually continues throughout. I do have to take a second here to congratulate the band in a wise choice for picking Branon as the new guitarist. He really adds a lot to the mix.
Overall: There really isn’t much to be said that hasn’t already been said about this band. Arise & Conquer has shown us that the band continues to grow and better themselves and is hands down their best album yet! Without a doubt this album can be listened to over and over. They have some great touring plans for the Fall already so hopefully a lot of new listeners will get hooked as well. If you’re a fan of melodic hardcore at all there is absolutely no excuse for you not owning this album.
Standout Tracks: “Through The Flames”, “Salvation”, “Generational Curse”
Links:
Myspace
Facedown Records
Buy: Facedown Records Store