Band: War of Ages
Title: Eternal
Label: Facedown Records
Release Date: April 13, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Collapse
2. Desire
3. Failure
4. My Resting Place
5. Eternal
6. Indecision
7. Lack of Clarity
8. The Fallen
9. Your Betrayal
10. Instrumental
Wow is all I have to say about this album! Eternal is War of Ages fourth album and the growth and maturity displayed are extremely evident. This five-piece metalcore band out of Pennsylvania has upped their game several notches with Eternal. Can I say Wow again!
In Eternal, Leroy and the boys definitely brought their “A” game. Leroy throws us a curve ball by mixing things up a little and shows us his softer side. Well not really, but he does add some clean vocals that were a very pleasant surprise from their previous albums. I never new he had such a nice clean singing voice. Along with the clean melodies, you still get the patented aggressive growls that War of Ages fans are accustomed to hearing. I have been a huge fan of these guys since their self-titled Strike First debut album hit the streets in 2006. These guys have shown improvement on every album and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Along with some clean vocals, the structure of the songs has improved and made the songs easier to follow. Another thing I noticed on this track was the improved technicality over their previous releases.
I have always been impressed with the unashamed spirit-filled lyrics that War of Ages has. They have always been sort of a battle cry to believers. They encourage, edify, and downright make you want to move around. This album continues with these non-cookie cutter Christian themes. Add with Leroy’s aggressive and energetic attitude, you get one heck of a live show.
War of Ages also brings in a few friends in for some guest vocals, Tim Lambesis and Josh Gilbert of As I Lay Dying and Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. While I loved “Desire” with Tim and “Lack Of Clarity” with Josh, the title track “Eternal” with Sonny is by far the best track on the album. Sonny adds that P.O.D. feel to the track that only he could provide, and the dueling singing and growling make the track epic. The chorus in “Eternal” is very memorable with Leroy growling and Sonny singing, “My existence is overtaking me / I’m hoping and praying for a chance to live / the undying mistakes that I’ve made / has set my life apart and now I’m free.” One of the other standout tracks is the last track, “Instrumental.” Yes, the title gives it away. I usually hate instrumental filler tracks but this instrumental is really good. Dueling guitars highlight this track with a clean acoustic guitar leading in giving way to an electric guitar. The two guitars continue to duel each other throughout the rest track that form a technically beautiful display of musicianship.
Overall: this is War of Ages best album to date. War of Ages added technicality and clean vocals and turned it into a masterpiece. With each album, War of Ages has improved and shows no signs of letting up. The music and lyrics will even engage the most disinterested of onlookers and have them bobbing their heads and moving around within a few songs.