Album Review :
War of Ages - Void
By Graham Wall in Reviews | 4 Comments
Two thousand and nineteen has proven to be quite the year. One day, a bunch of rowdy hooligans on Facebook are planning how best to invade Area 51, and the next, there’s a War of Ages occurring on planet Djent. Void places an emphasis on groove, which is kicked into full gear by track three, “Blood of the Earth.” That being said, the more conservative fans need not fret; War of Ages are still our metalcore heroes from Mars. “Sulphur and Salt” – a Star Wars metal opera – capitalizes on what is perhaps the band’s greatest virtue: epic choruses. Shooting stars appear throughout, from the keyboards and black hole ambience of “Envy,” to the nu-metal spoken word in “Jezebel.” Void is sure to impress those with a penchant for metalcore mixed with djent. Those who are not quite at home with the latter genre, however, might just feel a little lost in space.
I said this with the last album but this band seems to be getting better and better for my taste! When they added Jack Daniels (Hope for the Dying) they added some incredible technical lead work and progressive elements. They picked up Elijah Mullins (The Burial, Fleshkiller, A Hill To Die Upon) as a full time member again and they solidified that further. Having now added Kaleb Luebchow (The Burial, Caecus) they’ve taken it all to an incredible new level. The man is an absolute monster on the kit! The combination of tech/death/prog influences with the traditional metalcore base is… Read more »
I’m not sure what happened to my previous comment, but as another Mark, I absolutely agree with Mark K. This whole album feels like their strongest songwriting yet. The structuring doesn’t feel expected, the solos feel empowering rather than just showboating, and the whole album feels very cohesive. I love their subtle use of more ambient elements and strings. Not enough to change the style, just enough to accent the instrumentation. It brings to mind the heavier Throes of Absolution by 7 Horns 7 Eyes (new album when?!?!) another very strong album with great songwriting that sucked me in. To… Read more »
I’ve always liked War of Ages, but Void is a step up in musical quality that really pushed them into the next level. Not sure where it’ll end up in my top albums of 2019 list, but this is a strong contender for the number 1 spot.
I’ve been sucked in by this album so much more than their last few releases. I feel like it’s some of their strongest songwriting yet. To contrast, I used to place WoA and As I Lay Dying together a lot, but War of Ages has grown so much more. Personally I find the new AILD to be very typical and forgettable, not nearly as engaging as Void. Same with Oh, Sleeper’s new album, of my three anticipated metalcore releases, WoA stands out the most