A few years ago, there were quite a few bands you could file under the NWOT wave. Warbringer was one of them, and they are one of the survivors. Their 2008 debut album, War Without End, was already an album I appreciated very much. With Woe To the Vanquished the band releases their fifth album. I can’t help it people, the album blew me away completely. At this moment, I even like it more than the new Havok.
Warbringer is a lot more direct and in your face. They are less technical than Havok, but are so HEAVY. The pounding drums in combination with the riffs and angry, aggressive vocals in opener ‘Silhouettes’ are just the warning for a lot more destructive, demolishing, and crushing music. The members don’t make the music too complex, but that in my opinion is the strength of this band. There are parts, for example in the title track, that are not typical thrash, but from other genres such as black metal or death metal. Those death metal parts see to it that Warbringer is one of the heaviest newer thrash bands.
My personal favorite track is ‘Remain Violent,’ a very heavy mid tempo song with hard hitting drum parts and some nice guitar solos. In the fast song, ‘Shellfire,’ some death metal influences return. Jon Kevill really makes the difference for me. I like his aggressive singing style, which is more brutal than the general thrash vocalist, but not as brutal as a death metal singer. Sure, you can say that the music is not original, and that there are a lot of bands you can compare their music with, but Warbringer mixes it all in unity, which for me makes it just what the doctor ordered.
Tracklist:
01. Silhouettes
02. Woe To the Vanquished
03. Remain Violent
04. Shellfire
05. Descending the Blade
06. Spectral Asylum
07. Divinity Of Flesh
08. When the Guns Fell Silent
Playing time: 40:00
Release date: 31 March 2017
Label: Napalm Records
Website: www.warbringermusic.com
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