Artist: Warbringer
Title: IV: Empires Collapse
Genre: Thrash Metal
Release Date: 25th October 2013
Label: Century Media Records
Album Review
In 2004, the Californian band WARBRINGER was founded as ONSLAUGHT, but had to rename themselves since there already exists a famous British Thrash Metal group with the same name. Ever since, WARBRINGER play Old School Thrash Metal, strongly influenced by acts such as SLAYER or early EXODUS. Through their excessive touring, WARBRINGER have managed to establish a good reputation as a live act. After records like ‘Waking Into Nightmares’ (2009) and ‘World Torn Asunder’ (2011), they released their programmatically titled fourth album ‘IV: Empires Collapse’ in 2013.
With ‘IV: Empires Collapse’, WARBRINGER have indeed taken a step towards a more distinct and unique sounds – the Old School Thrash Metal influences are still present, yet elements from Black and Death Metal are included as well and form an eclectic compound. The eleven tracks make up for a little over 40 minutes of music, and each title shows a different facets of the band. ‘Horizon’, for instance, incorporates a very disharmonic, Black Metal alluding riff in the middle part, yet ends in an acoustic and melodic way. ‘The Turning Of The Gears’ grooves as a middle-tempo track with a remarkable and harsh chorus. In contrast, ‘One Dimension’ does not dread an almost Hardcore/ crossover attitude and is in general a very fast and straight-forward track with challenging guitar solos and. This is continued in ‘Hunter-Seeker’, whereas Old School Thrash Metal elements are slightly more perceivable. The vocals show a broader range than on previous album, varying from almost shouted to very hoarse and dark.
‘Black Sun, Black Moon’ draws the line to previous WARBRINGER albums and turns out to be uncompromising and raw. ‘Scars Remain’ kicks in with a very distinct bass hook line and continues in a blasting yet melodic way. With ‘Dying Light’, a slightly slower and more technical song is included, whereas ‘Iron City’ illustrates a Thrash Metal track with provocative and beer-worshipping lyrics. ‘Leviathan’ is probably the slowest track on ‘IV: Empires Collapse’ and spreads a dark and evil atmosphere, which also correspond to the title. The following ‘Off With Their Heads!’ is less than two minutes long and again speed-dominated, whereas ‘Towers Of The Serpent’ has a relatively complex song structure and serves as a conclusive ending for the album. In general, ‘IV: Empires Collapse’ is a very enjoyable album, which shows a lot of variety, technical ability and also the willingness to make experiments.
Tracklist
01. Horizon
02. The Turning Of The Gears
03. One Dimension
04. Hunter-Seeker
05. Black Sun, Black Moon
06. Scars Remain
07. Dying Light
08. Iron City
09. Leviathan
10. Off With Their Heads!
11. Towers Of The Serpent
Line-up
John Kevill - Vocals
John Laux - Guitar
Jeff Potts - Guitar
Ben Mottsman - Bass
Carlos Cruz - Drums
Website
https://www.facebook.com/Warbringermusic / https://myspace.com/warbringer
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
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