Official Strike First Records Website
Official War of Ages Website
7.5/10
In sum,
War of Ages won’t be topping the charts, nor will it be the top-selling metalcore album of this year. But, in spite of their underground status,
War of Ages have avoided many of the pitfalls that plague new bands. The musicianship and production is weaker than that of, say,
As I Lay Dying, but I expect punctual improvements to start rolling in. All in all, this quintet is the best band to feature a Colin Farrell look-alike, and a guy who just robbed a convenience store and happened to wander into the photo shoot.
Just like
As I Lay Dying, the group have a penchant for utilizing the same type of rhythms. Oftentimes, the guitar riffs and double-bass beats are sandwiched together, and then all other instrumentation abandons the fold for a limited amount of time. It’s definitely a standard practice, and melody isn’t left behind either, as “Only the Strong Survive” is quick to point out. Vocally speaking, Hamp’s distorted vocalizations are well rounded, though his attempts at providing satisfactory, clean vox are predominantly fruitless. In any case, the entirety of
War of Ages is straightforward, melodious metalcore, and these forty minutes will do you no harm. I sincerely hope that
War of Ages don’t mind swimming upstream, though, because the metalcore subgenre is often akin to the aforesaid activity.
All right, to begin,
War of Ages are virtually unknown in the metal world, as this is their debut self-titled album, and these Pennsylvanian metalcore-purveyors are talented at what they do.
War of Ages kind of skimps in the originality department, but the band atone for their weaknesses by providing us with inspired, endearing instrumentation.
Welcome to the latest review by Jason Jordan. Thank you for your patronage.
By Jason Jordan
Strike First Records – SFR017 – July 5th, 2005
War of Ages – War of Ages
