As far as Christian metalcore is concerned, with 2006’s Pride of the Wicked, Pennsylvania’s War of Ages elevated themselves into the same realm as As I Lay Dying after a pretty ho hum self titled debut in 2005. Well, they must also have felt the same about the debut as here it is again, rerecorded from the ground up with new artwork and a brand new track, and the end result, unlike the original offering, is far more in line with the band’s newer , better sound.

Somehow War of Ages took the debut’s so-so material and made it far more dynamic. Now, I don’t have the original album to compare directly and tell you what they did with each song, but I can tell you this version impresses me far more. Obviously, the new production is far better, but borders on the same As I Lay Dying overproduced, overly rigid tone, especially in the drums and breakdowns. Still, though the band’s material does have some viable AILD comparisons, there is also a heavy metal presence with what sounds like some added solos more akin to Pride of the Wicked, and that lends the band to have a bit of a The Showdown feel (their first album only).

The 12 tracks are sturdy, catchy, heavy and littered with excellent solos, and generally full of less sugary injections than their big name peers, and more of a traditional hardcore backbone. New track “The Awakening” slips in nicely with the reworked, 2 year old material and the other 11 tracks are full of expected metalcore prose delivered with confidence and gusto.

I’m not sure if this was a necessary release, but to be honest this version does in fact improve on the original and for fans of the genre or band may be one of the few re-issues worth your money.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments