Ventura, California’s WARBRINGER has certainly elevated its intensity and songwriting on this second studio effort entitled “Waking Into Nightmares” via Century Media Records, a note for note thrillfest of thrashing good fun at every turn of the riff. Howling like pissed demons with the crushing “Jackal” that is followed by the brilliant “Living In A Whirlwind, a spine-tingler of perfectly perpetuated moshing fun, influenced deeply by the old school Slayer sound, yet all very much its own distinct beast, overlaid with incredible heavy metal guitar shred-play, thanks to John Laux and Adam Carroll. Add to the mix, vocalist John Kevill, Ben Bennett on bass and Nic Ritter killing it on drums and you get one fierce lineup here for sure. Track three’s “Severed Reality”, however, will be one of those tracks that a great band is remembered for. It is one of those rare moments in rock – that you indeed search for, much like a tired junky – where you can find such a young band that uncannily makes the hair on your neck stand up. The next down picked ‘ass kickers’, coming in the form of “Scorched Earth”, “Abandoned By Time”, and “Prey For Death”, made my jaw drop open even further. The groove is unmistakable, the passion is for real and it’s obvious this band is now one of the tops of the new American movement of thrash, along with other standouts of the currently exploding sub-genre such as Toxic Holocaust and Lazarus A.D. Producer Gary Holt really needs to be commended for a job well done on the overall production, because the following songs “Nightmare Anatomy”, “Shadow From the Tomb” and “Senseless Life” lull you into an even more mesmerized state with a subtle, well-phrased brutalness, very much like a young Metallica with Cliff Burton. If I was grading them like a thrash music teacher would on speed, pacing, and time-changes, I would have to give them an A plus. With themes of murder, warfare and fighting for what you believe in, Warbringer’s “Waking Into Nightmares” is hardly a pretty postcard picture, it is fully meant to go over the top, taking the listener on one extreme ride, finishing it up with the ever prophetic line from “Forgotten Dead”: “Another dying soul is laid upon the altar of mankind’s greed.”
ROCKET REVIEW:
[starreview tpl=16]
WARBRINGER
“Waking Into Nightmares” (CD)
(Century Media Records/2009)
1. Jackal – 3:09
2. Living In a Whirlwind – 3:21
3. Severed Reality – 3:59
4. Scorched Earth 3:44
5. Abandoned By Time – 4:21
6. Prey For Death – 4:46
7. Nightmare Anatomy – 4:02
8. Shadow From the Tomb – 4:07
9. Senseless Life – 4:57
10. Forgotten Dead – 4:03
11. The Road Warrior (Bonus Track) – 3:46
Your words are intoxicating! No one can describe things the way you do!! Just an incredibly amazing review of this CD!!
Keep it up Mr.!! Journalists need to take lessons from you because most sound illiterate compared to you Rocket!!