Warbringer - War Without End Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 05.09.2008

Warbringer is a thrash metal band looking to join the ranks of Evile and Avenger of Blood as part of the thrash metal revival that has been sweeping metal in the past couple of years. Can their debut album War Without End lead them to the top of their field?

The Band

John Kevill-Vocals
Adam Carroll-Guitar
John Laux-Guitar
Andy Laux-Bass
Ryan Bates-Drums


The Track Listing

1. Total War-4:30
2. Systematic Genocide-3:50
3. Dread Command-2:55
4. Hell on Earth -3:19
5. At the Crack of Doom-3:41
6. Beneath the Waves-3:54
7. Instruments of Torture-3:36
8. Shoot to Kill-3:14
9. Born of the Ruins-3:47
10. Combat Shock-3:52
11. Untitled-3:03





The Review

The thrash metal genre has been on quite a revival in the past couple of years. Thrash metal was huge throughout the 1980’s, but with hair metal and grunge rising up, thrash metal was pushed to the wayside, with bands either changing their sound to appeal to a more mainstream audience (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax) or fading into obscurity (Death Angel, Annihilator).

It seems like the young musicians, the ones who weren’t even alive during the height of the thrash metal movement, are the ones who are leading the way. Avenger of Blood, Evile, and Municipal Waste are just a few of the many bands rising up to wave the thrash metal flag. Los Angeles’s own Warbringer are getting their feet wet in the thrash metal field, and with most of the members being between ages 17-22, the band doesn’t have a shortage of youthful energy, which goes a long way in making their debut album War Without End a good piece of thrash that suffers from a few noticeable flaws.

The five members definitely know what makes a good thrash song, as the band flies through the ten tracks (plus a pointless bonus instrumental track) like Kreator on a cocaine binge. “Total War” could not be more of a perfect opener, with the band setting the tone for the rest of the album. The song is what thrash metal is all about; the pounding drums, the riffs flying out of their ass, the solos that will make your jaw drop; and, of course, a lead singer screaming at the top of his lungs “Total War!”

The album never lets up for 40 minutes and the band doesn’t disappoint on the head-banging moments. Whether it is the main riff in the verses of “Systematic Genocide” or the quick blast of speed on “Dread Command,” Warbringer grabs you by your throat and just squeezes tighter until blood is pouring out of your ears.

The band experiments with their sound at brief moments of the album, showing that the youngsters are capable of mature songwriting. “At the Crack of Doom” instantly comes to mind, with an acoustic introduction leading the way into four minutes metal with some death metal influences added in.

Wait, you ask? Death metal? Yep, the young band tries their hand at blast beats and growled vocals. It all works very well and lends a bit of variety to the constant onslaught of fast picked riffs and random double bass drums pounding your eardrums flat.

The album’s first half is more consistent and fresher-sounding than the second half, where the songs start to sound the same. Even in the second half, the band keeps the energy flowing strong and the riffs coming furiously. “Born of the Ruins” is more mid-paced with a bass opening and a slower tempo, but turns into a solo-fest that just amazes you the first time your hear it.

The band definitely knows how to play. It’s just a shame that the production, done by legendary producer Bill Metoyer, who has worked with Slayer and Dark Angel in the past, holds them back. Now, I know that thrash metal is known to have crappy production back in the 80’s and I have heard my fair share of albums with bad production. However, War Without End has to have some of the worst production on a major label album I have heard from any of the modern thrash metal bands. The drum sound is way too loud, with the bass drums drowning out the guitars at times. The drums seemed to have been produced oddly as well. In “Born of the Ruins,” at one point, during the first minute and a half, you can’t hear a snare drum. That’s right; no snare drums whatsoever. It wasn’t like Bates was just playing the cymbals for a verse or two. You literally couldn’t hear the snare drums. It was like the microphone on them was cut off for like 10 seconds. It was very odd the first time I heard it and something that should have been corrected in post-production. Also, the vocals are way too low in the mix, making it hard to hear Kevill at times.

The bad production job is a shame, because it ruins what could have been an amazing debut for Warbringer. It definitely wasn’t the musicians fault. John Kevill sounds like a mix between a young Tom Araya and a young Mille Petrozza. His scream in “Born of the Ranks” made me immediately think of Hell Awaits. Adam Carroll and John Laux make a hell of a guitar duo. They have great chemistry as they play off each other, throwing riffs and solos at each other with reckless abandonment. Andy Laux can hardly be heard, thanks to the production. Ryan Bates is a decent drummer, but has some trouble keeping up here and there with the faster songs.

War Without End is a promising debut for these American thrashers. Like I said earlier, the poor production really holds the band back. They have the talent; they have the musical capability; and they have the songwriting skills. All they need to do is find somebody who can augment and enhance all three of these qualities and you could be looking at a band that can proudly wave the thrash metal flag with Evile and Avenger of Blood.

The 411: This was a tough one for me to score. I really liked the album a lot, but the production quality really hinders my rating. I gave it a 7, as you can see on the bottom, but I would actually rate it a "Low 7." I feel like the band just has to take that extra step in order to really make an impact in the revival of thrash metal. Warbringer's debut is not as good as Avenger of Blood's or Evile's, but it is a solid release, as long as you overlook the production faults and a few songwriting problems.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]