Hailing from Pennsylvania, US Christian Metalcore veterans War of Ages released E.P. Rhema with Facedown records on the 29th Of October 2021. What started off as a Hardcore/Melodic Death metal outfit as “Zero Point” back in 2002, became to be known as “War of Ages” with genres eventually shifting to a more metalcore sound in the latter years. The band saw multiple line-up changes and have had released 8 albums and 1 E.P. over the years. The band is known for their strong Christian faith which is expressed in their lyrics, as Leroy Hamp professed to “Make a difference in a world that’s covered in darkness”.
“Sleight Of Hand”, starts off with a groovy riff with reverberating guitar chugs and dissonant soundscape which sounds nothing short of opening of a surreal portal to the song. The song takes no time to delve into heavy rhythms with powerful vocals tainted with aggression. The song remains upbeat and has a melodic chorus which follows a blazing guitar solo seamlessly fitting right into the song. The band introduces enough knee jerk bits to keep you engaged while delivering a tight composition. Kudos!
“Pyrite“, takes no time set you off into a pulverizing maddening rush with heavy guitar chuggs intelligently crafted with plenty odd time signatures meddled with incongruous breakdowns that gives a unique edge to the song. The chorus toggles between clean and guttural vocals, and a hypnotic guitar solo brings in flair and diversifies the song. “Unspoken“, has got a funky vibe as it starts off with a catchy guitar riff and smoothly transitions into crunchy odd time signatured rhythms. An undertone sets the song to a lower tempo, and the band uses the same to its advantage with layering complex riffing within the foundation. An out of the world guitar solo changes and bring in a fresh perspective to the overall sound of the song. The outro takes the tempo a bit higher and is definitely going to get you to headbang.
The last song on the E.P. “No Altars” has an electronica start to it, with all the elements of metalcore, crafty blast beats, ballistic guitar riffing, melodic vocals layered over screeching vocals and a blitzing guitar solo to top it off. The outro takes the song a notch higher and is definitely going to leave you high and dry.
Production – The song arrangements are remarkable and beautifully crafted, production felt amazing, the guitar and bass patches are great.
Conclusion – The song writing is impressive, the band delivers so much variety within the four songs, that you are left hooked and can’t help getting multiple repeats off the same.
Rating: 9/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Band Members
Leroy Hamp – lead vocals
Steve Brown – lead guitar
Jack Daniels – rhythm guitar
Kaleb Luebchow – drums
Elisha Mullins – bass
Track listing:
- Sleight Of Hand
- Pyrite
- Unspoken
- No Altars
Release Date: 29 October 2021
Record Label: Facedown Records
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website
Video (audio) for ‘No Altars’
Video (Audio) for ‘Sleight Of Hand’
Video (audio) for ‘Pyrite’