Strap yourself in for a wild ride that’s sure to end in some kind of collision with Warforged’s new long player, an angry and expert slice of Death Metal that takes no prisoners.
There may be a number of bands out there ploughing a similarly rough furrow of chugs and heavy grooves but this Chicago five-piece stand out from the crowd with technical mastery of a number of musical styles, moods and atmospheres – an intensity allied to an eclectic, varied soundscape. There are some clean vocals amid the ferocious growling, electro asides and even some (almost) Jazz Rock elements (see Burning Days, for instance). It will surely leave you in no doubt Warforged are battle-born and experienced, reaching creatively for the explosive and the epic.
The brand of Death Metal offered up here is more than a little Progressive, just as it is a bit Blackened. Singer Tim O’Brien is new since the band’s 2019 LP I: Voice and, for the record, Jace Kiburz and Max Damske are on guitars, Alex Damske on bass and Jason Nitts on drums. Also featured are Jordan James, Rudy Schultz and Danny Rodriguez, while Jason and Alex appear most often in the song-writing credits.
The vocals, when pitched in a high register, sound like a screaming, squealing buncha demons. Going by what can be ascertained from the lyrics, the subject matters in hand are right down to earth, the here and now, often involving fury, frustration, tension and aggression. From opener No Land Man: “Like the taste of adhesive stuck inside your mouth/ A delicate situation for your blood pouring south/ I’m a living, breathing, landmine/ Ready to explode at will/ I’ll ruin your life for the sake of the thrill.” And from Burning Days: “Watch me burn through days/ I’ve become an inferno of humiliation/ Watch me burn my entire life/ Head like a furnace, heart on the pyre.”
No Land Man sets the scene and rips the world a new one. Synths and acoustic guitar calm things down momentarily until a big build-up to the geeter-soloing climax (Jace). Hymn Of Broken Teeth is something of a drum masterclass while vocally it’s off the scale, again demonic in the high register. The choppy, helter-skelter guitar work should carry a mental health warning. Hymn Of Broken Teeth ends abruptly before Sheridan Road begins subtly with clean vocals, keys and quiet strumming. This track is a stand-out, a Proggy adventure with a solo by Max, but it may not surprise you to know it ends in another vicious conflagration.
Bliss Joined To The Bane opens like Nine Inch Nails on a slog through a sludge desert, an electro trudge to an unknown, smoke-filled horizon and beyond. Then it all kicks off again. Prog tendencies take over for a bit, with fluid guitar (Jace solo) and another drum work-out, then it’s back into Hell, precipitously. Sombre. Fierce.
Self Destruct Seminar and House Of Resentment are relatively short and sharp while Burning Days is another growl fest but also features more clean, melodic vocals. The Place That Breaks Your Bones again showcases Warforged’s grasp of songcraft and control of pacing. Closing track Painted Heart, at seven minutes-plus, is worth waiting for, with piano and a throbbing synth adding the layers of subtlety this time.
All in all, this is a very strong outing from a band who know the score, know the territory, know how to deliver. And deliver. And deliver. Quality, commitment, consistency. Passion and power. Warforged are the real deal.
The Grove/Sundial, by Warforged, is out on Friday (September 9) via The Artisan Era