American thrashers Warbringer release their seventh to date full length album titled “Wrath and Ruin”. I had personally not been familiar with the band up until this record (of course I had heard their songs here and there but was never formally introduced to them or looked into it), so it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them in more depth. And as such we begin with 6-minute opener “The Sword and The Cross”. Right off the get go you are it seems thrown into the band’s essence. Raw, visceral, thrash. The drum and guitar work is a showstopper, as are the vocals, which I learned I am quite a big fan of, all throughout the album. The guitars come in like a chainsaw , tight, fast, and violent while John Kevill’s vocals feel more commanding than ever. Lyrically, the song dives into themes of control, faith, and power, something Warbringer has explored before, but with even more depth and anger. We move on to “A Better World,” which was the first single released from the album. Fast and catchy but also layered with meaning. Kevill wrote it about his frustration with modern society, and you can feel the intensity in both the lyrics and the performance. This track feels like a perfect mix of thrash energy and real emotional weight, which makes it into one of my favourites. Moving on, to my personal favourite track of this record (and perhaps theirs in general) “Through a Glass, Darkly”. A beautifully haunting goth surpise of a song that gave the album intense atmosphere, not that it lacked before, but the eerie addition definitely made me appreciate it even more. To summarize, my first official experience with Warbringer was an eye opener and this addition is definitely very valuable to their discography. I will be keeping an eye on their future releases!
♦ 9/10
Christina X
