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A drastically different and matured experience.-
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| Winds of Plague: The Great Stone War |
Deathcore, Symphonic Black Metal
Century Media Records
August 11th, 2009
- Earth - 1:30
- Forged In Fire - 3:35
- Soldiers Of Doomsday - 4:06
- Approach The Podium - 3:40
- Battle Scars - 3:25
- Chest And Horns - 4:00
- Creed Of Tyrants - 2:45
- Our Requiem - 4:14
- Classic Struggle - 3:20
- The Great Stone War - 4:17
- Tides of Change - 2:25
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| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 37:17
Review posted on September 3rd, 2009
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| | Original Score: 4/5 |
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| 2011 Grading Scale: 7.5/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
A Cold Day in Hell (2005) • Decimate the Weak (2008) • The Great Stone War (2009) • Against the World (2011)
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| Split(s): |
Stronger Than All (2008)
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| CD Single(s): |
Angels of Debauchery (2007) • Refined in the Fire (2011)
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| Demo(s): |
Demo (2006)
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| Review |
Wait, what the hell happened here? Isn't this the same Winds Of Plague that put out the abomination album Decimate The Weak? Clearly the band's line up change after the recording of that CD has had an impact on this release, and more then likely some of the reviews that tore this band apart. The Great Stone War, which may sound absolutely ridiculous, is anything but. Replacing some of the typical rap-based lyrical influence, and bringing some genuine metal talent to the table, this album is a very pleasant surprise release for 2009.
The Great Stone War has the symphonic expertise of Dimmu Borgir, and also has moments with the guitars that would make one think of the death metal act Nile. Either way, the band has brought in their own original deathcore sound to the mix, and really made this album one hell of a release. There are some narations throughout the album, sometimes as an individual track like "Earth", or as the introduction on the song's track itself, which ties it together as though as a conceptual album. Even though these spoken word segments do sound rather cheesy, the real focus of the album is, of course, with the music, and as soon as "Forged In Fire" kicks in, you are greeted with intense drums and guitars that just do not let up, and some impressive gutteral vocals.
The tenacity of the album only lets up for the breakdowns on each song. The songs on here really only have a maximum of two breakdowns, unlike the last album where you saw breakdowns in breakdowns inside another breakdown. Instead, the album just focuses on making really heavy music, and the keyboards are excellent this time around. Instead of being a randomly placed three or four notes, you are greeted with some well executed keyboard chords that even Cradle Of Filth would use. These keyboard moments work out very well in the music, such as towards the end of "Approach The Podium", prior to the closing breakdown, which really makes for a jaw dropping moment in the album due to how well everything seems to work. The drumming on this album has been amped up as well, which is clear on "Forged In Fire" and well as "Battle Scars" due to the blistering double bass kicks during key moments of the songs, and the guitars have also improves greatly, which causes more guitar solos to appear and replace unneccesary breakdowns. Just take one listen to "Classic Struggle", perhaps the most intense song on the album, and you'll understand just how much the band has evolved over the course of this year.
Really, the only lame moments on this CD happen at the start and end of "Approach The Podium" with the acoustic guitar playing that really has no reason to be there, and the spoken/shouted word elements that sound just way too cheesy (these being "Earth" and the introduction to "Our Requiem"). Even the screaming vocals during "Chest And Horns" work out since it's supposed to actually stand out from the music. It's hard to deny that this album is great, and a complete change from what the band has put out before. The only thing left for the band to really work on would be making the breakdowns a little more enthusiatic, even a little keyboard action in the background of the songs would greatly benefit them, regardless of how intense many are. Easily one of the better releases of this year, The Great Stone War is not a CD to be quickly passed up, and well worth the time to check out.
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Physical review copy of this release provided by:
personal funds.
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