War of Ages - Eternal

This fourth release from the PA metalcore quintet is a big leap forward in all areas - production, maturity and power. Not a drastic change musically from previous releases, they have taken the same warrior metal style, and pushed it to the next level.

In my early days of "getting into" the heavier metal/metalcore/hardcore/scream music (being mainly a melodic metal fan previously), this band was one that immediately grabbed me, and I liked them from day one. When I got my hands on this new release I was thrilled with expectation, and that expectation was fulfilled with what quickly became a favorite release.

Shortly after the release of this album, I was able to see these guys in concert (even meeting some of them before the show) and not only are they nice guys, but they put on a mean metal show.But that is a different review all together.

The addition of more clean vocals this time around shows us that vocalist Leroy really can sing, but have no fear, the brutally heavy metal is still the dominant factor.

A sweet little addition is the guest appearance by Tim Lambesis and Josh Gilbert of As I Lay Dying who both sing vocals on separate songs (Desire and Lack of Clarity), one of the coolest guest appearances is from Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. Sonny sings on the title track Eternal, and it is a most original mix of vocal styles, bringing such diversity to the making this one of the coolest songs on the album.

The opening track,Collapse is a real attention grabber, from the eerily melodic opener, to the face melting aggression throughout. A great opening track, and if you are a newbie to this band, this should make you a real fan. This band has a real grip on the bottom heavy sound that just makes this style of music so brutal. Mixing that brutality with a real aggressive music, while laying down spirit-filled lyrical content, makes this band a Christian metal dream.

Get it today!