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War Of Ages play a brand of metalcore that is so catchy you almost think they’re tiptoeing dangerously close to nu metal.
If that sounds like an insult, it isn’t meant to be. True, all of the elements that made those baggy-panted loons so loveable are present here, from the thick, head-bobbing grooves of the riffs to the washes of synth that colour every song, but you’re never far from a Stockholm-style guitar lead or throat-ripping gang vocal to bring you back into pure metal territory. Having been around for over a decade and toured with the likes of As I Lay Dying, you’d probably think you know what you’re going to get, so fair play to the band for attempting to widen the parameters of their sound. They do hit the bullseye occasionally, with Doomsday and Lionheart both striding comfortably along the tightrope of commercial sheen and metallic crunch. But Supreme Chaos’s main downfall is a lack of consistent quality, with many of the album’s latter tracks running out of steam and inspiration.
Via Facedown
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Stephen joined the Louder team as a co-host of the Metal Hammer Podcast in late 2021, eventually becoming a regular contributor to the magazine. He has since written hundreds of articles for Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Louder, specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal. He also presents the Trve. Cvlt. Pop! podcast with Gaz Jones and makes regular appearances on the Bangers And Most podcast.