“The greatest single cause of atheism in the
world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with
their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by
their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world
simply finds unbelievable.”
That powerful statement, first penned by author and
priest Brennan Manning and which appeared on DC TALK’s
“Jesus Freak”, also serves as in intro
to WAR OF AGES’ “Fire From The Tomb”.
Right out of the gate, that one single statement,
concise and to the point, sums up what WAR OF AGES
is all about: Dedication, perseverance, and integrity.
In a world where all the focus seems to be on the
negative, and popular music seems like nothing more
than a sounding board of nihilism and despair, rife
with selfishness and abominable behavior, WAR OF AGES
takes a different stance with their metal. These are
men of faith, first off and foremost, and they are
not afraid to make that fact known, loud and clear,
and to take a resolute stand in defense of their beliefs.
But, you might say, “that’s fine and dandy,
but I’m no Christian, why would I want to listen
to Christian music?” Because, this isn’t
so much Christian music, as it’s music performed
by Christians. This is no sermon, you’re not
going to be hit over the head with a bible, you *are*
however going to be treated to some seriously intense
metal-core, straightforward and frill-free. Think
of LAMB OF GOD meets ATREYU.
Follow-up to last year’s “Pride of the
Wicked”, the album itself is in fact, the Erie
PA born band’s debut, which has been re-written
and completely re-recorded. The band states that “We
felt like the original recordings of these songs lacked
the heavy and aggressive energy that we put out through
our live shows”. In addition to a revitalization
and revamping of all the original 11 tracks, the album
features a brand new tune entitled “The Awakening”.
Now we all know that Christian based music is not
very commercially viable, and no Christian band (with
the possible exception of STRYPER) ever achieved anything
over a modest amount of fame, and that’s really
a damned shame, because even if you don’t share
the faith (I myself do not consider myself a Christian)
you can appreciate the skill and passion that the
band pours into every song. WAR OF AGES rank right
up there with TOURNIQUET, DELIVERANCE, DISCIPLE and
DEMON HUNTER on the “Christian metal that will
kick your ass regardless of faith” scale.
Bottom Line: Superb metalcore with a message. Christian
and secular metal fans alike should thoroughly enjoy
this one. Power, passion, and integrity – that’s
what it’s all about.
Key Tracks: “Brothers in Arms”; “Only
The Strong Survive”; “Broken Before You”
Reviewed by Farron Watson |
