War of ages-Arise and conquer

Facedown
2008

Back in the mid-80's there was a point where the worlds of hardcore punk and metal (largely thrash) seemed very distant from each other in the minds of some. Yet to others the two were not that distant as both were fast, heavy and aggressive. Very briefly there in the mid to later part of that decade the crossover stage occurred when some bands like C.O.C., DRI, Agnostic Front and others attempted to combine hardcore and metal with various results. In recent years there are more bands who combine metal and hardcore yet again the styles of the combinations vary as do the results. To my ears Pennsylvania's War of Ages are one of the better bands combining these styles. The "to the point" vocals and no nonsense attitude are very much in keeping with the traditional hardcore style. The music is a more metal and actually fairly technical and involved as well. The sounds falls somewhere between metalcore and melodic death metal. What I like most about this band is that no matter what they are doing they still manage to propel everything they do forward like a massive machine. This band likes both styles of music and they wear both badges proudly without trying to hide or sugar coat any sounds as too many other bands do. They have an agenda and they plunge forward doing absolutely as much as they can with their time and skill. "Arise and conquer" sees War of ages easily displaying emotion as the music and vocals are very direct in what they are trying to accomplish. If I had to attach one word to describe this album then it would be "honest" because the entire album comes across as just being such a truly genuine effort in every manner and way possible.

www.myspace.com/warofages