Warbringer - IV: Empires Collapse review
| Band: | Warbringer |
| Album: | IV: Empires Collapse |
| Style: | Thrash metal |
| Release date: | October 2013 |
Disc I
01. Horizon
02. The Turning Of The Gears
03. One Dimension
04. Hunter-Seeker
05. Black Sun, Black Moon
06. Scars Remain
07. Dying Light
08. Iron City
09. Leviathan
10. Off With Their Heads!
11. Towers Of The Serpent
Disc II [Limited CD/DVD Edition]
+ Live at the Whiskey A Go-Go 2013
01. Living Weapon
02. Severed Reality
03. Total War
04. Systematic Genocide
05. Dread Command
06. Hell On Earth
07. At The Crack Of Doom
08. Beneath The Waves
09. Instruments Of Torture
10. Shoot To Kill
11. Born Of The Ruins
12. Combat Shock
13. Living In A Whirlwind
14. Treacherous Tongue
+ Making of "Empires Collapse"
+ European Tour 2012 Road Movie
Warbringer's last album, Worlds Torn Asunder, was proof that they can still do their warbringing, even when faced with a slightly limp mix-job. IV isn't quite like that. They're still doing their no nonsense, to-the-point shit from at the forefront of the rehash thrash shit, but we get fed it through a post-job that's kinda like the sonic equivalent of a warzone report on Anderson Cooper's show. It feels aimed at people who are clueless about the topic on hand and just want to see some explosions and crying kids.
These guys are sounding good (which was to be expected), but they aren't sounding good, if you get what I mean. It's like, they're playing tightly and what they're doing sounds great from a musicianship view, but everything is sprayed and caked with a pale, orangeish make-up powder. It feels censored, and probably by some big-shot who thinks he knows what's best for the band and what the band's fans want. The (excellent) guitar-work sounds rubbery, the (excellent) vocals are way too high in the mix, the drums sound pillowy, etc.
It really is like having a seasoned war reporter report for CNN. Underneath all the Reality TV jump cutting and general bullshitting, there's a careful, down-to-earth approach to going about as honestly as possible, a fact that's undermined by the production job. CNN is a bad joke, and this album can, at times, feel like one too. I've been in college for 5 years now, I've learned shit you wouldn't believe; I know bad war reporting when I see it, because of my higher education.
It's depressing. Thrash is a go-to genre for high-stakes, high-speeds driving and general no-fucks-to-be-givenness; a bad mix job for a good band could theoretically be like driving a Taurus SHO (Super High Output), a car that's ugly as shit and has bad suspension and the like, but one that has an impeccable engine. It's not like that here. It's like we've been given a Taurus SHO, but one with a speed limiter (at 55mph) and one fashioned with those idiotic automatic seat belts.
IV feels just like that - war reporting for CNN and driving a speed-limited Taurus SHO... I'm disappointed.
 | Written on 09.12.2013 by Wormdrink's real name is George and he's an American. |
Comments
Comments: 19
Visited by: 171 users
| Mattybu Posts: 2589 From: Canada  |
Interesting review, I still definitely need to listen to this one in full. I remember being shocked at how horrible the art work was and then I listened to a few seconds of a song they released before the album and was liking it a lot so decided to turn it off so I could wait for the whole thing. I sure hope it's better than the review suggests although it's from a trustworthy reviewer 
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| MetalDoomMaster Posts: 562 From: USA |
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| wormdrink414 Posts: 1295 From: USA  |
Written by deadone on 09.12.2013 at 05:53 Indeed x3, man. Love these guys, but this just isn't a good disc.
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| BloodJuNkie Of Egypt Posts: 643 From: Egypt  |
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| psykometal A staff guy... Posts: 6101 From: USA  |
Written by wormdrink414 on 09.12.2013 at 06:06 Agree with the review, based on what little I have listened to it. And I LOVE the SHO comparison, I'm probably one of the few readers that will truly understand the comparison. A buddy of mine, from back in high school, had a '94 SHO 5-speed, and that fucker was ugly as sin and did have piss-poor suspension, but man was it a beast. That sumbitch would take off like a bat outta hell, and was super fun to drive on a relatively flat road, in a straight-ish line.  But I do agree with MetalDoomMaster above, the 4th gen SHOs actually look pretty good. Reminds me of the Mercury Marauder - looks like a stylish, luxury sedan, but romps like a sports car. 
---- ~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~ 
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| wormdrink414 Posts: 1295 From: USA |
Written by psykometal on 09.12.2013 at 10:00 a friend of mine in high school had one from the 90s. remember being at a party and watching him attempt to drive it up a grassy hill. totally useless in a position like that, but also totally useless in a position where there's, you know, elevation and/or curves and stuff. still one of the coolest cars to cruise down a highway in though.
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| Moosh666 Posts: 132 From: Australia  |
That was really great way of putting it, I felt the same way, like something was missing....
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada  |
Ya, this is a really intricate, complex, and challenging listen. I'm really disappointed that the reviewer didn't realize this kind of album necessitates at least a dozen listens before properly judging due to its extremely diverse and envelope-pushing nature. If you read the lyrics you'll realize they actually transcend the confines of thrash while allowing their blatant influences of Pink Floyd, Shpongle, Tool, and The Alan Parsons Project to really take form. You should probably just stop reviewing albums altogether until you learn how to listen to music better.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Cynic Metalhead Paisa Vich Nasha Posts: 6809 From: India  |
Well, record did sound boring and was under performed by talented musicians. That's for sure. What Troy said has opened up a jewel out of the box. They did try to push up the envelope and dragged in some blatant influences to make this record bit different what "[b]we're used to[\b]". But, fans of WB will still be disappointed of how they all of sudden changed their "thrash theme". They wont give a fuck too. Warbringer has raised the bar and if at this stage they come out with something new sound of WB, sorry they will lose fans. Obviously, they have tough competitors(all are doing fairly well, not this year!!) so they gotta have to perform up to the mark even if they bring some new elements in. Its a disappointing record.
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| MetalDoomMaster Posts: 562 From: USA |
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| Mattybu Posts: 2589 From: Canada |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 09.12.2013 at 15:19 I thought that the controversial sampling of various Seinfeld commercial break bass riffs was a brilliant touch as well. for reals though, one thing about thrash is that it puts everything up front. You pretty much know what's going on within the first few minutes of a lot of thrash albums. however, that doesn't mean there isn't room for lasting appeal. based on these comments which are scaring me more and more this album is devoid of the appeal of the previous Warbringer efforts.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Mattybu on 09.12.2013 at 21:09 It's devoid of energy, which is quite a glaring issue with this genre. As you said, thrash needs to be aggressive. It's pump-up music, the kind of shit a hard-nosed grinder in the NHL might listen to in the locker room before a big divisional rivalry. When it sounds as saturated and bland as it does on this album, it just comes across as a mockery or a complete lack of motivation. Fans know what this band is capable of, and since they don't have the marquee status of a Metallica or Megadeth to rely on, they won't be so easily forgiven by masses of blind fanboys.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| MetalDoomMaster Posts: 562 From: USA |
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| Mattybu Posts: 2589 From: Canada |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 09.12.2013 at 21:16 Yep, if there's one thing that will kill a thrash album... The difference between Warbringer and other bands like Metallica and Megadeth though is they haven't really significantly changed their sound much. Looking at their first three albums aside from some maturation in the songwriting department it's basically 3 slabs of rapid fire thrash with increasingly "cleaner" production, which to me isn't necessarily a bad thing. from the sounds of it they continued down that path but may be losing the fire. I imagine if they really fuck up and put a terrible album the fans will come down hard but as long as they keep putting out the bread and butter people will be if nothing else, content.
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| UPDIRNS Posts: 354 From: USA |
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| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2570 From: Czech Republic  |
I certainly see where you discontent comes from, and the rating is perfectly justified. I would give it a 7 because it grew on me with more listens, and I certainly discovered some great songs in here, like "Hunter-Seeker," "Black Sun, Black Moon," and "Dying Light." Some songs, especially "One Dimension" left me surprised, not in a good way...
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437 From: Greece  |
Totally disagree with the review. almost no mentioning on the songs and generally the music. just useless paralelisms. the band is continously evolving and this album has much more of "their own sound". they end up almost every song with an incredible bridge/solo... which appears to be their trademark and it is awesome...!
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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