Reviews list for Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow (2020)

I think it is safe to say that Warbringer have heard their fair share of Demolition Hammer in their time.  Throughout Weapons of Tomorrow I pick up the rabid approach to thrash metal that I hear on Epidemic of Violence or Tortured Existence especially in the vocals of John Kevill.  Likewise there's strong and obvious influences from the likes of Kreator, Exodus and more modern references like Havok.

Now, this isn't to say that Warbringer just regurgitate the old formulas of the aforementioned bands as they do apply their own musical abilities perfectly well throughout their sixth album.  Overall, song structures are solid and vary well in terms of pace and tempo for what is in the most part an in-your-face thrash metal album.  The bands hi-octane, no frills attitude to their art form is consistent across the ten tracks on display here and it is this in the main that I take away from my fifty minutes of time spent with it.

The band push their song writing abilities on occasion with tracks such as Defiance of Hate offering a more subdued approach which gives the track a real sense of build and momentum beyond just ripping intensity.  The lead work is undertaken by a very capable guitarist in the form of Adam Carroll who adds real splashes of colour to tracks when things start to feel a little formulaic.  When at full speed the riff machine is certainly the driving force on Weapons of Tomorrow and when combined with the rampant vocals of Kevill they make for one heck of a pairing.

Lyrically though, the album is poor and frankly needs a lot of work. This is especially apparent due to the focus the vocals have in the mix and their clarity amongst all the component parts make them front and centre for a large percentage of the time.  That having been said, this is a thrash metal album and so doesn't necessarily come with an expectation that Tolstoy wrote the lyrics.  I do have to note however that this is the band's sixth outing and so some level of accomplished lyricism isn't too much to ask I feel.  My only other criticism is that although the song writing has clear merit, tracks do just seem to end all of a sudden like an early edit has occurred before the track has fulfilled its goal. Still solid stuff overall though.