1914 - Eschatology Of War (2015)

Hailing from the Ukraine, this black, death and doom act released their debut just a few years ago and it's definitely still worth checking out today. This was a personal submission that I had not expected, featuring a very interesting way of looking at war. Now the war by which this album is centered on is the bloodiest one we've ever had, and that would be World War I. It was so barbaric that it's surprising it ever warranted a sequel. In any case, the most interesting thing I find about this band outside from their crushing metal outputs is their “dare we call them atmosphere” pieces. Often a very popular song for the time would begin to play from a scratched record or an old vinyl, and then suddnely fill with the sounds of warfare. I may have said this before, but if anyone ever decided to make a music genre made of classic songs from the forties and the sounds of battle, I would become a quick fan of it. Aside from that, these guys certainly know their grime. The record feels often carnivorous, terribly morose and uncomfortable and even quite horrific in the vein of Cpt. John B. Kumar's vocal expressions. Lt. Serge Russel's drumming was heavily felt in both “Gasmask” and “Frozen In Trenches” as it really brought a paramount degree of force and fire. Yet in “Verdun” the band takes a much different approach altogether, which is slow and melodic courtesy of Sgt. Andrew Knifeman and Pvt. Liam Fissen. Said piece even fills heavy with majestic choirs. The entire album places you dead center into the middle of European warfare, in possibly one of the most realistic ways that metal can do. If you watched a WWI documentary while listening to this album, you may even feel as if you're there. Word has it that Tolkien wrote some of his books down in those muddy trenches, and the world of modern fantasy has him to thank for making it out in one piece.

I'm actually hearing a lot of God Dethroned here, which is quite peculiar as they've also done their war epics, and actually went out doing them. The difference here is that there is definitely more of a fiery black metal edge to the performance than that of the death metal pummelers, which adds a much different feeling to these songs of warfare. Also, God Dethroned's work with similar material felt much cleaner than this record, which has a gritty rawness that feels more believable. Cpt. Kumar displays his vocal range perfectly as well, which translates to horrendous scowls and pained clean vocal moments, nothing ever feeling overly happy. Nor should it. This was a hell of a time for the whole of humanity. “Zeppelin Raids” gives me the right amount of ominous doom, as “Ottomon Rise” gives me an absolute splattering of mud and chaos. The riffs here sound downright demonic, once again making me feel the sorrow and fury of the war. Once again, this record puts you right in the middle of a war. You might want to put on a flak jacket before you even sit down to listen to it. That's not to say that there isn't any light-hearted bits of atmosphere to be found on the same track, but the howling and shrieking in the background certainly dirties up the clean guitar nodes used on the piece. There's no remorse here, not even in the twinkly bits. It's war! Have you forgotten?

I will say that more progression finds it's way into the mix later on, and that's fine. I do prefer records with more texture and depth, and these guys could have just given me pounder after pounder, by which I'd have been sick with the record by then. Rather, 1914 decide to give me an actual performance worthy of being on a disc, with many twists and turns in lieu of songscape and that's when I start to give a damn. I'm aware that this is an older record, but if you have not heard it yet, now is your chance to do so. I will warn you that it is absolutely gruesome, not for the feint of heart and drenched in the blood and guts of merciless warriors who fought for several things, but namely their own lives. Nothing I've seen in the metal market puts you right in the heat of battle faster than 1914, especially with album, which should be heiled as a modern classic.

(10 Tracks, 51:00)

10/10

Prisoner Of War - Rot (2016)

There are two other bands by the name of Prisoner Of War/POW on Metal Archives as well, but these guys are nowhere to be found. The first band was a Jersey Groove/Thrash act, and the other is a North Carolinian Sludge/Doom act. All released EP's, which is what this record is as well. But can this New Zealand death and thrash combo do what the other POW's could not? They already released a demo back in '14 which gives them at least one more release than the other guys, and by releasing a full-length later, they'll officially be the only registered POW that managed to make it beyond demo days. Thankfully, the music here is well worth it, with a distinct war metal sound that goes equally well with the band's warlike lyrics. Yes, we can compare them to the great Bolt Thrower in that respect, but there's a bit more thrash, kick and groove here so it's not a slow trudge through the battlefield. Vocalist/Bassist Charred Remains gives us a fiendish approach here on the microphone with both his thick growls and horrendous scowls, which seem only beefed by the attention to detail offered up by Typhoid's guitar licks. This guy doesn't really mind pounding us with a little but of progressive-era Death, then rolling right into Destruction or early Venom territory right after. Sometimes they just want to take us right back into nineties death slabs with “Twisted Mass Of Burnt Decay” which is just fine, because they prove that they can pump enough song structure and musicianship into a track that's only about a minute longer than your average grindcore number. That's pretty damn impressive, as I know very few bands out there that can even come close to that. These guys sound like they've been playing for a long time, and I think that's another thing I like about the New Zealand scene. A lot of metal acts over there seem to have respect for that classic sound and production, like their peers in Monsterworks – a band that I find just as good and praise rather heavily. POW are a much different sort of act though, and they've got a harder edge that I really think people owe it to themselves to go out there and discover. Rot offers an awful lot of potential within it's short playing time and only anticipates me for the band's next release. It's death, it's thrash, it's groove, it has a little bit of doom and some creepy prog parts. Simply put, it's the kind of thing we need right now in a scene where bands are either hopping on the bandwagon, or just trying to outright copy their influences. POW are familiar, yet different – and that's where the appeal to such a terribly horrifying death metal laced experience comes in. Get your hands on it now.

(5 Tracks, 21:00)

9/10