Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 28/4/2015
Label: Self Release
‘Precession of the Equinoxes’ CD//DD track listing:
1). Bludgeon Lord
2). Summon Demon Scream the Abyss
3). Precession of the Equinoxes
4). From Napalm Altar
War Iron is:
Baggy | Vocals
Ross | Guitar
Dave | Bass
Marty | Drums
Baggy | Vocals
Ross | Guitar
Dave | Bass
Marty | Drums
Review:
Ever feel like bands are just getting too technical and good? Looking for something less fast and full of all that lead nonsense? War Iron has you fixed on their newest slab, ‘Precession of the Equinoxes’. There is nothing bright, nothing polished, nothing faster than a funeral crawl about this album. It is a building falling on top of you, with nowhere to go, so just accept your fate once you hit play.
Firstly, I have to say, this is just one of the bleakest albums. Sonically and lyrically, similar to Dead in the Manger, Dopethrone, or Stoneburner, it is just a caustic riff layered on top of hateful sounds. The first track, ‘Bludgeon Lord’, is pretty much a slow beating, with a singular riff covering almost all the ground for its 10 minutes, yes there is a a nice, meandering.... I want to say lead break, but its sloooooooooow. It breaks up the monotonous drone, however, in the same way a rock can break up the desert landscape. These guys play heavy and it is pure passion music, because you're not going to pick up club chicks here.
After ‘Bludgeon Lord’, they give you a break and start off light with atmospherics on ‘Summon Demon Scream the Abyss’, which is the most metal of all Word Jumbles. It's quite theatric, with a plod akin to the shackled damned in hell, marching toward their permanent damnation. When the vocals kick in, it's just a grinder to the ears, it's nothing near a pretty sound or something I think the human throat produces naturally. This song is just a monolithic ode to knuckle-dragging riffage. If you have some good stuff under the bed, in a small safe, or in some tabs, this stuff is going to revert you to more primitive times.
The fastest song and title track ‘Precession of the Equinoxes’, throws some sound cuts at us over their riffs, a small prelude to another march in heaviness. If that was just so fast you can't catch your breath, ‘From Napalm Altar’ is as slow as a band can get without being asleep. This album absolutely speaks to me, and that should be worrying, but the darkness and grit are just addictive in this style. I love bleak sounding bands, and these guys check every box on the list. Stripped down music is its own kind of art form, and these guys don't even sound like they use more than like 3 strings.
If you search for depravity strung out like a junkie, ‘Precession of the Equinoxes’ is waiting, door open, a fresh needle filled with a black substance in hand. Its one of the most solid albums from the blackened doom sector in quite some time, and if you're looking for something cranked to eleven, I think you'll find that this music is a bit slow for numbers. Crank the speakers, sit back, get loose, and let yourself be taken by the blackest riffs this side of hell.
Words by: Hunter Young
‘Procession of the Equinoxes’ is available here
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