Labels: self released
Review by: Alex Deller
Things appear to be progressing quite nicely in the War Iron camp. This full-length follows a solid enough EP (reviewed elsewhere here) and sees the band both strengthening and expanding their sound. At heart it is, of course, still doom – and dense, crushing, bellicose doom at that – but the sound is tighter, the riffs more honed and the songs possessed of more dynamic swagger than previously demonstrated. Amid the lurches and gurgles appear wisps of funereal melody, shifts of pace and an overall vibe that seems to just beg for the heaping on of another shovelful of bitter black earth. True, it’s not perfect and there’s yet work to be done, but it’s certainly a promising development and one that should provide enough slow-motion grit to keep fans of Coffins, Graves At Sea and Hooded Menace happy – or whatever passes as such – for a short time at least.