Music Reviews
Winds of Plague “The Great Stone War”
Winds of Plague“The Great Stone War”
Genre: Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, Deathcore
Label: Century Media
Format: CD
Year: 2009
Tracklisting:
01. Earth
02. Forged in Fire
03. Soldiers of Doomsday
04. Approach the Podium
05. Battle Scars
06. Chest and Horns
07. Creed of Tyrants
08. Our Requiem
09. Classic Struggle
10. The Great Stone War
11. Tides of Change
After buying “Decimate the Weak” on impulse and knowing nothing about Winds of Plague, my foundation was shaken. I had been in an argument with a friend over the lack of new, decent metal bands recently and was rather set in my way of pretty much everything becoming the same old, same old. WOP’s last CD really caught my attention; literally, I was walking through a store when I was drawn to the picture of a Samurai with two bloody swords standing atop of a pile of bodies. Upon listening, every expectation I set was broken.
“Well, seems to be another metalcore band. Or Cannibal Corpse. Why the hell is he introducing this song like a rapper?”
I still listen to “Decimate the Weak” on a weekly basis. This is a good way to show how I feel about WOP’s newer release, “The Great Stone War.” It’s damn good, but I just like the older album more.
The biggest difference between the two albums is the seriousness in which “The Great Stone War” is executed. It’s a concept album, which is cool, but concept albums usually don’t offer much variety, and this album suffers in that arena. The keyboards give the songs great musical depth and really bring about the aura of this war. Riffage and heavy, heavy drums are abundant. The number of breakdowns is great, but when breaking-it-down is done so often, you’re bound to have a few less exciting sections.
The story its self is good, but nothing earth-shattering. The ethereal struggle of good and evil being waged through human and monster’s hands, ultimately ending in the apocalyptic destruction of civilization. The narration in “Earth” and “Tides of Change” gives the story a cyclical feel, setting the stage with metaphorical chess pieces in the beginning and the post-script detailing the minute changes this “apocalypse” actually brings.
“Forged in Fire” is a wicked opening track and easily my favorite on the album. The growls and screams make me want to do terrible things. “Our Requiem” boasts the most anthemic lyrics on the album. In their own aspects, all of the songs are good, and sound like what you would expect from WOP, but they lack the uniqueness and balls of the track list from “Decimate the Weak.”
I couldn’t agree more with “Forged in Fire” being the best track on the album. If only the entire album had went off its lead.
The album as a whole is a great listen. However, being a Winds of Plague fan, I do feel this album definitely lacked in areas “Decimate The Weak” was strong. It’s a softer approach, but as I stated, still a great album.
I thought Kristen Randall did an amazing job on the keys, and tied the album together nicely.
Was expecting more, but would still recommend this album to those who love Symphonic Metal.
After reading ths review and listening to the album, I’m definitely going to check out “Decimate The Weak”. I really like “The Great Stone War”, it had the feel of a Iced Earth album with the addition of harsh vocals so I look forward to checking out some of their other releases.