Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Warmarch > The Declaration > Reviews
Warmarch - The Declaration

Canadian madness, chaotic yet memorable! - 90%

vorfeed, May 22nd, 2008

This is the first full-length album from Warmarch, a Canadian band playing chaotic black/death metal.

The sound on this record is very well-balanced. The vocals are up front in the mix, and run the gamut from throaty roars to squeals, screams, and other animalistic noises. Beneath them, the sharp guitar tone and crisp, snappy drums mark out a counterpoint, while the audible bass adds plenty of heft.

The songs on "The Declaration" are packed with frantic, memorable riffs and plenty of tempo changes. Many of these songs go from all-out blasting to a doom break and back, all within the space of thirty seconds. Fortunately, Warmarch are adept at using common themes to tie everything together. The vocals also go a long way toward building the mood, and have got to be heard to be believed -- the amount of ferocity and guttural power they conjure is impressive, especially since they're completely atypical. Some of these songs sound like Kressman has to be just about killing himself in the studio! The guitar work is equally great. There are more great guitar lines in just one of these songs than in most bands' entire albums. The band does an excellent job of balancing the chaotic with the melodic, maximizing extremity while keeping the listener's interest throughout. The jangling bass work is also nice, especially on "Bound By Sleep" and "Fires of Id".

The three re-recorded demo tracks really show this band's progression: they're tighter, leaner, and just plain better than they were on the demo. They fit very well with the rest of the album, too, and provide a bit of a break from the more complex mood of the newer songs. The result is an album of great power and impressive listenability, one of the best of 2007.

This band shares members with some of Canada's best metal bands: Paulus Kressman was in Sacramentary Abolishment and Rites of Thy Degringolade, and D. Relf played in Disciples of Power. Fans of both will find a lot to like here, as will followers of Revenge, Axis of Advance, Order From Chaos, and Spearhead (UK). Highly recommended.

Standout tracks: "Warmarch", "The Declaration", "Elders Gate"

Review by vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net

Oldschool brutality returns! - 82%

Noktorn, September 17th, 2007

I'm not sure why, but Canadian extreme metal bands all seem to have a certain warlike, militaristic quality that I highly enjoy. It's probably logical that this element is even more pronounced with the very nature of the sound in their name. Warmarch is about 75% death, about 25% black, and around 100% oldschool. Every bit of this sounds like it came out of 1995, and if they had, they would likely have been touring right along side artists such as Angelcorpse. Their debut LP, however, has only been released in This Year Of Our Lorde 2007, and so they might require a bit of time to ramp up to the status they'll most likely receive.

I like 'The Declaration' a lot. It's very straightforward in that oldschool death metal way, where extra elements weren't deliberately eschewed, but were present, just in a relatively limited form. There are small 'South Of Heaven' style clean guitar portions littering this release, but they're not ever made to be more than, well, 'South Of Heaven' style clean guitar portions. They're just a part of the music, not included to qualify as 'progressive elements'. In fact, the music is really very simple when you get down to it, but that doesn't mean it's minimalist or underdeveloped. Quite the contrary: every song here is very complete and very solid, with an emphasis on pure oldschool sound and intensity. There isn't any excessive blasting or tremolo riffing: everything is restrained just enough to prevent it from becoming just another death metal album. Instead of going the directly extreme route, Warmarch channels that same energy into writing really, really good music.

Most of the riffs on 'The Declaration' clearly have their roots in thrash metal more than death. Yeah, it's tuned a bit lower, and it's played faster and more brutally, but most of these riffs are ones you could hear on old Slayer albums. The black metal influence comes in some of the cool little semimelodic tremolo riffs that they have, and some of the half-arpeggios that come out of the older Mayhem catalogue. A lot of these riffs seem at first glance to be cannibalized from other bands, but I don't think that's really it: I think the riffs here are just very traditional and familiar in nature, and genuinely seem like they could have come out of the early to mid '90s. So does the guitar tone: it has a fuzzy, almost Sunlight distortion about it that mingles very nicely with the clanking, rusty bass tone. Vocals are similarly cool: a sort of half-growl, half-rasp delivery that sounds like something that could have come out of the Gothenburg scene back when it was original and not completely, COMPLETELY lame. They're executed pretty flawlessly, apart from the occasional, rather forced sounding inhaled scream or growl.

The most original and readily identifiable sections of this are the most militaristic. When the band drops down to midpace, and the drummer starts working some dramatic wartoms or military snare rolls, and the guitars start palm muting away, the band is at its best. Think of it as a very oldschool version of the sort of thing Behemoth specializes in now: so, not quite as cleaned up, and not quite as machinelike. More like an army of orcs than an army of soldiers. Additionally, the artwork is cool. It has the total package, really.

This is not original music. Its roots are firmly in the past, and that's clearly the way they want it. For all the people obsessed with Ribspreader and Drawn And Quartered out there, this should be the next one on your wishlist. Most importantly, it's packed with riffs that really are quite impossible not to headbang to. Try the opening Nunslaughter-meets-Slayer riff on the eponymous track. You can't miss it.

Great blend of harsh metal - 88%

orphy, July 11th, 2007

I wrote a review for Warmarch's self titled demo, giving much anticipation to the debut full length by these Albertan master-musicians. Certainly, the set up this album and the album lives up to all of the hype.

"The Declaration" features all three songs from the demo as well as 6 brand new songs. One will notice right away the production is a lot clearer, especially considering the demo was done on a four track. Here, we get a clean job with everything being very audible. The only downfall is the bass could be a bit louder, because the bass player in this band is truly astounding.

For those that haven't heard Warmarch before, Warmarch features Rites of Thy Degringolade mastermind Paulus Kressman, and former Disciples of Power drummer. What we get is a fusion between the two bands styles: Some chaotic riffing, some heavy metal drumming, all topped with equally talented bass playing. In other terms, think Motorhead gone chaotic, and with no limits!

The album opens up with "Warmarch", declaring that Warmarch is here. Indeed, this song sets much of the mood and pace to be expected. The next track is from the demo, and is the namesake of the album. It features mainly doom sections, with some rocking parts thrown in for good measure. Warmarch makes good use of dissonance in this song, as notes collide with one another to create an unpleasant and haunting atmosphere for the listener. This is probably the slowest track on the album, the rest go mid to fast paced with excellent riffing that would make any thrash fan smile.

The new songs that weren't featured on the demo are a treat to hear, as they seem a bit more comfortable with the style forged on the demo. Arrangements seem even more natural as the songs flow through with grace. The songs that were on the demo feature some changes, such as more clean vocals in the background, and clean guitar underlying the riffs. This is evident throughout the album and gives a rich sense of dynamics.

Some cons on this album are as already mentioned, the bass playing needs to be turned up, mainly during the sections where the bass player slaps. I actually witnessed the CD release for this album, and the songs sounded MUCH fuller live. However, don't let that fool you into thinking these songs don't sound full at all, as they are quite rich on the album. During the sections where the bass player uses his fingers, it is truly impressive. Anyway, the only other con on this album is the track order surprisingly. Two of the demo tracks are side by side. Paulus himself has pointed out this flaw, but at least it's only minor and doesn't effect the quality of the music or the listening experience.

Pro wise, everything on this album is played with experienced precision. Arrangements are intelligent and appropriate on this album, even through the more chaotic sections. And again, the riffs are absolutely killer, as are the bass lines accompanying each riff.

This album really shows Warmarch is a serious band, and only gives fans more anticipation that they'll stick around. After an album like this, I truly hope to hear more by the band. Buy this, especially if you're into heavy metal or the Western Canadian scene.