Infidel

At War released two very strong albums during the eighties. I was slightly frustrated that they failed to record further full-lengths. However, 21 years later, they returned with "Infidel". All's well that ends well? Unfortunately not. Frankly speaking, I listened closely to the album with the result that I was frustrated for the second time. Sadly enough, it holds only 30 minutes of new music. Even worse, "Infidel" cannot keep up with the two outputs from the eighties and no, the average production doesn't constitute the major problem.

Lo and behold, the original line-up reappears and of course you know that this is anything but a matter of course. The musicians try to offer more of the same and that's legitimate after more than two decades of silence. Their musical integrity cannot be doubted. Nevertheless, I don't feel the urge to bang my head and to forget everything around me. Something is missing, the album lacks of charm and charisma. I guess the importance of these ingredients doesn't need an explanation. Yet it is difficult to explain the reasons for their absence. The music cannot be described as "completely mediocre" or even "bad" and the style of the group is not outdated, at any rate not more than my music taste. However, the slightly lackluster compositions do not have the penetrating power of their classics. They are somehow flat and expressionless. At War try to build a bridge to their first active years and present a new version of "Rapechase". The riff is still great and the song shines with a high degree of sharpness. Yet even in view of its moronic lyrics, this tune is one of the rare highlights of this album. This fact demonstrates the predicament of "Infidel" sustainably. In other words, tracks like the opener or "Semper Fi" come and go without leaving a trace. Already these songs cause the stale feeling of disappointment; 21 years for prominently positioned pieces that do not hit the mark?

I wish I could say something else, but suspenseful and / or intense sections are a rare asset on this comeback work. "Want You Dead" stands out from the remaining new compositions, exactly because it offers an intensive and dynamic instrumental part after the third verse. For the sake of a high recognition value or maybe just because of a lack of other ideas, its lyrics deal with one of the formation's favourite subjects. Paul Arnold rages against the intolerance of Allah's children without taking care of his own crippled understanding of tolerance. Of course, the Nazis also show up in the lyrics of this song, but they play only a secondary role. Good to know that the old enemy images still work. However, this is not my topic. I was moaning about the small number of gripping parts, although the choruses of "At War" and "R.A.F." grab my interest. That's nice, but a good chorus alone is not enough to form a convincing song. Let's refer once again to the eponymous band anthem; its verses are doomed to failure because of their stupid, trivial configuration. No melodies, no riffs, but the dictatorship of ordinariness.

No matter from which angle you look at "Infidel", it will not enrich your collection immensely. While lying under their blankets (which are surely ornamented with a Stars and Stripes design), the guys seemed to think it would be a walk in the park to forge another deadly weapon. Sleep well, Paul. Good night, Shawn and Dave. How does the proverb say? Pride comes before a fall. I fear that the half-naked or even exhibitionist guy on the cover will make the same experience.

At War is yet another band I vividly recall from my formative years of adolescent strife. I recall them with a certain fondness, but nothing spectacular or mind-blowing. Retaliatory Strike was a pretty good jam back when, but the band seemed to slip into my cassette-oblivion pile (possibly due to a span of two-decades between full-lengths).

From the vast metal playground that isn’t Virginia, At War formed back in 1983 and had two albums of rather pedestrian metal that neither carved nor chipped at the metal slab very well. As I further recall, my buddy and I kept trading the debut, Ordered to Kill, back and forth because neither us wanted to give up Slayer’s Hell Awaits, and with good reason. I ended up with it and it still sits silently in my cassette box with a plethora of other metal that was simply “okay…I guess.”

For the band’s first full-length in 21-years, At War have produced Infidel, and much like its predecessors the albums is “okay…I guess.” The offering is laden with lackluster and seemingly uninspired tunes that really don’t inspire much in the way of head-nodding, much less head-banging. Lyrically the band hasn’t evolved much past the a-typical thrash minion bands that have otherwise disappeared even past footnote status, a shame really for such a band that could have done so much more. I hate to flow urination on such a well-known band from my youth, but not everything from the past should actually be remembered with reverence and fits of wayward moshing around the room. Infidel is that CD. I try to find one track that I can actually find memorable and I simply can’t. Each track sounds like a hybrid of its former, creating one long track of occasional time changes and often boring music that wouldn’t create so much as a ripple in the classic-metal-era’s oceanic existence. What could have been, and should have been a nice comeback has relegated itself to just another tagline in the band’s long, albeit uninspired history.

(Originally written for http://www.metalpsalter.com)

It's official...just about every obscure thrash band from any neck of the woods has now reunited and released new material. At War was a pretty unheard of thrash band when they released two albums in the 80s, 'Ordered to Kill' and 'Retaliatory Strike'. The latter was a meaty, barbaric war metal record with some fairly catchy tracks. 21 years after the fact, At War have created 'Infidel', an album that sticks entirely to their roots even if it benefits from a slightly denser, brutal mix.

It's good to hear a thrash band unafraid of being patriotic in the face of our wimpy times, but this is not to say At War is some kind of insanely violent neocon band. The warfare theme dominated their old material, and it is retained here. It's the bread on their butter. Style-wise there is a brutal honesty to this band which reflects the earliest work of Sacred Reich. Like a combat boot to the face, the band treads over 9 new tracks, some of which are catchy, some of which are average. "Semper Fi" is one of the best, which a memorable refrain reminiscent of the songs on 'Retaliatory Strike'. "R.A.F." has a classic metal leaning which recalls Motorhead. "Vengeful Eyes" is a great thrasher with some infectious riffing, and "Rapechase" is a perfect lead-out with some fist pounding vocals and filthy speed.

'Infidel' sounds better than their old albums, but only slightly. I think this was a great conscious decision to create a respectable continuity in their material. This isn't the thrash album of the year, and it's not going to impress a lot of people (personally, I still enjoy 'Retaliatory Strike' the most of their material), but if you enjoyed the band's earlier albums then I see no reason why you wouldn't also like this, a worthy legacy.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Yes, this is the same thrash metal band from the east coast that was one of the early signees with the then fledgling label, New Renaissance Records started by none other than Ann Boleyn. These guys released two albums, an EP and also had a couple of their tracks on the speed metal hell compilations back in the eighties which practically did not get them anywhere(while still drawing critical acclaim for being one of the first speed metal bands) and then vanished from the scene altogether. After a sabbatical of nearly 21 years, the trio is back again with this release titled “Infidel” and seems like this could have been on their eighties catalog. The feel of this album is pure old school and by no means utilizes any half step measures of the late 90s and post 2000. At War is back in business!!!!

Just like the previous two albums, the band uses the tried and tested formula of keeping the length of this one well within 35 minutes which in is fair enough for a speed metal band that uses a good dose of punk as well. The production is done pretty well alongside keeping the old school eighties feel intact. All the instruments can be easily distinguished from each other without any single instrument dominance, while the vocals are yet again vintage Motorhead style, though with a little more gruff and thrash edge. The songs in here are short and crisp, devoid of any sad as hell intros and background noise effects whereas the riff work is brilliant. Another thing likeable about this release is that the tuning is Standard E and not the drop D style that most bands follow these days.

As for the tracks, all of them blend along very well without giving any hint of falling apart at the seams. I feel no necessity of covering each and every track in detail but instead pick out a few that stick to my head prompting me to listen to them again. “Assassins” has that main riff that is some of the best I’ve heard in recent years and “Semper Fi” sort of reminded me of “Indulgence” era Nasty Savage without the insane wails of Nasty Ronnie and to an extent, Slayer in some of the guitar parts. The tracks that really stand out though are “At War” and “R.A.F”, filled with oodles of energy and a total war attitude that reminds newcomers of how thrash metal should be done. The closer “Rapechase” is a track that appeared on their debut album and also one of the “Speed Metal Hell” compilations and this in my opinion is an absolute banger of a song that could have given some of the big names back during the thrash boom a run for their money and fame.

Though some people out there would argue that this release is no different from what they did back in the eighties, and that the band has not matured at all after all these years. My take on this is that even though these guys sound dated, they’re still better off than all those bands who have taken an absolutely approach to their music. An example would be At War’s ex-label mates Sepultura who have transformed themselves beyond recognition. From a death/thrash hybrid to a total shitty sounding groove band, they’ve just made themselves look like clowns of a circus troupe. This trio on the other hand do not show any signs of compromising on their original sound and still show loyalty towards their fans with no intentions whatsoever of alienating them.

As far as the recommendation is concerned, I’d definitely go the extra mile to support these guys and bring them to the notice of the masses. Fans of yesteryear thrash, proto death and mid era Motorhead would find interest of significance here. This is the return of the war veterans.