War Master

The debut release from US power metallers Death Dealer, “War Master,” generates a lot of goodwill that will give the fans of this kind of music reason to applaud the release while a few small, totally nagging issues do crop up.

With a pedigree of impressive musicians gathered from equally-impressive projects, there’s little surprise at how great this really would be. The riffing explodes in here due to the incessant ability to feature the fastest tempos and rhythms possible that can mustered, and they seldom disappoint here in that department. This is a truly raging mix of old-school heavy metal with the kind of melodic injections found in the current power metal scene and is brought together quite well here as this gets a lot of mileage out of these two genres. The more heavy metal-leaning side of the band displays a tendency to infuse a variety of different moods and tempos found throughout the tracks, which can range from sprawling intros with majestic marches that explode into furious tempos filled with raging riff-work, or a more lighter side here that switches from darkness to light quite adeptly as if there’s no other intent than to generate those moods. This also extends to the screaming leads throughout here, with the brand of fiery, dynamic patterns through the different arrangements here flying straight from the playbook of the traditionalists back in the day. As well, the tendency to opt for those stuttering paces filled with hard-charging chug-patterns in the riffing tends to read far more of a traditional metal band quite well and leaves this with a loud, heavy thump to their sound. As well, the power metal is focused mostly on the efforts’ rather harmonious melodies to be found within, as the swirling lead-work and soloing are both done with an emphasis on the melody regardless of the charging atmosphere found elsewhere in the heavier segments, providing this with a rather impressive collage that mixes barreling speed with classy metal rhythms alongside fiery power metal melodies and energy. Being technical when it needs to be, soft and romantic on the ballad where it’s appropriate but keeping the power and energy alive as well, there’s plenty to like about the guitar-work on this.

Beyond the guitar-work, there’s plenty of impressive work to be found here. Spearheaded by one of the most impassioned voices in the genre, the vocals are just simply jaw-dropping throughout this with a never-ending series of high-pitched screams, falsetto wails and multi-tracked singing to provide a true epic feel here that effectively rivals the greats of the past as furthering his legacy of dynamic performances. Alone of the guitars, this is enough to recommend the album on which is positive enough of its appeal and dynamic virtuosity that runs throughout this as it manages to fit in with all the different output through this with the vocals fitting along the more furious, full-throttle tracks as well as the performances on the slower mid-tempo marches as well as the requisite ballad quite effectively. This is surely an album for those primed to love furious vocal wailings quite a bit as this really captures the old-school metal sound quite well. Not to be outdone, the drumming here is utterly pummeling as it really matches the guitars in terms of truly punishing rhythms as this is a highlight of the album as well. Pounding along with a hard-hitting attack that could just as easily fuel a full-throttle thrash act with its dexterous speed and generally melodic appeal during these marches, it makes for some rather fine moments when this gets into the raging tempos which are quite impressive overall as this tends to be featured more often than anything else on the album. While it generates the speed on the faster areas, the more melodic mid-tempo sections are capable enough as this manages to substitute speed and dexterous rhythms for loud, thumping grooves packed with plenty of power and heaviness which is more appropriate in those sections anyways and really gives this a loud, thumping atmosphere when required. Overall, there’s not a lot to complain about here with the music on this.

Frankly, there’s a lot to like here with this project but it does raise a rather pressing question. While its primary reasoning here as a side-project to utilize the friends and colleagues does work well, the fact that the material played is so closely related to their other band makes its existence feel more like a union meant only to release material that wasn’t good enough to fit there in the first place. There’s virtually no change in appearance or pattern arrangement between this and Cage which utilized the same kind of heavy metal-infused brand of power metal that’s offered here, so the question arises here as to the purpose of the project’s conception when it doesn’t offer anything that a Cage disc already can’t. The musicians here already come from projects with similar back-grounds so there’s no real chance to offer a cohesive melding of various types or off-shoots of the genres gathered from the collective diversity of its members to really try something new or inventive with the music on display, it’s just Cage with a different line-up and that leaves a pretty troubling feeling. It doesn’t really provide a reason for the experiment to exist rather than just simply a way to play around with friends and the lack-of-change here doesn’t really offer up much of a change in order to justify the new project. There’s no reason they shouldn’t come together, as this really is passionate and competently-played material that really generates plenty to like about it, but the fact that this remains so close in spirit and tone to the other projects already in existence is a little troubling. Beyond this, a small little minor note is the fact that the second half seems to be a little lighter in ferocity than the first half does become noticeable. For the most part, the second half is seemingly composed more of tracks that contain more commercialized tones and arrangements of their work so those are where the exposure efforts are placed which are what get released in order to generate the interest in the group while the first half gets packed with fiery, frantic and generally more explosive tracks. This is a slightly puzzling effort from a band that really should know better considering the experience of its members, so to do this is a little confusing where the album is stacked to the point where it doesn’t get into its singles and more commercial tracks until the second half, really leaving this to be arranged slightly off and holding a more impacting issue with this.

The first half to this is where the album really generates plenty of thrashing heavy power. Opening with the self-titled ‘Death Dealer,’ the utterly thunderous drumming and high-powered screaming rattle along with thunderous buzzing riffs and unrelenting, pounding drumming with technical rhythms that thrash along with heavy rhythms, dexterous melodies and tight chugging, providing a wondrous first impression and getting off to a spectacular start. The churning ‘Never to Kneel’ utilizes sprawling drumming and fiery melodic leads bring a heavy thumping chug through the first half with technical rhythms that keeps the heavy mode intact throughout here as the harmonious soloing carries into the final half, easing off the throttle but offering plenty of charging heavy metal. The brutal title track offers swirling melodic riff-work and majestic drum-marches that explodes into blistering drum-blasts, furious chugging riff-work and scorching melodies that keeps the swirling riffing in the full-throttle march throughout, matching the fury and energy of the opener as a truly blistering and pummeling highlight. Lone ballad ‘Children of Flames’ offers an eerie melodic intro with dark patterns in the romantic pace that surges into mid-paced light-and-dark rhythm changes that keep flowing throughout the final half, an odd choice after the raging tracks before it but being a quality track nonetheless. The more mid-tempo ‘Curse of the Heretic’ drops a lot of the speed for tight chugging and steady riffing with sprawling mid-tempo patterns and fiery leads that leave chugging in the forefront while firing off ferocious screams and steady paces throughout, being quite enjoyable throughout.

The second half is a little more commercial and features more streamlined efforts of their sound. Apt first-single ‘Hammer Down’ is hard-charging chug-riffing and steady plodding drum-work with fine mid-tempo charging and fiery screams that rattle along at simplistic paces with commercialized melodies and kinetic final half, being quite enjoyable overall. The epic ‘The Devils Mile’ uses a majestic intro with a gradual build to exploding rhythms, pounding drumming and kinetic patterns that race through incredibly tight, chugging-filled riffs that carry a frantic energy through dexterous melodic leads, pounding drum-work and frantic riffs along the classy, majestic finale, being another sterling highlight. ‘Liberty or Death’ is another steady commercialized track with swirling melodic leads and tight, steady chugging with majestic marching patterns, fiery lead-work and dynamic vocals that offer up plenty of steady pacing as the fiery rhythms and sprawling mid-tempo riffs carry through the final half, being quite enjoyable overall. ‘Heads Spikes Walls’ might be the best of these tracks with simple charging riff-work with pounding double-bass drumming that merges into streamlined chugging with frenzied razor-wire patterns and dynamic drumming that thumps along with furious urgency while melodic leads flow into the final half, getting a lot to like about it. ‘Wraiths on the Wind’ gets this ending on a fury as thumping bass-lines explode into majestic mid-tempo marching that offers sprawling riffing and plodding drumming that carries fiery patterns and vocals along the steady tempo that carries into the final half, ending things on a great note with these blistering tracks at the end.

There’s plenty to like about this band once one gets over the fact that the project really serves no purpose as it simply rehashes work from its members’ other bands, but that serves no bearing on the music as a whole. Fans of generally-heavy power metal or a combination of the two genres are heartily advised to give this a listen, as well as fans of its members and their accompanying bands.

Any time you get a bunch of musicians together from various bands into a new project, the word "Supergroup" tends to be thrown around somewhat frequently. When that happens, expectations naturally soar, and if the final product isn't everything fans hope for, it's usually branded as a terrible album, often unfairly. Fans don't like being disappointed when the metal gods don't deliver the goods, after all. Death Dealer is one band in danger of being tagged this way because of their pedigree. When you have Sean Peck (CAGE), Ross the Boss (Manowar, or did I even need to tell you that?), Stu Marshall (Dungeon, among others), Rhino (more bands than you can shake a stick at), and Mike Davis (Lizzy Borden & Ozzy!), people will naturally begin to think the music the group makes should be the best thing since sliced bread.

Thankfully, with Death Dealer, the pedigree comes through and gives us what is at least a workmanlike effort, if not something more. As one might expect, given the bands these players have been involved in, this is a speedy and reasonably "epic" power metal album that doesn't stray too far from what you would expect. In this case, it echoes Sean Peck's main focus, CAGE, and is in quite the same vein. That shouldn't dissuade non-CAGE fans from checking this out, however. There's enough quality here that power metal fans in general will get a kick out of the album.

Guitar work by Ross the Boss & Stu Marshall is generally excellent, with a tone that nicely marries equal parts crunch and clarity. It's a bit strange hearing Ross in this context, because Manowar's music was generally a bit slower and more deliberate in nature, so at times, it doesn't feel as if he's even on the record. I must admit, however, that I'm unfamiliar with his work outside of Manowar, so this could just be my perception. But overall, you get what you'd expect here, with a combination of speedy solos, chugging riffs, and a sufficient degree of muscle in the guitar sound. Bass playing by Mike Davis is good throughout, audible enough to know he's not just part of the backdrop, but not so much that it distracts from the centerpiece guitar work. Mike doesn't do anything flashy, but the playing pretty much follows the songs and provides enough underlying weight to do the job. Rhino's drumming is on-point throughout, with plenty of well executed double-bass, precision timing for snare & cymbal hits, and nice fills and transitions here and there. There's nothing new here, but what he does fits the music and sounds good over the course of the album.

Vocally, Sean Peck could perhaps be the weak link of the album, but that is a minor complaint. Sean has that "reach for the sky" thing going on vocally, much like Tim "Ripper" Owens during his time with Judas Priest and Iced Earth. I've read reviews of "Jugulator" where Tim was accused of going for the high notes too often, and always at the time when it would be both most logical to do so, as well as most contextually annoying. I never felt like that was the case with "Jugulator", and I enjoyed his performance on that record. With "War Master", there are definitely spots where Sean struggles to reach the note he's aiming for, so he ends up being slightly flat. It's not all the time, as sometimes he's on target, but there are instances where he should either have done additional takes, or opted for a different note or key. I also feel like when he's transitioning between notes and is scaling upward, there are times when he sounds flat or off-key in transition. That could just be the grit in his voice being too ever-present, or just my perception, but it is a slight distraction. Non-vocalists may not notice these subtle things, but for those that do, it could be a minor hit against the release. Lyrically, the album slogs through the usual power metal topics of fantasy, war, unity in metal, and so forth. The lyrics do occasionally verge on overly clichéd and rote, but in context, they make sense and can be forgiven.

Having spun this some 30 times in the last couple weeks, I can say that I have roughly the same impression of it I had as about 20 or 25 plays ago. That being, this is an enjoyable, if derivative journey into modern power metal with a decidedly American PM slant. Again, shades of CAGE are present, but this is its own entity. More distracting than the similarity to CAGE is the fact that with tracks like "Hammer Down" having too much a Hammerfall lyrical vibe, "Children of Flames" sounding like Sean is channeling David Wayne during the quieter vocal moments, or Sean's aforementioned propensity for "Ripper" like wailing, there's nothing wholly original or that you haven't heard before. The same could be said for a lot of power metal, but when the songwriting doesn't hold interest through 100% of the album, or there's not enough of a hook to keep one listening (other than the general quality of performances), it's a hard sell in terms of choosing this over, say, the next CAGE album or any number of other power metal releases coming out each day.

Kudos to these guys for making an album that has an American Power Metal vibe to it, and unabashedly so. I just don't think this is in the same league as many of the bands they'll likely be compared to, which is a shame, because there's a lot of talent on display here. If Death Dealer does another album, my recommendation would be that Sean utilize a greater overall range and not always go for the high notes, as well as developing the songs just a bit more so they're more memorable. By the time I reach "Heads Spikes Walls" I'm beginning to check out because the last 2 tracks aren't as interesting as what came before. And though I've had the choruses for "Death Dealer", "Warmaster" and "Curse of the Heretic" stuck in my head for a couple weeks, I know that's more of hearing Sean's wailing with a bit of vocal hook going on, and the actual chorus melody isn't stuck there with it. If the melodies were strong enough, I'd be hearing the entire chorus or verse section, and that's what I'm missing from the album. That doesn't mean I'm not having fun listening to this stuff, because I certainly am. I just wish the end result was a bit stronger overall. Recommended for power metal nuts who can't get enough, or are looking for something with a bit more of an American power metal bent to it.

Originally published on MetalFRO's Musings:
http://metalfroreview.blogspot.com/2013/07/death-dealer-war-master-2013.html