War of Will is a natural progression for Battlecross after their impressive 2011 breakout record Pursuit of Honor. The top-notch riffing, soloing, blasts of melody and kick-ass vocals are still very much-on display, just even better this go-round. They don't waste any time ripping the listener's face off with album opener "Force Fed Lies". This track is a pretty accurate representation of what Battlecross is about as a band: thrashy riffing with occasional melodic interludes and a bit of groove, great vocals from Kyle "Gumby" Gunther and of course, a fret-melting guitar solo. "Force Fed Lies" is only the beginning of the carnage that War of Will has in-store for the listener. The balance between speed and melody fluctuates constantly keeping the listeners on their toes. There is definitely a greater sense of overall melody than on Pursuit of Honor (especially on tracks like "Flesh & Bone, "Wage a War" and "My Vaccine",) but they never lose sight of their groove and speed metal influences in the process.The additional melody adds a layer of depth to their sound and a whole new style to add to their riff arsenal, making their music that much more interesting to listen to.
Battlecross has already proved in their previous work that they're are incredible musicians, but they step their game up even further on this record. Guitarists Tony Arta and Hiran Deraniygala consistently throw down insane solos. There is not one solo on this record that isn't highly impressive (while on the topic of solo, it must be noted that Jason Suceof lays down a sick, middle-eastern inspired solo on "Beast".) It may be an overused used term, but it can't be denied that Arta and Deraniygala absolutely shred. They have also benefit from having a rarity in metal: fantastic bass work. Dom Slater is actually audible in the mix a lot of time with a variety of awesome techniques and licks on-display. Slater doesn't get a lot of love for his work, but he is every bit as good as renowned metal bassists like Evan Brewer and Dan Briggs. The unsung hero of this record though has to be the drumming from Shannon Lucas. I was majorly bummed when Lucas left The Black Dahlia Murder last year, so it was awesome to hear him drum on another record so soon after his departure from Black Dahlia. There are few active metal drummers with the chops that he has and the blasts and fills on this record prove that fact (which is also why Battlecross had to enlist the equally-talented Kevin Talley as their live fill-in drummer since he is one of the few drummers in the scene that can play Lucas's parts.) The only thing that makes me sad as a big fan of Lucas is that he isn't their permanent drummer and he'll probably never join another (touring) band again to focus on his tattooing (he quit Black Dahlia to open a tattoo shop with his wife.)
War of Will is another kick-ass record from Battlecross. You hardly hear bands like this that are rooted equally in old-school and new-school metal. They draw equal influences from At The Gates, Metallica, Pantera, The Black Dahlia Murder and Devildriver, making their music amongst the most savage and diverse in all of metal. The musicianship is off-the-charts, the production is slick and every track sticks with you immediately. If they keep up the level of quality, work ethic and big tours that get them exposure: I fully expect them to explode. Battlecross is one of the brightest upstart bands to emerge in recent years and War of Will is their finest piece of work thus far in their young career.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Wage a War
2.The Will to Overcome
3.Flesh & Bone
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