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BATTLECROSS
War Of Will

Metal Blade (2013)
Rating: 6/10

After turning many heads with their Metal Blade Records debut, Pursuit Of Honor (2011), Detroit Rock City’s Battlecross have returned with a sophomore label effort that will surely cause pause amongst even more metalheads. Kicking off the album release with a stint on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour across North America isn’t a shabby way to re-introduce yourself to the masses after a break either.

‘Force Fed Lies’ gets the blood pumping properly right from the get-go with a thrash-flavoured riot that occasionally breaks into some triumphantly traditional twin leads.

The slightly more epic ‘Flesh & Bone’ is up next, peaking the album early on. The band trades off between grinding breaks and breakneck riffing as the vocals scream and growl their way through the hurricane of sound. Right before the two-minute mark though, the guitarists take flight with some of the coolest guitar leads possibly ever recorded. The guitars simply take over this song like a locust swarm in mid-July. By this point the energy alone has infected every headbanging muscle in your body.

Battlecross continue to rip relentlessly through the album, hardly taking a breath. It never quite attains the musical richness that the duo of opening tracks bring but it comes close a couple of times. The blistering and maniacal sound of ‘Ghost Alive’ is a later highlight with its impeccable timing and Animal-like drumming. After hearing this you’ll have no trouble picturing the Muppet icon behind the kit on War Of Will… trust me.

The slower, groovier devastation of ‘Beast’ features the deep growl I very much dislike here but musically it’s a bit more technical, offering a nod towards bands like Malevolent Creation and Obituary.

For every great track here though, there’s a track that is high energy but fairly “been there, done that”. I’m attributing this largely to the vocals, which never vary from the scream and growl combo, with the growler sounding about as generic as they come. ‘Never-Ending Night’, ‘Get Over It’ (which has a nice beginning with the twin guitar attack but then kind of trails off) and ‘The Will To Overcome’ are all well played but they just don’t stick to your ribs, you know?

In the end, this album is a high energy barn-burner that is plagued by generic vocals and not enough memorable songs to keep you coming back. I love the band’s attitude, live show and commitment to their music, but I can’t help but think that Battleccross have something more unique buried somewhere inside them.

Mark Fisher

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