Loren Battle – Words Begin Wars
Unsigned
(4/5)
The battle has begun and this war has been started by words! This is not a literal battle, but the debut album from Phoenix-based Metal band Loren Battle entitled Words Begin Wars! With an extreme similarity to the sound of early August Burns Red and early As I Lay Dying, Loren Battle is showing that “beauty” and “brutality” can be combined in musical and vocal aspects. This style of, what I would call, Metalcore combines an in-your-face brutality in the music as well as in the growled and screamed vocals with a more “beautiful” vocal style in the clean singing and some great melodic aspects in the music. These guys already have a reputation for a great live show and it’s reflected in this debut album by the intensity of the music and extremely talented musicianship of the individual members. Just to take it over the edge, Loren Battle also incorporates 808′s into their music giving it that extra bass blast at moments to really keep you pumped up. If you thought I couldn’t get any more excited about this album, then realize I haven’t even gotten to the overall theme of it. The title Words Begin Wars was influenced by the albums lyrics that are aimed to inspire the listener to “stay positive and keep your head up in turbulent times” according to bassist Eric Davis. That just makes this album that much better in my opinion. Getting deeper into the album, I have a hard time elevating any one track over any of the others, but to get a good feel for this band, I’d suggest listening to “Intro/A Hero’s Nightmare” (Tracks 1 & 2), “Remember the Archer” (Track 5), “Paper Hearts + Scissors” (Track 6), and “When Angel’s Sin” (Track 11). These tracks are all very powerful and provide a glimpse at what this band is about musically. Overall, Words Begin Wars is an excellent album that will have you pumped up and ready to jump into the mosh pits in no time!
