Torchbearer – Warnaments / 2006 Candlelight / 9 Tracks / http://www.torchbearer.tk / http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com / Reviewed 07 August 2006

Torchbearer start off their “Warnaments” with one of the most intense tracks ever put down on disc. This track is “Dark Clouds Gathering”, and it blends together death metal, thrash, and classic metal (think Queensryche) to even rival acts like Iced Earth.

Never mind rivaling, I think by the time that Torchbearer finishes off their first track on the album, they have everyone who is listening in eating out of their palm. The band may have more progressive sounds in their music present throughout the disc, but this does not mean that the music that they lay down at disc is not some of the hardest and most raunchy of the new millennium. While it is hard to always hear what exactly all the members of the band are doing at any one given tie, the fury in which this wall of sound hits a listener is not to be messed with. There are so many levels working at the same time during a track like “Last Line of Defense”. Even when there is a more classic, sedate sounding introduction to a track (as is the case during the first minute of “Burial Waters Deepsome Graves”), the band can incorporate that into their metal and thrash oriented sound without it seeming too unnaturally grafted on.

“Burial Waters Deepsome Graves” is a watershed track for Torchbearer as it shows their first shifting of time signatures to better their own music. There are a few times during the track where it almost seems as if the band stutters, but this is all a part of Torchbearer’s plan. This makes “Burial Waters” into another killer track, and make individuals stick with the band that much longer. The band may only be around on “Warnaments” for thirty-five minutes, but the fullness of each of the compositions allows listeners to break down what Torchbearer is doing. This means that the replay value is through the roof, and with the memorable guitar lines that are threaded throughout the album, replay value is pushed even higher. I don’t hear much of the band’s theme for this album (World War I), but what I do hear is some furious fucking metal. Torchbearer needs to have an eye kept on them, as in just a few short years they may be the biggest metal band in the world. There is little (if any) weaknesses to be found on “Warnaments”; a good time can be had by all until the next morning, when listeners find that they can’t move their head.

Top Tracks: Burial Waters Deepsome Graves, Last Line of Defense

Rating: 7.6/10

[JMcQ]