Warrel Dane – Praises to the War Machine (2008)
It’s time for a review of one of my favorite albums of this year thus far. I’m talking about the solo project of Warrel Dane, the lead singer of Nevermore. He is one of those guys that manage to sell records only with their name (people like Bruce Dickinson, Luca Turilli, etc.). Most of you will probably know Nevermore, a band that incorporates so many different styles and still manages to have their own. So I was truly curious when I heard that Warrel was making his own record. First off all, this is not a copy of Nevermore. The music on Praises to the War Machine is much more traditional, but I don’t mean this in a negative way. I think it could best be described as Heavy Metal with a progressive influence and the mixture ROCKS! Pure and simple.
The lyrics focus on subjects like loss of faith, blind obedience and the likes. He deals critically with themes like depression and self-destruction, encouraging everybody to take a less dramatic view on life. The forth track “Lucretia My Reflection” is a cover version from Sisters of Mercy, a song Warrel feels strong about and had wanted to cover for years. It’s always interesting when a musician writes songs that are truly personal, as it takes a lot of courage to do so. “Brother” is a really deep and personal song for Warrel as he stated himself in an interview, dealing with the failed relationship with his own brother.
For this album Warrel was working with musicians extraordinaire like Dirk Verbeuren or Peter Wichers from Soilwork and Matthew Wicklund from Himsa. If you are into traditional Heavy Metal like Iron Maiden I strongly suggest that you take a closer look at this record. It has everything necessary to be playable several times without the risk of boredom.
8,5/10
cnspiracy
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