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WARBRINGER “Wrath And Ruin”
WARBRINGER “Wrath And Ruin”
By Dr. Abner Mality
I remember when these guys were fresh faced kids opening for EXODUS. Now in 2025, they are established veterans of the thrash metal scene; “Wrath And Ruin” sounds like it was produced by exactly such a band.
It’s tough for any younger band to be on the same kind of level as the titans of the 80’s, but WARBRINGER comes closest. They stay absolutely true to the template established by EXODUS, TESTAMENT, METALLICA and MEGADETH. They dish out a lot of the raw meat thrash like “The Jackhammer” and “Strike From The Sky” that their fans demand, but they also broaden their scope with more melodic and epic material like “The Sword And the Cross” and “Cage of Air”. It’s pretty safe to say that their songwriting skills have never been sharper...these last two tracks, along with “The Last of My Kind”, are proof that you can wreck necks while still having class. One cut that falls a little short of that is “Through A Glass, Darkly”...that one felt like they were pushing a bit too hard for an “elegant” kind of sound.
To make up for it, “Neuromancer” is one cybernetic monster of a song and just maybe the best WARBRINGER track ever. This one rattles the teeth but is laid out immaculately...a true thrash classic, with John Kevill as maniacal as always on lead vocals. The album is nice and brisk, with just eight songs, but almost every one being on target. WARBRINGER maybe will never have the kind of heyday that SLAYER and METALLICA had back in the day, but it sure won’t be for lack of trying.
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