Well this was one heck of a deceiver. Call me crazy, but when I see an album cover bearing (what seems to) be a roman gladiator striking down a long-sword into a hoard of demon-like creatures… I tend to think of anything else than Metalcore (especially typical and overdone metalcore). I seriously took out this CD from my player to verify whether it got mixed up in the bundle of promos I received and kind of stared at it in perplexity for a moment when I knew this was the right album. After reading the lyrics and checking out this band’s Myspace site though, the symbolism behind this Christian Metalcore band’s album cover finally dawned on me.

The fact that this band’s album cover fooled me or that the lyrics are Christian-based or Christian-related doesn’t really bother me; even if I did expect a balls-to-the-walls Heavy Metal album. What does bother me though is that War of Ages’s new album Pride of the Wicked delivers a brand of Metalcore that is so boring and overdone that it makes me wonder if the band actually thinks that they are doing anything original in their genre of music. I don’t intend to be harsh when reviewing an album, but when I see good musicians that are capable of doing much more with their talents making albums which are virtually a copy-paste of their influences, I can’t help but come across a tad abrasive. Musically, Pride of the Wicked sounds exactly what a dumbed-down version of Killswitch Engage might sound like, with many more breakdowns, and the occasional Unearth-like guitar melody or solo. Like I said, it seems that these are able musicians because many of the solos are quite melodious and sound very nice, but this band suffers from a disease of sounding so predictable and like other bands that listening to this album is almost painstaking. Vocalist, Leroy, may have very powerful screams but he sings in vocal patterns and tones which are almost exactly like Killswitch Engage’s Howard Jones, and this especially true when he sings with clear vocals. The Guitars are at times quite killer, as they are in the tune titled Bittersweet, but the same style of melodious soloing is constantly repeated throughout the album and is always cut short by an annoying and plodding breakdown.

Even if you’re a fan of Metalcore, I think this release will be a hard one to swallow. There are many other Metalcore bands that sound very similar and manage to add some color to the genre. A first listen may leave you thinking that it isn’t too bad, but after repeated listens, I believe most will realize that War of Ages should really come up with some material that branches away from standard. Buy at your own risk!