Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Winds of Plague
Label: Century Media
Release: 2009
Length: 37:21
Rating: 2.5/5
Here we have the third album from California deathcore sextet Winds of Plague, The Great Stone War. After the dismal predecessor, Decimate the Weak, the question was whether the gals and guys would keep trudging down deathcore’s clichéd, lousy path or find their own niche and rise up among the genre’s champions. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between. For the third time, Winds of Plague take on a concept album, this one with a clichéd story about an apocalyptic war between an orc-like race and humanity. But the band is still a long way from a masterful and, above all, more original story that actually melds with the music. They still need to eat a lot more porridge, and until next time they should put The Lord of the Rings, read for the fifteenth time, back on the shelf and give their keyboards a little rest from Warcraft, beaten for the forty-second time.
Naturally, in keeping with the concept, the album kicks off with a spoken intro that explains the gist of the whole thing, and then Winds of Plague hurl us into a wild storm of aggressive deathcore, heavily backed by keyboards. The keyboards are actually what sets the band apart from the flood of bands that look like two peas in a pod and are simply popular right now. Luckily, they’re far more thought-out than on the predecessor, and this time WoP don’t wear you out with countless breakdowns and monotonous structures. The album is still full of breakdowns, sure, but they’re placed in the songs more carefully, and above all they aren’t boring or made just for live situations, plus they’re backed by fairly well-conceived keyboards that, thankfully, aren’t distracting. Breakdowns are, as with most death/metalcore, the most annoying, overchewed and boring thing, but the new album is at least a big step forward from Decimate the Weak on the guitar front. Guitarists Nick and Nick even serve up a few interesting solos and varied lines and riffs, not just stuff you could play with the fingers of one hand like on the predecessor. The biggest progress, though, has undoubtedly been made by the keyboards, thanks to keyboardist Kristen Randall. They’re no longer annoying and don’t interrupt the flow and structure of a song, but instead create a symphonic epic flavor, which is exactly what the album’s concept calls for. The keyboards build an epic symphonic atmosphere and could easily be the soundtrack to some epic movie spectacle. It’s nice to hear them present all the time, not just in certain parts, and at the same time they’re tucked far enough back that they don’t get in the way and just add to the overall sound. The worst thing about the album, though, is undoubtedly the awful quasi-brutal “cookie monster” vocalist Jonathan Cooke. Don’t expect anything more than wannabe-brutal “bruuuuh”, “braaaaaa” and “blaaaaaargh”, and on top of that Johnny serves up some really bad cleaner, higher-pitched bits that sound like a cheap copy of the monologues from 300.
Despite all its shortcomings, which mostly come down to the limits of the genre they play, with this new album Winds of Plague prove that they’ve taken a big step forward since their last record, and that they’ve made major progress instrumentally, compositionally and arrangement-wise. If you’re into breakdowns and epic, almost cinematic symphonics, definitely treat yourself to The Great Stone War; otherwise, steer clear of Winds of Plague like a straight edger steers clear of a proper steak with a glass of beer.
Lineup
Jonathan Cooke – vocals
Nick Eash – guitar
Nick Piunno – guitar
Andrew Glover – bass
Art Cruz – drums
Kristen Randall- keyboards
Production
Daniel Castleman
Tracklist
1. Earth
2. Forged In Fire
3. Soldiers Of Doomsday
4. Approach the Podium
5. Battle Scars
6. Chest And Horns
7. Creed Of Tyrants
8. Our Requiem
9. Classic Struggle
10. The Great Stone War
11. Tides Of Change
