Loren Battle are a metalcore band from Arizona, attempting to make a name for themselves in a genre that is already way too crowded with bands that don't seem to have much of a future ahead of them. Words Begin Wars is their CD debut, chock full of everything you would expect from a recording of this nature, including growls, screams, and clean melodic vocals, crunchy breakdowns, manic drums, catchy melodies, and plenty of nimble guitar soloing and harmonies. It's all well played and well executed, yet somehow all too familiar sounding. Problem is, as solid as much of Words Begin Wars is at times, this sort of thing has been done to death over the last decade, and Loren Battle really aren't bringing anything new to the table that hasn't already surfaced over the years from bands of this nature. Sure, there are some memorable hooks popping up on tunes like "Finest Hour" and "A Hero's Nightmare", mixed in amongst the pummeling aggression, and the guitar work from lead player Jason and rhythm man Logan more than holds its own (in fact, this is the highlight of the album), but by the time you finish with this CD, it's hard to really come up with anything that stood out and screamed for you to hit the replay button. Upon repeated spins, lead singer Joey's vocals, especially his screams and growls, tend to reveal how one dimensional he can be. It's almost a pleasure when he drops in the occasional melodic vocal passage, as it provides a respite from the harsh and somewhat grating alternative.
The truth is, Words Begin Wars really isn't a bad CD by any means, but there's just a generic feel to it that's hard to shake, and you can't help feel for these guys that they didn't release this about 6 or 8 years ago, where it might have had more of a chance to find a larger audience. These days, your standard 'been there done that' style of metalcore just isn't going to cut it. The band has talent, but unless they can come up with something that's going to raise eyebrows and offer something that will make metal fans take notice, they'll just be another one of thousands of metal bands that never really make any impact and eventually disappear into oblivion.
Track Listing
01. Intro
02. A Hero's Nightmare
03. Finest Hour
04. 3 Ft. Funeral
05. Remember The Archer
06. Paper Hearts Scissors
07. Faith Vs. Truth
08. Werewolves In Love
09. The Faint And The Faded
10. The Manhattan Project
11. When Angels Sin
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