Warbringer

In music, there are leaders and there are followers. For every blistering riff there is an imitator, for each impassioned bellow, a sound-alike. It is the challenge of the modern musician to take the finite set of notes upon which all music is built, and make it their own. WARBRINGER did not invent their own vein of metal. They were preceded by greats like Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax and the almighty Metallica – but over the course of their previous two albums, they have managed to construct songs that are equal parts ferocity and finesse, and in doing so, created a sound that is distinctly their own. With the release of Worlds Torn Asunder, WARBRINGER are poised to take their rightful place at the table alongside the big boys.
The music on Worlds Torn Asunder was created in the studio but was borne of years of relentless touring. True road warriors, the members of WARBRINGER have lived their lives in a van together for months on end, playing an average of 300 shows a year since the release of their debut album, War Without End, in 2008. In the process they have built an organic, diehard fanbase, sharing the stage with such metal stalwarts as Exodus, Nile, Suicide Silence, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Suffocation, All Shall Perish, Hatebreed, Testament, Obituary, Overkill, Halford, Kreator and Nevermore.
Despite their inclusion in the recent resurgence of thrash and retro-thrash metal, the breadth of WARBRINGER's musical output extends well beyond such monikers. While the band – guitarists John Laux and Adam Carroll, drummer Carlos Cruz , bassist Andy Laux and vocalist John Kevill – are all fans of said genre, their music crosses boundaries and defies simple compartmentalization. The band's sound has become more diverse with each subsequent album, with Worlds Torn Asunder standing as a testament to such growth. "Exploring different dynamics lends to a much more mature interpretation of this style of metal," guitarist Laux explains," I am very proud of how far we have come since we started, and how much that development shines through on this album."
"We wanted to work with someone who had experience outside of the more "modern" metal sound", says Laux of the experience of working with producer Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, Sepultura). "He wasn't afraid to push us and it was great to have someone with so much experience in our corner."
Worlds Torn Asunder sees the band not only maturing musically, but lyrically as well. Lead singer John Kevill touches on topics that range from the personal to the political. "On this record I made sure no two songs share a topic, so it covers a lot of ground lyrically. I tried to tailor each lyrical theme to the musical feeling of each song." The singer continues, "There's a lot of different stuff on Worlds Torn Asunder - technological singularity, a return to the natural order, the Soviet Gulag prison camps, and also some good old heavy metal evil to round it out" Album opener, "Living Weapon" discusses the plight of the modern soldier and the nature of free will, whereas "Treacherous Tongue" is about the feeling of removing a wrong from the world, the lyrics echoing the music as it moves from anger into exultation.
Once Worlds Torn Asunder hits the streets, the band will be back doing what they do best – playing live. Their blistering attack is a sight to behold, and with three album's worth of material to choose from, the band is prepared to take the step from being a support band to becoming headliners in their own right. Peers take note, heroes check your rear-views, because that van you see coming up behind you just might be the future of metal.