ALBUM REVIEW: Confession – War Curse

It’s been four years since WAR CURSE released their sophomore effort Eradication. The album saw the band building upon their debut and catapulted them into the public eye. Since then, they have been somewhat on the backburner with the pandemic putting a stop to them touring it in a proper manner. So with that in mind, the boys have seen 2023 as a chance to take a fresh stab at claiming their place in the upper echelons of the modern thrash metal world with their third full-length Confession.

The album opens with the epic The Nothing (That Is Me) complete with clean, intertwining guitars in the intro that see the song swell and build the intrigue for the rest of the record. The gears then shift, and the band lay down a thumping riff and booming drums for the verse, with the vocals from Blaine Gordon cutting through the mix perfectly and soaring over the top. The band clearly aren’t afraid to show who their biggest influences are, with Confession owing a lot to the classic METALLICA self-titled album (otherwise known as The Black Album). However, this is not to say that the band copy the thrash metal titans, rather they have taken the best aspects of what they like and have created something that is all their own.

Fortress Of Agony boasts one of the heaviest opening riffs we have heard from the band before shifting into a mid-tempo plethora of headbanging moments and strong melodies for you to sink your teeth in to. The bridge section of this song is one of the real highlights of the album with an impressive technical display from drummer James Goetz providing the backbone for one of the most crushing moments on the entire release.

As the album progresses we find another gem in Miracle Broker. Once again, the song is driven by a series of groove-laden guitars and a simple yet effective structure. The vocal performance on this track from Gordon is superb, laying down attitude and bile in the verses and then a huge, catchy chorus that worms its way into your ear canal and sets up camp. As the album continues the band show little sign of deviating from their tried-and-true formula. The Convoy is another solid slab of heavy metal. The lyrics are a little cheesy, and by this point the mid-tempo pacing becomes a little tedious. This song is decent but unremarkable and the album is crying out for a little variety to keep things interesting.

Towards the back end of the album there is little wandering from the band’s comfort zone. Again, it is important to state that songs such as Return To Dust and Sowing Division are decent in themselves, but by this point in the album they do very little to kickstart the enthusiasm that was created in the first few tracks. The instrumental work on Rusty Nail has to be one of the most intriguing on the album, with the main riff utilizing harmonics in way that sounds fresh at this stage of the album and the chaotic drum fills in the bridge from Goetz injecting a bolt of life into proceedings before the emotive and well-crafted guitar solo closes out the song.

The closing track Illusion Of Choice once again stays the course – a mid-tempo heavy metal song with solid riffs and flurries of exciting instrumentals. The guitar solos are fun and well-sculpted, the rhythm section is watertight and powerful, and the vocal performance is solid enough. Yet once again it all feels very safe and more than a little underwhelming, especially as it sees the album end on such a forgettable note.

WAR CURSE are a talented band. They have plenty of riffs at their disposable and a vocalist who knows how to write a compelling melody and a catchy hook. And perhaps that is why Confession is such a frustrating album. There is nothing new here and nothing that will get hearts pumping for people who like their thrash metal to feel a little unhinged and dangerous. Inoffensive and listenable, but equally uninspiring and a little forgettable.

Rating: 6/10

Confession is out now via Metal Blade Records/Blacklight Media Records.

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