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War Of Ages play a brand of metalcore that is so catchy you almost think they’re tiptoeing dangerously close to nu metal.

If that sounds like an insult, it isn’t meant to be. True, all of the elements that made those baggy-panted loons so loveable are present here, from the thick, head-bobbing grooves of the riffs to the washes of synth that colour every song, but you’re never far from a Stockholm-style guitar lead or throat-ripping gang vocal to bring you back into pure metal territory. Having been around for over a decade and toured with the likes of As I Lay Dying, you’d probably think you know what you’re going to get, so fair play to the band for attempting to widen the parameters of their sound. They do hit the bullseye occasionally, with Doomsday and Lionheart both striding comfortably along the tightrope of commercial sheen and metallic crunch. But Supreme Chaos’s main downfall is a lack of consistent quality, with many of the album’s latter tracks running out of steam and inspiration.

Via Facedown

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.