Wars are a melodic hardcore band from Rugby and despite only forming earlier this year, have created an EP of significant maturity. They possess that often elusive combination of aggressiveness mixed with genuinely good, much softer vocals with vocalist Rob Vicars surely giving even the likes of Sam Carter from Architects a run for his money in terms of pitch and vocal strength, at least on record.
Opening track ‘Gamblers Ruin’ starts with a slow buildup, Vicars’ screaming voice sounds perfect and is beautifully offset by the high pitch melody of the backing vocals. There is a cleverly crafted pause with an appropriate sing-a-long with some beautiful trickling guitar, which accompanies the more forceful return of the main riff. They instantly sound mature and possess a sound that would surely be infectious and brilliant to watch live.
‘Eight on the Balantine Scale’ continues the deeply nautical theme of the EP, a strange and perhaps ironic note, the band hailing from perhaps the most land locked point in the whole of the UK. The chugging guitar near to the end of the track is delicious and will inspire crowd mayhem at their live shows.
‘Weathered Eyes’ is the standout track on the EP. Vicars’ vocal’s tear into the listener and interestingly, despite the aggressive qualities of wars, the songs lead naturally towards the more melodic and beautiful sing-a-long sections.The EP deals with issues concerning the struggles between the head and the heart, and this push-pull relationship is nicely portrayed between the juxtaposed sections of heavy and more melodic sections of the songs. There is also a hugely infectious sing-a-long near the end where Vicars sings ‘we are the broken machines’ which is the icing on the cake, neck hairs appropriately on end.
‘The Leviathan and the Liar’ is another reference to the sea, namely a sea monster referenced in the Old Testament. This track has another excellent and pleasing chorus which will surely persuade plaudits that wars have something unique and decent to offer, up there alongside Architects and While She Sleeps, perhaps as one of the UK’s more exciting offerings of 2015.
The final track entitled ’00.01’ is a short little outerlude lasting a little over one minute, but does provide a subtle and appropriate ending to what was an honest and decent release. For a band that only formed this year, this EP is ridiculously seamless and professional. You can literally hear the sweat and tears that were put into this release and the future would seem bright for wars. It is amazing how much quality is coming out of the UK at the moment. wars mean business, have hooks and a vocalist to match any band out there in the scene or beyond – it will be interesting to see if wars ‘will claim us all’.
DAVE BULL