Prophets of War - Regeneration (song review) |self-released, Plains Of Desolation, 2011|
When you think of the origins of black metal bands you may have a few cold European countries such as Finland, Norway or Sweden come to mind. On the other hand, a big continent that is occupied by Tasmanian devils, kangaroos and koalas may be the last place you would think of. Prophets of War is an Australian metal quintet. After releasing the Road To The End of the World album in 2010, they put out another record called Plains Of Desolation a year later.
"Regeneration" is the second track from this release. The song attacks the listener with a flood of graduating riffs that are accompanied by a wall of screams. The principal influences of the group seem to range from classic black metal to doom and death metal due to fast drum beats as well as bawling vocals. The band mentions Opeth, Orphaned Land, Insomnium, Ghost Brigade and The Nefilim amongst their musical inspirations. On the flip side, there are many arrangements that are based on a blend of progressive guitar and bass riffs combined with backing vocals. These become apparent in the second part of the song and play a big role in this composition as well.
Sharp rhythms and solo guitar riffs by Paul Jeanrenaud and David Currie continuously spice up the arrangements while leaving free space for an improvised virtuosity (which is quite useful for live shows). The lead guitar segments sound clean and cold, yet steadily underlined throughout the entire track. There's a solid collaboration between the two guitar players which transpires further with drummer Nathan Harris, bassist Roger Menso (known as Candellan from his other project called Punch Drunk Monkey) as well as Michael Saunders on keyboards. Vocals are done by Paul, David and Roger.
The typical "let's gallow and commove the Universe so it will never be the same" attitude of agitation that is best known from a majority of black metal releases can be easily spotted in "Regeneration" as well. Brooding moods will be undoubtedly loved by the fans of black metal, yet some of them may even experience a purifying fire that transpires out of the music.
The ending has a very melodic guitar part that adds a cold touch to the composition. This idea also appears at the beginning of "Regeneration", which allows for a noticeable connection between the opposite sides of the track and works pretty well.
Fury in music becomes potent during live performances best. Well muscled sweaty bodies, long hair sawing the air, dark outfits, smoky eyes of women as well as overwhelmingly heavy tunes combined with a pulse of power and a river of beer make metal shows extremely fun and desirable. There's always something primal that becomes evident during such events. If you want to taste this atmosphere, be sure to not only buy albums released by Prophets of War, but see them play live too.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Magazine, October 14th, 2012. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens)
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