Wartorn - Iconic Nightmare | Review

Hailing from Wisconsin, Warton are another bet from Southern Lord Records that once again confirms the label’s recent shift towards more punk and hardcore sounds following a few years in which the focal point was mostly doom, sludge and drone artists.

Just like its name suggests, don’t expect anything sweet or pleasant from this crust brigade ‘cause subtlety is definitely not in the Wartorn lexicon. These guys sound utterly pissed off and have only one goal, to fucking destroy, plain and simple. As a result, “Iconic Nightmare” offers nine songs worth of punishing, filthy and angry crust/punk delivered with a metallic fervour. Witness all the sonic havoc these guys can muster on tracks such as “Permanent Blackout”, “No Sanctuary No Salvation” and “Knee Deep in Blood”, where frenzied d-beat rhythms are crossed with fierce, grinding riffs and some metallic, razor-sharp leads.

The production work shown on this new work is clearly superior to their previous album “Tainting Tomorrow With the Blood of Yesterday”, and is at the same level of what Wolfbrigade have pulled out on their latest effort “Damned”. It’s furiously intense and violent, but it’s also accessible and rather enjoyable.

All in all, “Iconic Nightmare” is a punishing and menacingly hostile album that crust punks and extreme metallers can enjoy equally.

Band info: www.facebook.com/Wartorn
Label info: www.southernlord.com