CRAWLING MANIFEST are an American Melodic Death Metal band from Greensboro, Maryland. "Lords of War" is their second EP, following their 2016 debut EP "Forevermore" and their only full-length so far, "Battlegrounds", released last year. This EP has five songs and lasts about 28 minutes. Things start with a thrashy intro on "Paladins' March", with fast-paced drumming and spirited riffing. The vocals don't quite accompany the mix, sounding above the music and not as part of the song, and the cleans in particular do not seem right for the track. The acoustic breakdown at 3:20 minutes allows for a slight respite. The bluesy guitar solo that follows is the perfect complement to the song.

The title track continues the use of thrashy drumming and has a shredding solo that makes it inevitable to accompany with air guitar or simple headbanging. The first half could be slightly shorter, as it becomes somewhat repetitive, but improves with the instrumental changes of the second part. "Shrapnel Wings" is probably the catchiest song in the whole EP, with a more Punk vibe and a pretty old-school sound even including some growled vocals. The use of gang vocals at several points adds to the Hardcore-inspired vibe.

While "Aim to Kill" has a very interesting introduction and a greater presence of the sounds in the bass end of the mix, "Divine Crusade" is an epic closing with an interesting layering of the guitars in the outro. The almost machinegun-like riffing and drumming in "Aim to Kill" convey a feeling of chaos and anxiety with a clear talent on the instrumental side. In short, "Lords of War" is an entertaining EP and easy to get in terms of intensity. However, the production is too raw and noisy while the mix is quite erratic, failing to bring all the sounds together. It ends up feeling like a single song and not the sum of different parts.

Guitar solos abound, and always show technical proficiency, even so, it is difficult to fully appreciate the album because of production decisions. Songwriting could be refined a little more to avoid falling into repetitive patterns or to handle a sense of flux better so that longer songs do not feel too tedious. The sound gets a little derivative and repetitive, especially towards the end of the EP. CRAWLING MANIFEST has clear talent and passion for heavy music, with more focus on the songwriting department, but with better production they could bring something more memorable next time around.