After years hidden in the underground depths in the 90s, the genre came back in the early years of the 2000s. The famous acts of the genre left behind their musical experiments of the 90s (a try to survive after Metal was expulsed from the parade boards by Alternative Rock tendencies), and ignited a new wave for the genre. As consequence, many excellent names appeared, as SUICIDAL ANGELS, HAVOK, LAZARUS A.D., MUNICIPAL WASTE, NERVOSA and many others. And even not being as famous as these ones, the North American quintet WARBRINGER always delivered excellent releases, and now, they seem to reach their peak with “Wrath and Run”, their seventh full-length.

‘Thrash Metal’ isn’t enough to say what the quintet plays, and these Californian guys from Ventura (that’s not as near of Bay Area of San Francisco as some could think), because they work on a mix between a violent approach, but using a good melodic tack. Such description put the band in the same team of FORBIDDEN and VIO-LENCE, but with some touches inherited from Crossover in the vein of NUCLEAR ASSAULT. It’s violent and sharp, but always using melodies to sharp their musical violence (especially on the guitar leads), and full of an addictive energy.

The band jointed forces with Mark Lewis (the famous producer known for his works with CANNIBAL CORPSE, TRIVIUM, MONSTROSITY, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, METAL ALLIGEANCE, DEVILDRIVER, KRISIUN and others) to work as producer, and he did the recordings and mixing as well, while the mastering is signed by Justin Shturtz (known for his works with MACHINE HEAD, IN FLAMES and that works with the quintet for a long time). The idea was to build a sonority that could make the band’s music with a ‘full’ approach, defined and aggressive, and they hit the target: it’s really a perfect work, but how aggressive things are! And what great work of Andreas Marschall for the cover!

The songs of “Wrath and Ruin” are massive Thrash Metal bombing, as stated by “The Sword and the Cross” (a brutal and aggressive song filled with sets of shrapnel guitar riffs, but with many shifts on the rhythms), “A Better World” (a faster moment with excellent melodic tack and thunderous work on bass guitar and drums), “Neuromancer” (an oppressive moment with charming slower tempos and very good low-tuned screams of the vocals), “The Jackhammer” (this one depicts the fast adrenaline used by Thrash Metal/Crossover acts of the past), “Through a Glass, Darkly” (the band shows here how they can explore ambiences, even on a genre where such feature isn’t usual), “Strike from the Sky”, “Cage of Air” (WOW, what great solos duels”!) and “The Last of My Kind”. All of them are great!

For those who love extra material there’s a double CD version, with many live materials on the disc 2. Again: it can be said that WARBRINGER has reached its peak on “Wrath and Ruin”. But’s not a sin to think that it’s their best by now, because the future for the band is truly promising.