Warriors
Wretch
•
December 20, 2014

WRETCH are a huge force in Heavy Metal, they made their foundation in Ohio in the 1980's, and after a few line-up changes and a gap in their career lasting about 15 years, they made their return in 2006 and have since released numerous amounts of material and gained a large following in the United States and Europe, and also managed to sign a deal with Pure Steel Records after the release of their "Rise To Power" EP in 2013. Now one year later, they have released their new full length album "Warriors" which debuts their partnership with Pure Steel Records.
At the first 30 seconds of listening to this album, I could already understand that I was listening to something special and indeed - very metal! The albums opens up with a short and atmospheric guitar melody appropriately entitled "Into Madness", which sets the tone perfectly giving me a pleasant grin on my eager face, very excited to hear what these guys do with track 2. "Sleepless Dreams" then slams in straight away as a continuation of the melody in the opening track, with extra instruments added to boost the tension and anticipation, this is a fantastic song filled with very well written sections that differ from the rest of the song in the best possible way; in just 6 and a half minutes, WRETCH display a great sense of diversity of compositions skills in this one track, with a powerful chorus, heavy verses, a calm bridge and a very interesting and superb outro.
Every instrumentalist here is very good at what they do, every instrument gives me the chills at least one twice in each song, and the vocal work is incredible here too, conveying a true sense of power and emotion! The only thing negative I can really say is that although the songs themselves can be very diverse, the album is a whole doesn't say that as much; some of these songs do sound fairly similar at times, in terms of the riffs, rhythms, structure and tempos. I would be lying if I said I didn't think to myself at times, "Hold on, have I already listened to this song before..?" But the overall quality of the music as a whole almost makes that negativity void of validity, although still quite present. I think this album has been very successful and will stand out as a monument in WRETCH's career, and will give them a lot of recognition, boosting their name in every corner of the globe, which sure do deserve! Anybody would be a fool to pass this band and this album by. I urge you to check it out!<
7 / 10
Good

"Warriors" Track-listing:
1. Into Madness
2. Sleepless Dreams
3. The Ones
4. Warriors
5. Fallen From Grace
6. Sacrifice
7. All I See
8. Swords and Stone
9. Death of Innocence
10. Never Alone
11. Watching the World
12. In Those Eyes
13. Rain
Wretch Lineup:
Ron Emig - Vocals
Nick Giannakos - Guitar
Michael Stephenson - Guitar
Tim Frederick - Bass
Evan Gottschalk - Drums
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