What can I say about Toledo, Ohio? Honestly, I never found anything about the city to be remotely appealing at all. Then again, I might be a bit biased against the city after the time I got a flat tire on my way home from a show in Detroit and was stuck repairing my tire in the rain while being repeatedly splashed with water by passing cars. Based on the content of the latest release from Premonitions of War, they must have had similar experiences for they seem to be not too happy about their city either.
Premonitions of War is a five-piece outfit that plays metallic hardcore that is accented by hints of death-metal and southern-sludge. The most obvious comparisons can be made to the bands Burnt By the Sun, Superjoint Ritual, Death, and Crowbar. The band started out with a Self-Titled EP in 2000, which garnered them the attention to sign to Goodfellow Records and release The True Face of Panic in 2002. And now we are on the eve of the release of one of the most brutal and volatile releases in a long time.
To put it simply, this album is a frenzy of punishment; twelve songs in 26 minutes. The first five songs hit so you fast, with menacing and chaotic guitar riffs that are reminiscent of Reign in Blood era Slayer with a dash of modern-hardcore. That brings us to the masterpiece of the album, "Black Den". Something about this song is so pleasing to the ears. The track relies on repetitive drumming and guitar sequences, which is very much in the vein of Neurosis and Isis. This track is very heavy, but at the same time it's not too overbearing and gives you a floating feels as it progresses. It is definitely the stand-out track on this album. After a brief calm in the subsequent track, we are quickly thrown back into the wall of noise. The biggest turnoff I have with this album is the vocals. They are quite generic to the metalcore genre, which makes it hard to be distinguished from the slew of other bands that have oversaturated the genre. However, there are a few things that set the bad apart from others, the best example being the southern-rock influenced track "The Octopus".
Overall, this band will be deciding their own future. The band follows the same formula throughout Left In Kowloon and the songs can seem a bit unoriginal after a few listens. Luckily there are a few tracks within that help to break the monotony. Regardless, they will be battling it out with an absurd amount of metal/hardcore acts for the praise of the press and fans. With the talent that is within this group and a little more maturity in their song-writing they will be able to break the mold and become a more recognizable force.
