War of Ages - Return to Life

My review of War of Age's last record, Eternal, wasn't very favorable. With the exception of the title track, the record at the time of my review just wasn't clicking for me. But some time after I wrote my review of Eternal the album clicked with me. And for that matter, so did War of Ages. Eternal became my workout record of choice. Finally seeing the band live at Scream the Prayer really won me over. Their set was solid and there was no denying how good WOA is.

Return to Life works instantly for me. It's a return to the grittier sounding WOA. Where Eternal sounded slick and Tim Lambesis' fingerprints were all over that record, Return to Life has a edge to it. Return to Life is almost a return to War of Ages' roots. The album blends the great metal elements that Eternal had with the more straight forward hardcore that the earlier records had.

Immortal kicks the record off on a high note. Best opening WOA's song since All Consuming Fire. Redeemer starts off with a great gang vocal chant between the clean vocals. It's one of my favorite songs WOA has written. Fallen Idol and Silent Night both have a killer opening riffs. Return to Life has more gang vocal sing-a-longs as well as more clean vocals. But what sticks out most to me are Leroy's lyrics. While he's always been a strong lyricist, there's something different about Return to Life. War of Ages has never been a band that's been shy about their faith but it seems... More outspoken on Return to Life. There's less of the warrior mentality. It's less about standing strong and more about resting in God.

Return to Life is War of Ages best record yet. It's raw and driving but has great melodic moments. It's a combo of everything that has previously made WOA such a great band. War of Ages fan will not be disappointed.