Review: War Gods of the Deep - Robots, Rockets & Rampage

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Recently, I have discovered a new band which delves into some interesting concepts, War Gods of the Deep. Their new EP, Robots, Rockets & Rampage has been released and its an interesting listen.

The Band is named (Seemingly) from a 1965 movie with Vincent Price, (which went by City under the sea in non US countries). In it,
The plot concerns the discovery of a lost city beneath the sea off the coast of Cornwall. Price is the captain overseeing a group of sailors who have lived there for more than a century where the peculiar mix of gases has allowed them to extend their lifespan.
The band, which lists Kiss, Queen, Van Halen, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Boston, the Eagles, Prince, Def Leppard, and Journey among their influences, as well as comics, science fiction, fantasy and pulp magazines, as well as Star Wars (tastefully and gratefully mainly the Original Trilogy :) ) has definitely a unique and fresh sound going for them. 


Upon listening to the first track, "Vasnetov", I was reminded a little bit of the militaristic vibe of bands like Sabaton, whom I like. Doomy riffs with almost chanted vocals spacey keyboards and super heavy guitars, almost Hetfield style vocals.
The keyboards (and other effects) add a great atmosphere. 



I've become spoiled at keyboards in metal. What was once controversial at the dawn of its onset of the beginning has become almost a standard and essential part of Metal music making, at least in my opinion to make things interesting. 

In the song melodic riffs alternate with near dissonant sections and the song almost reminds me of some space war chant in general with it's background vocals. 

The guitar solo is a bit dissonant as well.
It's not super shreddy, but does resolve at a melodic peak well.

On the release overall, the guitars are brutal and have great tone that others may envy. 

The second song"Mortal Cage" is a bit more traditional metal leaning, but that is not a bad thing, as the riffs are still dark
the vibe of vocals on this one almost
remind me of someone  like James Hetfield meets Nick Holmes of mid nineties era
Paradise Lost. 
This is not a knock as it makes the music heavier without going into super extreme metal territory. I would almost say in a way, that this band makes me think of Metallica if they made The Thing That Should Not Be extended to a concept
and template for a Metal subgenre.
 Epic, doomy, near progressive at times riffs that are heavier than a mack truck carrying nothing but Osmium, Diamonds and Steel, crushing all in it's path. 

It is too organized to be sludge metal, but it does have the heaviness of sludge metal at times, and the vocals are hooky but definitely not some type of pretty power metal wailer style. 

I like the ultra heavy yet somewhat airy production that the addition of keyboards and somewhat choir sounding vocals gives it.

 "This Evil" is the third song of the bunch and is also the heaviest and the most proggy with its odd timings.Circular evil
almost maze like riffs that take you on a journey as far as the music goes makes this song my favorite of the three. 


Criticisms? Well I would say if I have any, it's that the keyboards could be louder in the mix. I can think of albums like the classics by Devin Townsend that had expansive atmospheres mixed with crushing guitars. This may be a personal choice, but I think it makes it easier to get lost in the music when keyboards are raised. Overall, this is a promising new band with a very unique sound, I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store for the future, and by the way, their album cover art is incredible as well.


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