Review by Brexaul on January 2, 2021.

I mostly knew about Orion’s Reign (what a nice name) as a cartoon band, since after their very worthy debut Nuclear Winter, they went down a very weird path of seeking a fast way to fame by utilizing collaborations with YouTubers doing silly covers rather than actually writing any music, so I was mostly indifferent about their progress and their eventual transformation to a full-fledged Christmas-song cover troupe.

Enter Scores of War. Taking a big bite out of the symphonic metal pie of Rhapsody and the likes, this album is very well crafted, with overall great songs, amazing musicianship and some truly memorable moments. Not every album needs to invent the wheel or be revolutionary so the successful formula of Rhapsody (or Gloryhammer if you prefer a more recent example) works great here, with the keyboards doing all the heavy lifting and the guitars waiting patiently for the solo sections to go bananas. The vocals are a bit too over the top but very well executed, hitting some impossible notes. I’d prefer a more “controlled” performance that could give some more depth to the songs and showcase the singer’s full capabilities better, but the whole album is built this way, so it works within context. We also have the mandatory guest appearances with Mark Boals giving an excellent performance on 'Last Stand', Tim “Ripper” Owens totally killing it on 'Together We March' and Minniva Børresen shining on 'Nostos', adding to the overall experience.

The album is very well mixed and the sound is polished and crisp, as this specific genre requires. The rhythm section is solid, although I’d like to hear a bit more bass in the mix, but again, it’s symphonic metal so you can’t expect any Steve Di Giorgios in there. My only true issue with the album is that the lack of guitar riffing becomes painfully obvious after a couple of listens since for the most part the guitars are shouting “put me in coach” until the solo section comes. It doesn’t take too much from the overall experience, but the album could be significantly heavier (read: better) if the guitars had enjoyed the attention of the keyboards.

Scores of War is professional, where Nuclear Winter was demo-ish and the progress is undeniable. With some small tweaks here and there, Orion’s Reign could well be the next big name in the symphonic metal scene, let’s hope we don’t get the full “whatever anime is hot right now” metal versions before they come up with their next album.

Standout tracks: 'Together We March', 'The Gravewalker', 'Last Stand'

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Frost on December 29, 2021.

Oh, hey! The new Gorgoroth album is out!

Wait, no, this isn't the new Gorgoroth album. It's just Ov Hell....

If you blindfolded me and put Ov Hell's debut on and had me listen to it from start to finish, then asked me to compare it to any Gorgoroth album released prior to Ov Hell's formation, I wouldn't be able to tell you which band is which. Oh, wait! Yes, I could, because Ov Hell is such a blatant copycat, it's not even funny. Every riff on just about every track of this album, you've heard before from "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" to "Quantos Possut Ad Satanitatem Trahunt" in one variation or another, except done poorly. Good thing even on Infernus' most creatively challenged day, he could create riffs that would piss and shit all over these riffs.

Hell, it's hard to tell Shagrath apart from either Gorgoroth frontman between 2007 and 2010. He's such a underwhelmingly bog standard black metal vocalist. Sure, he's got the snarls and the high-pitched shrieks that sound like he's conjuring demons from the deepest pits of Hell, but there's no bone-chilling force behind his vocals. There's some effects that are thrown on his voice in a few songs in an attempt to suit the atmosphere its trying to present, but they ultimately fail to do anything to capture the listener's attention in any significant way.

Shagrath, Teloch, and some guy named Ice Dale handles guitar duties while King ov Hell provides the mediocre bass work that you can barely hear throughout this thing's short run time. Teloch is probably the only one with any original guitar leads to speak of because some of the most memorable riffs come from the two tracks he provides guitar work for, 'Perpetual Night' and 'Invoker'. By the way, 'Perpetual Night' is probably the most ridiculous track on this thing. If Gorgoroth ever wrote a track like this, they would be laughed at because it's so goddamn cheesy and plays to some prominent clichés within black metal and yet tries to be serious with it in the same breath. I know lots of black metal bands, second wave or otherwise, play up to a lot of established clichés (some for better, some for worse), and there are some that take those tropes, turn them on their head, and make the listener think of them in a brand new light like Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord. Or you have some bands that follow the clichés to the very edge of the abyss, but are so amazing in embracing the over-the-top ridiculousness like Deströyer 666 or Midnight. I found myself laughing when that tired old howling wolf sample snuck in again halfway through the song and Shagrath doing his awkward evil laughter over it. They might as well have had flames burning at the end along with the sounds of innocent people being slaughtered mercilessly while Shagrath does his best Satan impersonation. 'Ghosting' sounds like a less menacing and evil version of “Sign Of An Open Eye,” which is a crime because while Gaahl isn't the best vocalist Gorgoroth ever had, he did a great job on AMSG. “Sign Of An Open Eye” was a pretty solid song. It sucks to hear a less quality knockoff of it on this album.

It's obvious looking back that King ov Hell was infinitely vane during his time in Gorgoroth. I mean, who thinks their role in the band they played in is so important that they try to take the creator and leader of the band to court to get official ownership of the band's name? And King ov Hell was just the bass player for a few albums. What made him and Gaahl have the huge swinging balls to try and swipe ownership from the guy who created the band and has been the creative force behind some of the most classic albums in all of black metal? Obviously, they failed and were gone from the band before Gorgoroth returned with the almighty Pest to release "Quantos Possunt" in 2009, a modern black metal classic.

The Underworld Regime came out a year later, and it shows. Judging by the songwriting and the production, it obviously sounds like ASMG in so many ways, The disgruntled former bassist wanted nothing more than to be Gorgoroth. Instead, however, of trying to forge a new path and create a band with some integrity, strong riffs, and good songwriting, we instead have a namesake copycat band with no integrity, guitar work that Infernus wouldn't even dignify spitting on (mostly because they're second-rate copies of all of his riffs), and pretty lackluster and uninteresting songwriting. If you're even remotely into the most by the numbers black metal imaginable, then give this thing a shot. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and stick with the masters, not the imitators.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Review by Frost on December 29, 2021.

Oh, hey! The new Gorgoroth album is out!

Wait, no, this isn't the new Gorgoroth album. It's just Ov Hell....

If you blindfolded me and put Ov Hell's debut on and had me listen to it from start to finish, then asked me to compare it to any Gorgoroth album released prior to Ov Hell's formation, I wouldn't be able to tell you which band is which. Oh, wait! Yes, I could, because Ov Hell is such a blatant copycat, it's not even funny. Every riff on just about every track of this album, you've heard before from "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" to "Quantos Possut Ad Satanitatem Trahunt" in one variation or another, except done poorly. Good thing even on Infernus' most creatively challenged day, he could create riffs that would piss and shit all over these riffs.

Hell, it's hard to tell Shagrath apart from either Gorgoroth frontman between 2007 and 2010. He's such a underwhelmingly bog standard black metal vocalist. Sure, he's got the snarls and the high-pitched shrieks that sound like he's conjuring demons from the deepest pits of Hell, but there's no bone-chilling force behind his vocals. There's some effects that are thrown on his voice in a few songs in an attempt to suit the atmosphere its trying to present, but they ultimately fail to do anything to capture the listener's attention in any significant way.

Shagrath, Teloch, and some guy named Ice Dale handles guitar duties while King ov Hell provides the mediocre bass work that you can barely hear throughout this thing's short run time. Teloch is probably the only one with any original guitar leads to speak of because some of the most memorable riffs come from the two tracks he provides guitar work for, 'Perpetual Night' and 'Invoker'. By the way, 'Perpetual Night' is probably the most ridiculous track on this thing. If Gorgoroth ever wrote a track like this, they would be laughed at because it's so goddamn cheesy and plays to some prominent clichés within black metal and yet tries to be serious with it in the same breath. I know lots of black metal bands, second wave or otherwise, play up to a lot of established clichés (some for better, some for worse), and there are some that take those tropes, turn them on their head, and make the listener think of them in a brand new light like Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord. Or you have some bands that follow the clichés to the very edge of the abyss, but are so amazing in embracing the over-the-top ridiculousness like Deströyer 666 or Midnight. I found myself laughing when that tired old howling wolf sample snuck in again halfway through the song and Shagrath doing his awkward evil laughter over it. They might as well have had flames burning at the end along with the sounds of innocent people being slaughtered mercilessly while Shagrath does his best Satan impersonation. 'Ghosting' sounds like a less menacing and evil version of “Sign Of An Open Eye,” which is a crime because while Gaahl isn't the best vocalist Gorgoroth ever had, he did a great job on AMSG. “Sign Of An Open Eye” was a pretty solid song. It sucks to hear a less quality knockoff of it on this album.

It's obvious looking back that King ov Hell was infinitely vane during his time in Gorgoroth. I mean, who thinks their role in the band they played in is so important that they try to take the creator and leader of the band to court to get official ownership of the band's name? And King ov Hell was just the bass player for a few albums. What made him and Gaahl have the huge swinging balls to try and swipe ownership from the guy who created the band and has been the creative force behind some of the most classic albums in all of black metal? Obviously, they failed and were gone from the band before Gorgoroth returned with the almighty Pest to release "Quantos Possunt" in 2009, a modern black metal classic.

The Underworld Regime came out a year later, and it shows. Judging by the songwriting and the production, it obviously sounds like ASMG in so many ways, The disgruntled former bassist wanted nothing more than to be Gorgoroth. Instead, however, of trying to forge a new path and create a band with some integrity, strong riffs, and good songwriting, we instead have a namesake copycat band with no integrity, guitar work that Infernus wouldn't even dignify spitting on (mostly because they're second-rate copies of all of his riffs), and pretty lackluster and uninteresting songwriting. If you're even remotely into the most by the numbers black metal imaginable, then give this thing a shot. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and stick with the masters, not the imitators.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Review by Kate on April 8, 2011.

Agnostic Front is a band who have truly broken ground for Hardcore Metal/Punk scene and changed the face of music throughout their 25 year long career. “United Blood” and “Victim In Blood” are what started it all and had a huge hand in the Hardcore genre itself. Even through personal problems and lineup changes, Agnostic Front has managed to stay true to their sound and their roots which have kept them a fan favorite since day one.

Now with the highly anticipated release since 2007’s “Warriors”, these guys have shown they still don’t need to change for anyone and never will. I will admit that I’ve never been a fan of the Hardcore scene but I did grow up in the Punk (as well as Metal of course) scene and I really like the heavy Punk influence that comes out strong on their opener 'City Street'. The self-titled track comes through powerfully with Roger Miret’s unique vocals and strong chorus shouts and Vinnie Stigma’s guitar style reminds me of an old-school version of Bad Religion. 'That’s Life' comes crashing through with thrashing drums and a D.R.I-like tempo that fits with the vocals really well. They definitely know how to mix old Punk and Hardcore together.

The main thing is that this album is very repetitive which is unfortunately a common problem for a lot of Hardcore bands. There are not many tempo changes and after awhile one song starts to just bleed right into the next. Not one song is truly memorable, which is the main thing I need for it to be a decent album. It is a fun album to give a listen to once or twice, if that’s something you’re looking for then I say you should give “My Life My Way” a shot!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.0
Atmosphere: 5.0
Production: 6.0
Originality: 5.0
Overall: 5.0

Rating: 5.4 out of 10