ALBUM REVIEW: WARHOG -The Dystopian Chronicles, Vol. 3
Not having been privy to volumes 1 and 2, my open mind soaked up Warhog's Thrash/Power/Prog Metal gleefully. The Dystopian Chronicles, Vol. 3 does what it says on the label - providing an analysis of what Cool Zone Media's "It Could Happen Here" refers to as "The Crumbles," the general erosion of societal glue and norms, leading to the generally unsettled and irritated attitude everyone is swimming in these days.
As an EP, I've only got four songs to review. "Unleash the Beast" opens with a nice (if standard) ethereal ambience before Robert Powers' drums kick in, Eric Kendall's rhythm guitar joins in. A pedal switch adds distortion and Scott Beetley's vocals come in clear as day narrating the current climate of corporate greed destroying everything good (online, Cory Doctorow calls it "enshittification," check out several episodes of the podcast "On The Media" where he elaborates) because the beast has been unleashed.
"Future Shock," originally a book by Alvin Toeffler seeking to explain the rapidly changing culture of the late 60s (they hadn't seen anything like social media) brings the listener through the anger and frustration of common people in a world being destroyed by industry within which the voiceless many toil. As much as "Unleash the Beast" introduces many of the ideas and mindsets, "Future Shock" delivers a thesis.
Four songs, but twenty-five minutes means Warhog gives themselves room to stretch and express themselves more fully. "Hollow" starts its seven-and-a-half minutes at a slower pace (it was here I stopped and added "Prog" to the genre description above.) No less ardent a critique of the dystopia brought by industry, finance, mass media, and the corruption of everything than "Future Shock," "Hollow" wants to make sure you get it. If ever a video for this tune appears, it will spend the musical interlude's four-plus minutes showcasing scenes of industrial destruction before a Power Metal interlude yearns for relief.
A bit on the nose for a title, but "Stewards of a Broken World" starts us with some nice Iron Maiden-esque guitar work working beautifully with the vocals to bring real hope to this dystopia they chronicle. Maintaining the Progressive Groove sound, the tune rises and falls in tempo and stridency. The line "There's nothing we can do but watch it burn" precedes over a minute of solos. When singing returns, the cynicism remains at a ten.
To maintain the concept album illusion, a seventeen second faux radio transmission closes out this powerful critique of the state of the world we find ourselves in.
My personal left-wing politics interpret these tunes in a specific way, but the songs themselves are mostly observational and generally critical. Anyone elsewhere on the political spectrum, so long as they accept the science of climate change will find something familiar about the rage at what is being done to us in the name of more profits for the oligarchy.
The music behind the message is excellent, and I think I'm gonna try to find Vol. 1 and 2 for the full set.
If you like guitars in your hard rock and heavy metal, aren't looking for incoherent screams, and have an open mind about the world outside your door, this EP is right up your alley (provided said alley isn't jammed full of municipal waste.)
Buy the album here: https://warhog.bandcamp.com/
10 / 10
LARRY ROGERS
Larry Rogers, Ghost Cult Magazine, Warhog, Scott Beetley, Eric Kendall, Robert Powers, Justin Hopper, Iron Maiden,Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Cool Zone Media, It Could Happen Here, Cory Doctorow, Alvin Toeffler, On The Media, Yugoboy Productions, Yugoboy's Stereo
