The War of Gods and Men

Warrior is credited with being one of the first bands responsible for paving the road which we now know as Power Metal. They created a strong buzz out on the West Coast back in 1985 with their sold out shows and the release of their debut album, "Fighting For The Earth". Warrior was a band that was on the verge of breaking it out big time, but contract issues prevented the band from taking the next big step. With the wave of other LA metal bands like Ratt, Dokken and Poison starting to crop up, Warrior was lost beneath the Aqua-net, make-up and puffy hair of what would be now be known as Hair Metal. Warrior would not record again until 1998, when they released a strong comeback album by the name of "Ancient Future". It received rave reviews and was supported by a loyal core fan base. 2001 marked the release of the third and strongest Warrior album to date. "The Code of Life" contained the traditional Warrior trademarks with just the right amount of modern production elements. Vocalist Rob Rock was also a major factor in giving Warrior's music that extra power and range it needed from a lead singer. This album also received rave reviews and sold very well. My expectations for the fourth Warrior album were very high. After the incredible "The Code of Life" album, I was really looking forward to some new material with Rob Rock on vocals. Then I read that founding Warrior member and guitarist Joe Floyd felt that a new vocal approach would be necessary because the new songs were an extension of each previous record and were determining their own direction as the band began working out the new material for "The War of Gods and Men". Also, scheduling recording time became an issue for Rob Rock with his solo album release. Then I recently read that Marc Storace of Krokus would be handling the vocals. When Storace heard the songs he felt that he could express another side of his musical abilities. So he flew out to LA to help record the vocals for "The War of Gods and Men". Now I do like Marc Storace's voice. I've always seen him as a mix between a higher pitched Biff Byford (Saxon) and Bon Scott (AC/DC). The last Krokus album "Rock The Block" was very good and had that hard rock AC/DC Bon Scott era vibe going on. It was some of Storace's best singing to date. But my first thought was that an AC/DC sounding voice on a Warrior album would seem very out of place. After all, Warrior is a Power Metal band. The one thing Storace does on "The War of Gods and Men" is not sing like he does when he's with Krokus. You might hear him use his Saxon meets AC/DC style just a little on a few songs. But his vocal approach is much different unlike any other he's used. By that, I mean he sings much lower, gruff and hoarse, sounding like Steve Zousa (Exodus) at times and even tries to sound like the other singers from the previous Warrior albums. The end result is disappointing because the music is pretty good. There are alot of strong, catchy riffs but the vocals sound tired with no power behind them. The album starts off strong with the title track "The War of Gods and Men". It is very similar to "Day of Reckoning" from "The Code of Life". It's a good opener with some catchy power chords and a head banging heavy metal beat. Even "Do It Now" can pass for a memorable track with its repetitive chorus. But aside from the first two songs and a few in between, the album falls just short of something that could have been truly amazing. "Salvation" sounds like a lost track from TT Quick's "Ink" album and "Mars" is a weak ballad that they could have left off. Warrior makes a great effort musically with the exception of the vocals. This album could have been so much better. When listening to the album, I try to imagine what it would have sounded like without vocals, and then what it would have sounded like with Rob Rock on vocals. I wish that Joe Floyd would have worked out the scheduling conflicts with Rob Rock and let him finish doing whatever he had to so they could have continued where they left off with "The Code of Life". Still, with each listen I find myself becoming accustomed to the way the songs were done. But it's the deep wicked guitar rythyms that will win you over in the end, despite the vocals.