LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR — War Metal Battle Master (review)

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR — War Metal Battle Master album cover

Album · 2008 · Sludge Metal

4/5 · 2021-11-20
UMUR

"War Metal Battle Master" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Chicago based metal act Lair of the Minotaur. The album was released through Southern Lord Recordings in March 2008. It´s the successor to "The Ultimate Destroyer" from 2006 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Larry Herweg has been replaced by Chris Wozniak. The remaining part of the three-piece lineup are vocalist/guitarist Steven Rathbone and bassist Donald James Barraca.

Stylistically the material on "War Metal Battle Master" is a direct continuation of the sludge/doom/thrash metal style of the two predecessors. It´s a raw, organic, and mean extreme metal style, which draws elements from many subgenres of heavy metal. Lair of the Minotaur have always been quite eclectic and anarcistic in the way they play and write music, and that tendency is continued here. You´re never quite sure where a song will go and that´s a great quality to my ears. It´s not like the tracks feature anything odd or anything out of place, but they are often rather unpredictable and it keeps the listener on his/her toes throughout the playing time.

The basis of the music is predominantly heavy riffs and rhythms (either a bit thrashy or a bit more heavy doomy/sludgy) and Rathbone´s aggressive shouting or snarling vocals. And that´s pretty much it. It´s all about the furious expression and raw energy, and that part Lair of the Minotaur convey in a most convincing way. Sometimes it feels like you´re in the room with them while they are playing, smelling the sweat, the blood, and tears, that´s how organic and raw this sounds. It´s not only about the ferocious performances though, as Lair of the Minotaur are skilled musicians and composers too. Just because the performances are raw and organic, it doesn´t mean that everything aren´t performed with skill and precision. These guys just understand the importance of a human touch and the importance of delivering your music with conviction and a burning passion.

The material on the 8 track, 39:31 are well written, catchy, and memorable. It may take a few listens to fully absorb because of the relatively anarcistic nature of the tracks, but there are plenty of hooks to hold on to throughout the album. Killer riffs and shout-along vocal phrases, and who doesn´t love song titles like "Black Viper Barbarian Clan", "When the Ice Giants Slayed All", and "Horde of Undead Vengeance"?...now that´s pure heavy metal class.

"War Metal Battle Master" features a suitingly powerful, raw, and organic sounding production job, and upon conclusion it´s a high quality release through and through. To my ears the band lost a bit of their raw charm on "The Ultimate Destroyer (2006)" (although it´s still a great album) compared to the savage rawness of the debut album, but "War Metal Battle Master" restores the ferocious attack on the senses that the debut album delivered. Paired with slightly more mature songwriting "War Metal Battle Master" is the right step forward for Lair of the Minotaur and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.