FOREST WARS - Light Leaks

September 1, 2015, 8 years ago

(Independent)

Greg Pratt

Rating: 7.0

review heavy metal forest wars

FOREST WARS - Light Leaks

The term "power violence" gets thrown around regarding Ohio's Forest Wars, but I wouldn't quite go that far: while their unique (very unique) take on sludgey hardcore has similarities to the sound (bass up high; grinding when needed; doom/sludge when called for), this is a more thoughtful and progressive take on extremity than the 40-second blasts associated with power violence. 

This 22-minute EP reminds me of Relapse's hardcore/metal crossover heyday, when bands like Burnt By The Sun, Luddite Clone, and The Dillinger Escape Plan totally ruled over the label's compilation CDs: here, Forest Wars annihilate with both the mind and the blunt force of extreme music, tracks like killer weird-fest "Familiar" being discordant and cutting, jagged and brainy all at once, definitely metal but definitely hardcore, definitely tech but defiantly not; hard to say what it is, but it's intense, and it works. "Weeds On My Tomb" brings the energy levels down to an Opethian place, and it makes my eyes glaze over (Bandcamp page says Forest Wars is made up of members of two prog bands, and it shows at points here). But while the band's meandering isn't incredibly powerful, the bulk of this cool and intense EP is. Glad it's only 22 minutes; this is painful stuff, in all the best ways.



Featured Video

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

Latest Reviews