WAR CLOUD - Earhammer Sessions (Review)

Written by: Shane Thirteen

​I tend to not read reviews of bands or artists I'm going to review because I don't want the influence of someone else's ideas to be in my head when I'm trying to think of how I feel about a project. That being said, I have no idea what other people are writing about War Cloud. What I can say is that if the words "AMAZING" or "Fucking Fantastic" haven't been used to define them, then that is a low-down dirty shame. 

War Cloud hits on so many levels for me. I can take a snap and sink back in my chair and ease into that place in my mind that puts me back into teenage fantasies of being a riff-monster rock star. The guy who lays down the riff that changes the world.  To me, War Cloud's Earhammer Sessions is the beginning of my rock and roll fantasy. I'm old. I mean like, I fucking remember the 70's kind of old. This album evokes that old school rock and roll spirit. It takes me back to the days of true rock and roll domination.

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I remember as a kid, rock and roll was about balls. It was sweaty and mean. It was about listening to bands that you felt changed the game. Earhammer Sessions is a game changer for me. This brings me back to memories of my old man slamming beer while working on hot rods, cut off shorts, Buster Brown track shoes, and the Suburban he used to fly down Kansas dirt roads in at high speed to jump the railroad tracks while blaring Blue Oyster Cult and Meatloaf off the 8-track. Real deal 70's mayhem child endangerment kind of shit (stepmom made him stop after one of the little kids bit his tongue  halfway off. Told ya to keep your mouth shut dummy!)

That said, I'm not saying this album sounds like BOC or Meatloaf, because it does not. What it does do for me is capture the same emotional state I had when I first discovered rock and roll as a little kid. That feeling of "holy shit I just discovered my special purpose." That being said, this album is a full on modern masterpiece. It screams of old school rock and roll rip. But it sits smack dab in the forefront of fresh rock and roll gleam. These guys have captured all that is cool about heavy music in the here and now. To me this brings everything sacred to light about what kind of metal is being made in the present era--right now being the most important time in music history. Our world is in a constant state of clash and chaos. Division of our people is our greatest weakness. Turmoil has always changed music. Times of war and desolate futures bring about a change in music and art. This album speaks to that truth. Music is changing. Gone are the days of the old. Now there is War Cloud and they are changing the game. This is the way. These guys have had their ear to the ground and have used what they have learned to craft a piece of art that can change rock and roll.  This is a brilliant piece of work. If you haven't taken the chance to listen to War Cloud you have done your ears a disservice.

I can't wait to see them live. I can only imagine.
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Metal is meant to be dangerous. It should be loud, aggressive, and inspire you to make terrible decisions. It should induce panic and make your mother angry. As I listen through this album my mind envisions metal gods, booze, drugs, chaos, and one big long night at the wrong kind of party. 

Metal is about taking all the things that make humans terrible and giving it an outlet to channel all the anger through riffs and raised fists. Mosh pits and mental fits. Get it all out there. Pour it on the floor. War Cloud will bring the sound track. God I wish I was 16 again. I would be swinging from the rafters of every War Cloud show I could find.

​Hit up their Bandcamp. Go like their Facebook page. Support this band! You wont regret it a bit.

War Cloud - Earhammer Sessions was released May 22nd from Ripple Music

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War Cloud can be found:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Youtube