As the old saying goes, "don't judge a book by its cover"; well definitely don't judge this excellent album by its lackluster, high school Photoshop graphics-class looking cover art. Wartorn is a metal-influenced crust band from Appleton, Wisconsin who embody the best of their genre: loud, fast anger and violence. Listening to Iconic Nightmare reminded me of the Crust and Streetpunk bands I used to see at VFW and Teen Center shows in CT back in 2001 and 2002. After a full listen, it made me happy to know that the spirit of aggressive, underground Punk and Hardcore still lives on somewhere.
Iconic Nightmare's eponymous opening track contains all the elements of great metal AND punk rock – fast tempo, guttural mid-range vocals, melodic riffing, and even some death growls mixed in. The track bleeds into the the fast d-beat influenced "Unfinished Blueprint", which from the lyrics I could decipher, tells the tale of modern dictatorship "You steal from the poor, to feed your fucking ego!"- get the picture? Wartorn's apocalyptic political message makes for good crust-punk and their thrash and death metal influence give them even more of a powerful edge. Their message of destruction of despair works well in that its not preachy or self-righteous like that of Anti-Flag, and unlike Leftöver Crack and that cadre, they don't go out of their way to promote homelessness and crack-addiction as a good lifestyle choice. In tracks like "All Flags Still Burn" and "Burial Ground", Wartorn shows their thrash metal chops that would fit well on a Municipal Waste or Warbringer record. But all the while, the band retains that special iconoclastic anger that would make them more at home with dystopian acts like Assück or Disrupt or even power-violence outfits like Spazz and Infest.
In other words, for the angry and pessimistic among us, there is a lot to like in Iconic Nightmare. If you wanted to get picky, one could bemoan the lack of variation here, but to do so would be missing the point. Wartorn knows how to make a catchy riff and build a memorable song around the message. The riffs, the mosh-ready grooves, and the blend of crust-punk misanthropy and extreme metal nihilism make Iconic Nightmare an essential listen for your Wartorn Winter.
8.5/10
Favorite Song: "Iconic Nightmare", "Unfinished Blueprint", "Six Feet Under", "All Flags Still Burn", and "Burial Ground"
