Aside from dropping the vocal register down a few decibels, WARFATHER is definitely the spiritual successor to Morbid Angel.
Review by David Feltman
Fans of classic death metal group Morbid Angel, now is the time to sing “Halleluiah!” or “Hail Satan!” or whatever jubilation strikes your fancy. Former Morbid Angel bassist and vocalist Steve Tucker has carried the torch of his former band onward with WARFATHER. Aside from dropping the vocal register down a few decibels, WARFATHER is definitely the spiritual successor to Morbid Angel. WARFATHER is every bit as swift and technical as its forefather, but adds an interesting Norse aesthetic.
The band labels itself, like Valdur, as “blackened death metal,” but honestly, this is straight up, old school death metal. WARFATHER adopts a heavy anti-establishment, anti-plutocratic vibe, which definitely adds an interesting and distinct identity from the band that begat it, but makes it even less black metal-ish than, Norse mythology references aside, the squarely Satanic Morbid Angel. The band would have been more believably billed as a hybrid thrash/death metal band. But regardless of ridiculous sub-genre nick-picking, WARFATHER delivers for the fans where it counts.
Tucker and fellow guitarist Amatura trade licks like they were playing in an Iron Maiden cover band, shredding the shit out of these songs. Whiplash tapping and squealing pinched harmonics occupy every nook and riff. WARFATHER works hard to reach Dethklok levels of epic death metal. And while it never really hits that high mark, that never keeps Tucker and company from producing a thoroughly fun and heavy facsimile. WARFATHER is never quite as good as it tries to be, but really, it’s good enough.
You can find more about WARFATHER on Facebook and on the official website.
