REVIEW: Wovenwar “Wovenwar”

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Wovenwar is like a phoenix risen from the ashes of defeat. After the Tim Lambesis scandal, the remaining members of As I Lay Dying (Jordan Mancino, Nick Hipa, Phil Sgrosso, and Josh Gilbert) were faced with a difficult situation. Do you give up everything you spent your entire life working for or do you push forward through adversity? Well, instead of throwing in the towel, they teamed up with Shane Blay (former vocalist of Oh, Sleeper) and went right to the studio.

Wovenwar is a hard rock force to be reckoned with. The debut album is everything I would want from a new band. Near perfect in every way, this album is the best debut I’ve heard in years from any band. It’s filled with hard hitting, melodic instrumentals combined with powerful, soulful vocals that flows perfectly from track to track. Shane Blay was the perfect choice to bring in as vocalist. He’s got this smooth yet stern sound to his voice that resonates perfectly and smoothly hits the ear. And of course, the instrumentals are as amazing as ever. The former members of As I Lay Dying have lost none of their skill, more or less improving upon their already amazing craft. My personal favorite track is Matter Of Time, which showcases the perfect amount of emotion and heaviness that is going to be expected from the band in future releases.

With a departure from the metalcore roots and a stellar hard rock approach, Wovenwar is an amazing comeback for the former members of AILD. With Shane Blay on vocals, the band is unstoppable in their debut. The melodies are sharp, the vocals are euphonious, and all together this record is going to stand tall as one of the best of 2014.