Review by JD on August 22, 2010.

One look at this band’s name, and you probably get the basic idea immediately to what the band is all about. Seattle’s I Declare War is not Pop or the average scream-o metal with the lead singer that could be a rougher version of a teen heartthrob that thinks Fall Out Boy is actually metal... they are a band that takes Extreme Metal.

Spewing some of the most vicious and fiendish Technical/Melodic Death/Metalcore ever put to disk, I Declare War explodes out of the speakers with incendiary rage and grabs you by the shorthairs. Amazingly musical as it is odiously heavy, the band has perfected the balance that is needed for this very excessive style of metal. With pinpoint accuracy of each note, they seem to have a sense of utter command of their metallic future.

The one and only drawback to the disk, was a wee problem with how it had been recorded. The album seemed rather overly muddy in places and the guitars are sometimes nearly lost behind the bass and drums. The wonderfully low and guttural vocals are also being muddied out in spots, to the point of being irritating. These problems cut a little fun out of the whole albums experience, but still it does not dampen the realization that this is a one Death Metal that has amazing written on it.

In all... fantastic, and I think that a little more work in the mixing phase of things, I Declare War will be the one band in the genre to watch. They have the talent, they have the ability, now is the time to do all of those wonderful ‘little things’ that will separate them from all of the other average bands.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 6
Originality: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.1 out of 10