Track Listing
Transmission
Sons of the Serpent
Life Coach
Beautiful Oblivion
The Macine
Done
Light of Your Soul
Burn the Misery
One of Us
Horizon
For anyone who knows me, I’m a real sucker for an album that tells a consistent and cohesive musical journey. Action Space Battle is the first full length album by rock band War Gods Of The Deep and when it comes to this aforementioned journey, there’s no denying this album achieves this, managing to blend some nicely written tracks into the Hero’s Journey arc. Although some of the vocal work is a little basic, and some of the longer tracks suffer from a lack of variety with the bass lines, for the most part this is a pretty enjoyable album.
Mixing influences of classic rock and metal, Action Space Battle begins with the Call to Action, aptly named with the album’s opening track, Transmission. From here, the story swings from minor key tracks through to epic 10 minute long battles, right the way through to the climactic end. As the album sleeve itself informs, Action Space Battle is intended to be listened to from start to finish without pause. If I’m honest, this happens to be the album’s best and worst trait. On the one hand, this musical journey absolutely shines through and makes for a cohesive listen but some of the longer tracks suffer from some repetitive bass lines and guitar riffs that may turn some people away.
This musical journey idea has been in place for as long as I can remember, with Miss Universe and Psychodrama among the more recent examples of this. While Action Space Battle never quite reaches that level, the idea of playing out a space fantasy epic in the style of rock music is an interesting, fun idea and something I hope the band continue to do in the future with more albums.
For me, the shorter tracks were the ones that really sold me on the concept though, with Sons Of The Serpent my personal favourite, managing to blend some cleverly written lyrics that play out as a monologue villain speech, setting the mood for the piece perfectly. It also mixes up the riffs and the tempo enough to prevent the song from ever drifting into stagnation. Alongside this, Light of Your Soul is one of the other stand-out pieces here, radiating that classic 80’s feel that the album sleeve does so well to capture.
Action Space Battle won’t be for everyone but those looking for a classic rock-influenced journey that’s easy on the ears should definitely check this one out. Despite the lyrics lacking more of a cutting edge and the aforementioned gripes with the guitar work, War Gods of the Deep do well here to deliver an enjoyable rock album that’s well worth a listen.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10