Review | Warbirds – Order From Chaos

Van Records

From the land down under, where our most appraised contributor Michel van de Moosdijk lives, hails the hard rocking trio Warbirds. Their current offering `Order From Chaos’ spend 4 years in the making, following their timeline of online video (single) releases, but strikes down like a thunder.

WARBIRDS RUMORED ON THE WEB

`Order from Chaos’ is an album first rumored on the web in 2019 when ,,Freak in the Night” made it to YouTube. Little bombshells dropped, but fans had to wait until this very day for the album to be released. And it certainly is worth the wait. Beefy riffs, constructed around their powerful grooving drum and droning low bass, make this an album for fans enjoying crunchy heavy hard rock with metal bliss. Often reminding me of Soundgarden’s withering tone, the band rolls forward in the modern dimensions, reminiscent to Blacktop Mojo.

Diving in heads first ,,Slave” is jagged and slightly proggy tinged, with powerful vocals and melodies nesting on the spot. There’re influences of bluesy classic rock and grunge, without lacking the modern touch. Hitting the bluesy bars, Anth Nekich lays down a sublime lick pulling ,,Handgrenade” into action. Subtler on the vocals, touching a more melodic register Slaviro brings the right spunk to make the song work. Trademark heavy grooves are ‘tractoring’ forward with Slaviro’s bass growling over Luciano Alvaro’s loud drumming. 

ALICE IN CHAINS VIBE

The bluesy ingredient also shines bright from the opening of ,,Bring Back You’re Love”, fusing the heartfelt drive with gutting ominous grit. Salviro switches registers to keep the song melodically appealing. The thunderous drums and bass growls are dominating the low end, maintaining the heaviness needed. Toning down more the title track displays the variety of styles in Warbirds’ music. Mega melodic, heart-warming on the refrain, the song packs tremendous power and brings fierce melodies to the plate. ,,The Sleeper” juxtaposes a different stride with lush guitars and throbbing bass underneath Danny’s melancholic vocals. Riding the crash cymbal into another trident lick, the song gradually builds its prowess. Melodic, and powerful. Diverse and comfortable. 

Heavy and wailing, Danny Slaviro towers over the ominous ,,Freak in the Night”. The song packs an Alice in Chains vibe and roars towards its slick chorus, much like Saigon Kick did. The latter is revived on the guitar strut opening of ,,Contain the Rage” that has Bieler written all over it. The drive is brisk and the melodies supplied in layers, without going all sticky. Clean scatting vocals are glued onto a jagged riff igniting the YouTube single ,,Collider”. Packed with swagger, the song fuses reverbing heavy riffs to a middle eastern lick much like Jimmy Page on an LSD trip. 

MELANCHOLY AND DESPAIR

On a subtle note, ,,Lost” check all boxes of a semi-ballad. Plucking guitars pitch it into action with bass licks and drums injected one minute in, building into a heavy towering chorus that is towering with drama and melody. The song is followed by ,,My Symphony”, perfectly channelling emotions missed when the previous track started building heavy. Again, they strike deep with an intensifying chorus, hitting the power-ballad mark with gut wrecking wonder. It hits and fires on all emotional engines!

Firing is also ,,The Suffering”, implanting more grind and sludge into the mix, casting an ominous doomy spell. Gloomy like ,,Drowning for Hope”, which is a slow mover that meanders with melancholy and despair. The song displays the greatness of playing in the end chapter when they delve into a short ‘jam-like’ instrumental section shifting the gears for a glorious ending as the harmonies get denser. Rocking up the joint ,,Reality Check” is more ‘poppy’ pitched with reverbing licks and thunderous bass, reviving the English 90s rock-era, without featuring the band’s trademark spunk. 

WARBIRDS – THE CONCLUSION

`Order from Chaos’ is an energy packed rock album chockfull of classic ingredients, with Warbirds adding a superb twist. Heavy roaring tracks pulling forward like a train run rampage, Warbirds also inject memorable lick and hooks making the songs well with melody and appeal. On the brighter and more melodic tracks they manage to send a heavier gut touching feeling to the front, while in some songs the blues bars dominate in fine contrast with the heavier turmoil. Getting to the emotional tunes, the band displays drama and classic power ballad accolades with varied tenure affixed.

With the band currently embarking on a UK tour promoting `Order from Chaos’, I call on fans across the Canal to head down to their gig and undergo this live grenade called Warbirds! 

Release date: 12 October 2023