REVIEW: WARFARE – The New Age of Total Warfare

 

WARFARE – The New Age of Total Warfare (2011)

Southworld Recordings

There are quite a few bands associated with the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement whose music never quite fitted the more familiar template of the genre. Warfare, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1982, were certainly one of them. Rather than following the more melodic or traditional side of British heavy metal, they developed a much more aggressive and direct sound, standing somewhere between Motörhead, Tank, Venom and Atomkraft, with a strong punk attitude running through it.

The band released five studio albums during their original career: Pure Filth (1984), Metal Anarchy (1985), Mayhem, Fuckin' Mayhem (1986), A Conflict of Hatred (1988) and Hammer Horror (1990), along with the Noise, Filth and Fury and Total Death EPs. This already makes Warfare an interesting part of the later N.W.O.B.H.M. story, but their association with some of the most recognizable names of the British extreme-metal scene makes their history even more distinctive.

In fact, it is difficult to discuss Warfare without mentioning those connections. Algy Ward of Tank was involved with Pure Filth, Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead produced Metal Anarchy, while Cronos of Venom was involved with Mayhem, Fuckin' Mayhem. The latter also featured Cronos as a guest vocalist on the band's version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". Metal Anarchy, meanwhile, also featured Motörhead guitarist Würzel as a guest.

So, Warfare certainly did not try to hide their influences. Their music was built around speed, rough vocals, primitive and deliberately raw production, short songs and an almost punk-like directness. The result was considerably closer to the dirty, hard-driving attack of Motörhead and Tank than to the more conventional N.W.O.B.H.M. sound of the period. Even their album titles — Pure Filth, Metal Anarchy and Mayhem, Fuckin' Mayhem — give a pretty good indication of what the listener should expect.

The New Age of Total Warfare was released by Southworld Recordings in 2011 and brings together 16 tracks, running for approximately 47 minutes. It is therefore a fairly substantial introduction to the band's catalogue rather than simply a short selection of their most obvious songs. The compilation moves through material from different periods of the band's career and also includes several live recordings, giving it a little more variety than a straightforward studio-only collection.

The track selection includes "New Age of Total Warfare", "Dance of the Dead", "Living for the Last Days", "Death Charge", "Military Shadow", "Blown to Bits" and "Metal Anarchy", while the second half adds live versions of "Death Charge", "Elite Forces", "Burn Down the Kings Road" and "Blown to Bits". The collection closes with a studio version of "No Fun", adding another connection to the punk side of Warfare's musical identity.

The songs themselves are generally fast, uncomplicated and aggressive, with very little interest in unnecessary technicality or elaborate arrangements. Warfare's strength is precisely this straightforward approach: the riffs come quickly, the vocals are rough, the production retains an appropriately dirty character and most of the songs get to the point without wasting time. There is an almost Metal-Punk mentality here, something that helps explain why the band can appeal equally to listeners coming from the Motörhead, Tank or early Venom side of metal.

Among the material included here, the title track and "Metal Anarchy" are particularly representative of what Warfare were about. The latter also gives the compilation one of its most obvious connections with Lemmy's world, considering his involvement in the original 1985 album. Metal Anarchy itself was released by Neat Records in March 1985, at a time when Warfare were establishing their identity as one of the more aggressive bands operating around the N.W.O.B.H.M. scene.

For listeners who already know Warfare, The New Age of Total Warfare works as a compact retrospective of a band that occupied an unusual position between British heavy metal, speed metal and punk. For those who have never listened to them, it provides a useful introduction to a group whose history is closely connected with some of the key figures of the early British extreme-metal movement.

Warfare were never the typical N.W.O.B.H.M. band, and this compilation makes that very clear. Their music is fast, rough, loud and uncomplicated, with the attitude of a punk band and the volume of a heavy-metal one. For anyone interested in the more aggressive and less polished side of the early British metal scene, this is an interesting place to discover them.

Ioannis Kaskamanidis