 
Prior to what I thought was the case this is not
4 songs that were written by both ex-Pantera and
current Down front man Phil Anselmo and the Texan
speed metal act Warbeast; oh no, what this is
in fact is 2 songs written by Phil Anselmo setting
him up for his solo album that will eventually
be coming out and a couple of songs written by
Warbeast, who Anselmo is currently promoting.
From a business stand point that is an extremely
wise move there is no doubt about that, whether
or not this will be a worthwhile release remains
to be seen, all of the focus is on the direction
of Phil’s solo album so I think I’ll
start my analysis there.
It’s extremely safe to say that these are
easily 2 of the most vicious songs Anselmo has
ever released, from what I’m gathering from
“Conflict” and “Family, “Friends”,
and Associates” there are really harsh distorted
guitar tones, explosively quick drumming and blood
curdling screams making for some beasty speed
metal songs. To be fair they are extremely well
crafted pieces of work, I’ve never heard
Anselmo put vocals down as aggressive as this,
it really sounds like he’s releasing decades
worth of frustration and anger which relates to
me more than most things ever will. Don’t
get me wrong they aren’t the greatest songs
to have ever graced my ears but there is definitely
something there that is really exhilarating and
I look forward to what else is to come from this
extreme metal icon.
Ok then for the Warbeast section of the EP; we
have “Birth of a Psycho” and “IT”
both of which much like the Anselmo tracks have
heavy distorted guitars, demonic growls and an
extremely high pace. Differences are though that
where as Phil has gone for aggression and sacrificed
technicality, Warbeast refused to compromise;
the music is more technical with a lot more epic
guitar work involved, the tone is a bit like death
personified into a tone and more like a crunch
with a clear distinction to suit the more technical
needs to really hear the notes. I’ve heard
some negative comments about the whole EP, but
in all fairness whilst it may not be exclusively
my thing but I can appreciate the creativity and
relatable elements within, both Anselmo and Warbeast
have done quite well here.
4/5
Review by James Webb
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