I feel like in order to be a real music enthusiast, you have to enjoy browsing the local record shop, looking for new albums to listen to. This is how I got Enter the Arena; the cool cover art attracted me to it, and after listening to a track, I decided to buy it. Warbeast is an somewhat underground thrash metal band which formed in 2006 as Texas Metal Alliance. Really, what kind of name is Texas Metal Alliance? It sounds like the name of some kind of metal program started by the chamber of commerce. It's not really surprising that they changed their name to Warbeast in 2008, a much cooler name. The singer of Warbeast was also the singer of Rigor Mortis, a much more well known speed thrash band. Warbeast has a sound heavily influenced by Pantera, which is not surprising considering both bands formed in Arlington, Texas. Both bands have hard hitting tough guy vocals, although Warbeast is more thrashy. Warbeast also has some Anthrax influences, occasionally doing the talk-singing thing that Anthrax does. Warbeast songs feature fast beating drums, driving guitars, and the before mentioned shouted tough guy vocals.
As I said earlier, I really like this album cover, it is what originally attracted me to this album. I liked the cartoon style and the cool looking the armor this guy is wearing, he almost looks like the terminator. The cover art also goes well with the album name and the genre of music. The guy on the cover looks ready for battle, and is standing like he’s saying “are you ready to take me on?” Which goes well with the title Enter the Arena. This cover also goes well with the genre since most thrash covers are slightly cartoony and feature war or violence related images, like this album.
Enter the Arena is a pretty good album, Ive even seen it listed as one of the best thrash albums of 2017. My main, and minor, complaint about the album is I feel like the lyrics are too straight forward. Really it is more interesting when I have to analyze the lyrics to find the meaning, than when they just tell me what the song is about. Anyway, my favorite songs on this album are “Centuries of Poisoned Soil,” “Maze of the Minotaur,” “Hitchhiker,” and “Chemicals Consuming.”
The first song on the album “Centuries of Poisoned Soil” is about cannibals. In the song, the singer chants “Wendigo psychosis/ Cannibal Prognosis.” Wendigo psychosis is a real, although controversial, medical term for a disease that causes a craving for human flesh with paranoia and fear of being a cannibal. This term is controversial because it is not confirmed that this is even a real thing or just a legend. Wendigo psychosis is also part of the lore of some Native American tribes. This song is made good by its cool beats and the hard hitting chorus.
I know I said that the lyrics are too straight forward on a lot of songs, and that is true, but I like the lyrics of "Maze of the Minotaur." This one is pretty cool because it tells the story of the birth of Minotaur in Greek mythology. Ive studied the story in college, and Warbeast’s retelling is pretty accurate. Besides that, the song is pretty good too, it features some pretty cool guitar riffs and solos throughout the song, the chorus is pretty awesome: “Monstrous form/ Labyrinth of gore/ Maze of the Minotaur!”
My favorite song on this album is “Hitchhiker.” This song is about the crazy hitchhiker from Texas Chainsaw Massacre who ends up being a serial killer. This song also has what is the best/ worst music video I’ve ever seen in my life, which loosely follows the plot of the song and the movie scene. I’m not gonna try to describe it because I won’t do it justice, just watch it here. The song has several tasty guitar riffs, an awesome headbanging melody, and, similarity to how Rob Zombie uses audio clips from old movies, uses audio clips from Texas Chainsaw Massacre to help tell the story.
“Chemicals Consuming” is another very good song on the album. The lyrics of this song aren’t as strait forward as some of the others, but I’m pretty sure this one is about drugs. It makes sense because the title seems to be referring to drugs, and the lyrics seem to be talking about the effects of dangerous drug abuse. The interesting driving melody, catchy chorus, and cool lyrics make this a memorable song on this album.
Overall, I’d say this album is very good, especially for one I picked out with no prior knowledge from the record store. Definitely worth a listen.
1.) Centuries of Poisoned Soil
2.) Punishment for Gluttony
3.) Orchestration of Violence
4.) Maze of the Minotaur
5.) Hitchhiker
6.) Chemicals Consuming
7.) Enter the Arena
8.) The Scalping
9.) Conjugation With the Devil
10.) Ancient Hate
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