If there is one thing in the world you can
count on, it is that Swedish multi-instrumentalist Cederick Forsberg is going
to release a ton of music each year. As we approach the end of 2016 with no
Rocka Rollas or Breitenhold in sight, things started to get a little worrying,
but unsurprisingly, he has come through and put together both a full-length and
EP for his Running Wild worship band, Blazon Stone (Ced does have projects
other than these three, but these are the most worthwhile ones). “War Of The
Roses” is the band’s third full length in four years, and is exactly what you
would expect it to be. As noted above, Ced is extremely dependable, and this
album offers little in the way of surprises or letdowns. This is a good thing
because even though Running Wild is inching towards the right path again,
they’re not coming anywhere close to being as good as Blazon Stone.
If you’re familiar with either of these
pirate-esque bands, you know all of the musical tropes: catchy songs, intricate
tremolo picking, tons of unique melodies, and so on. Of course, there is a new
singer for this release, but he does an impressive job of channeling Rock ‘n
Rolf without being a complete clone. Since the overall sound of the band is
familiar territory, it’s better to talk about some of the individual tracks
themselves. The quality of the songs on “War Of The Roses” tends to be a bit
more extreme. There are several really killer highlights, but also a couple of tracks
that are just there. Opening song “Born To Be Wild” comes in with all guns
blazing and might be the fastest Blazon Stone song to date. Speed works in the
band’s favour, as this brings an almost thrashy quality to the record, and
certainly sets up the rest of the album well.
Other songs like “Mask of Gold”, “Stay In
Hell”, and “Black Dawn of the Crossbones” are just excellently executed heavy
metal: lots of good riffing, and no real head-scratching moments. If there is
one disappointing track, it would be “Lusitania”. This song is considerably
slower than much of the rest of the record, and the melodies are a bit too
happy for this style of speed/heavy metal. The real problem, however, is with
the backing vocals used in the chorus. It comes across as being overly cheesy,
but not particularly enjoyable. In direct contrast to this is the album’s title
track, “War Of The Roses”, which uses a similar style of vocals to great
effect. In fact, this last song is a serious highlight, and feels like the
first true “epic” of the band’s career (they’ve had some long songs before, but
this is the first one to be that perfect album closer).
One other standout song is the instrumental
“Welcome to the Village”. Running Wild has undoubtedly had their share of great
songs lacking vocals, but Blazon Stone takes a different influence on this
song. It feels much more inspired by Iron Maiden, with prominent bass lines
that are marching all over the fretboard amidst a flurry of excellent riffs.
The brilliance does not stop here, with “Soldier Blue” rounding out the
noteworthy tracks. Once again, it does nothing particularly unique, but has a
chorus that will remain with you for days. If any real criticism could be made
of this record, it is that fatigue is starting to set in on my end. Yes, “War
Of The Roses” is more authentic than Running Wild at this point, but Ced has
put out a lot of really similar sounding records since 2011 or so with that
first Rocka Rollas release. There isn’t a single one I dislike amongst his
three best bands, but there are just a lot of songs to digest. As long as he is
still pumping out tracks like “Born To Be Wild”, “Soldier Blue”, and “War Of
The Roses”, this prolific pace is still justified. Overall, “War Of The Roses”
is yet another winning record for fans of speed metal!
Be sure to check out and like Blazon Stone (Rocka Rollas) on Facebook!
Highlights
"Born To Be Wild"
"Soldier Blue"
"War Of The Roses"
Final Rating
4.5/5 or 90%.
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