World War One — known as The Great War prior to another world-wide conflict that blew up in 1939 \u2013 isn\u2019t really discussed or examined in much detail, it seems. Plenty of armchair quarterback \u201camateur historians\u201d equate \u201cWWII as \u2018the good war\u2019. It had the \u2018bad guys\u2019 vs. `Merica (fuck yeah! We’re #1!)”.<\/em>.., and WWI as “just a bunch of treaty-bound Euro-assholes dicking around in the trenches for a few years, accomplishing nothing of importance until ‘Merica went Over There to settle things”<\/em>. The truth is far more complex, as Europe and much of the world was forever changed by the 1914-1918 conflict. It can easily be said that the \u201cpeace\u201d between the two World Wars was simply a pause in the fighting of one long conflict. As such, the events touched off by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a> of Austria on June 28, 1914 was both the end of an era, and the start of many decades of strife, in both Europe and throughout the rest world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But aside from God Dethroned<\/a>, Sabaton<\/a>, the almighty Bolt Thrower<\/a>, Iron Maiden<\/a>, and a scattering of other material from other acts, World War One has not been desirable lyric fodder for many bands. The exception is of course Ukraine\u2019s 1914<\/strong>, who have made it their one-and-only purpose in life to dive into the festering trenches of WWI — and never ever come up for air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1914<\/strong> has always done a masterful job of setting the tone and atmosphere of the times, with each album featuring authentic period music, radio broadcasts, etc. Here, we have an album kicking off with \u201cWar In<\/em>\u201d\u2026, with what sounds like a Balkan show tune that I\u2019m sure went over like gangbusters in the Belgrade music halls. It closes out with several shots ringing out \u2013 and then all hell breaks loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip used a \u201cFN.380 ACP#19074<\/em>\u201d, to be uber-precise. This track clearly defines the tonality that 1914<\/strong> has always striven for, and here they hit their stride very early in the game. Multilayered atmospherics, tremolo picking, underlying horns, masterful production\u2026, this song drips with atmosphere, and can easily be pointed to as \u201cWanna know what 1914<\/strong> is all about? Check this out<\/a>\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But 1914<\/strong> is not necessarily an one trick pony. They are not afraid to slow things to a crawl for the betterment of the story. We have for example a near-complete breakdown to funeral-ish levels half way through \u201cPillars of Fire (The Battle Of Messines)<\/em>\u201d. With lesser bands, this might be seen as simply \u201ctaking a breather,” but here the tempo changes directly relate to the well-written lyrics and the every-present underlying feeling of dread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t Tread On Me (Harlem Hellfighters)<\/em>\u201d starts off with a 1914<\/strong> staple: an authentic period-relevant sound clip. In this case a bit o\u2019 propaganda, followed by an autobiographical sketch of an African-American man fighting on a French battlefield, and how it wasn\u2019t so different that the horrors he saw growing up in an American ghetto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With \u201cCoward<\/em>,” 1914<\/strong> throws us a curve ball, by way of an acoustic banjo-driven tale of a man broken down by, well…, everything<\/em>. He is then shot in the head by his own corporal for cowardice. This isn\u2019t just standard fare for \u201cwar metal\u201d \u2013 this is heart-felt humanity and brutality through and through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026And A Cross Now Marks His Place<\/em>\u201d is written as if it were a letter being written to a deceased soldier\u2019s mother. It signs off with the horribly grim \u201cIn true sympathy yours faithfully, War\u201d. <\/em>Fuck\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn terms of extreme music, you would think that this continent-spanning war would be as richly examined as other conflicts <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The assassin of the Archduke used a pistol to do the deed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The album from that point on is unrelenting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Each song comes across in very human terms, often with an auto-biographical slant.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n