Praises to the War Machine (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Peter Wichers, Matt Wicklund (guitar, bass guitar); Dirk Verbeuren (drums).

Audio Mixers: Peter Wichers; Mattias Nilsson.

Recording information: OmniSound Studios, Nashville, TN; Wichers Studios, Nashville, TN; WrightWay Studios, Baltimore, MD.

Photographer: Stephanie Cabral.

The metal singer Warrel Dane is a cut above many of his peers, with a nuanced vocal approach that belies the genre's usual cookie-cutter, guttural stylings. But even though he's sensitive, he's still no wimp. "When We Pray" skewers a world gone wrong, propelled by scorching guitar riffs and Dane's sneering vocals, while "Messenger" and "Obey" both feature the smoking fields of Armageddon as a backdrop. There's also a well-chosen cover, U.K. goth pioneers the Sisters Of Mercy's "Lucretia My Reflection," complete with a faithful rendering of Sisters frontman Andrew Eldritch's Vincent Price-like incantations. minimize