From space marines to battle axes and swords - I didn’t used to like this album that much for some reason, but it has grown on me a lot over the years. The production is much less muddier than Realm of Chaos, and the grind aspects are even more scant, their full death metal transition nearly complete. This is Bolt Thrower coming into their own - only they could write an obliterating song about something as mundane as a stone monument (Cenotaph) that makes you want to punch your mom. The times where the blast beats and chaotic solos do show up, they’re a lot more dialed-in than before, usually to slow down again to force your head to bang. There are even some groovy and melodic parts on this one and Bolt Thrower did not shy away from slowing things way down at times on War Master. Karl’s vocals are hauntingly, almost painfully raspy or guttural and the drumming is on point.
Very few weak points on this record - Side B is practically flawless. As they tend to do, Bolt Thrower closes out the album strongly with Afterlife - a soundtrack to the world burning down as the song fades out and closes with the same weird atmospheric sounds that opened the album.