Art is beautiful…but its beauty is but one side of it, art can change the world…movies changed laws, books altered the way we think…and songs can change the world with their potency…this is what American band Damascus Steel is doing with their latest EP “War”.
“War” is an excellent message to the world, to open up their eyes…as the EP graces the world, it came at a time when destruction is touching a lot of human lives, in Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan, and many others…
Damascus Steel manages to achieve something other musicians could only dream of…creating mind-blowing music with a purpose…and it couldn’t be said enough on their EP “War”.
“War” is the brainchild of Sameer Hilal (vocals) collaborating with the 2018 guitar competition Guitarist of the Year winner Gabriel Cyr…and let me tell you a bit of trivia…both Sameer and Gabriel never met in real life, they communicated over skype for the whole duration of their work in this EP…the music was recorded at the artists’ respective home studios then Gabriel completed the final mix before it was sent to be mastered by the great Fascination Street Studios.
“War” starts with a left hook…an orchestral track that really captures the darkness of war, the sadness it brings, and the longing for whom we lose every day due to evil extremists around the world…” Prelude” is an epic orchestral piece that has the guitar and drums join halfway in an explosive musical climax that is worthy of the big Hollywood screen…absolutely tastefully epic.
…after this iconic intro…Damascus Steel starts telling their stories through their iconic and unique heavy rock artful execution, with Sameer’s soaring vocals and Gabriel’s mountainous melodic riffs…together making musical wonders.
After the Prelude, “War” is divided into 5 chapters, each one with a song title that matches…starting with ”War Chapter 1: Tyrant”, featuring a fusion between the soft pianos and the heavy guitars as an iconic staple…the back and forth between the vocals and the guitar is simply mind-blowing…the song is fueled with extremely powerful and explosive musical energy even with a slower tempo…
The EP continues to explore the other chapters with different energies, from the emotionally uplifting verses of “War Chapter II: Brotherhood” to its darker sections…this contrast is brilliant.
“War Chapter III: Sacrifice” is an epic progressive ballad, power rock and orchestral gothic song that stands at 8 minutes and 3 seconds…from the smoothest valleys of the guitar and vocal-only sections to the greatest peaks of multi-layered guitar harmonies and heavy chugging…
Starting with a smooth and uplifting intro is “War Chapter IV: Spark”…with hints of mystery between the folds of its musical composition…this song surely elevates the experience of the album through its ‘breaking the mold’ approach, even with less heavy riffing, the melodic structure and composition is pure excellence.
…and here we arrive at the last stop in this journey, “War Chapter V: Dawn”…representing itself as the light to obliterate the darkness that came before…and it absolutely does that in the most elegant and musical way possible…brilliant and poignant lyrics, upbeat energy, powerful advancing sense of melodies that makes you feel like you’re overcoming evil…the song still has the melancholic melodies that Damascus Steel already have perfected in his own musical way…but also it has many bright melodies, hopeful melodies that brighten the world after all the darkness it has endured…” War Chapter V: Dawn” is where the message of the EP really shines through the darkness of war and lights up the hearts of humans…hopefully, opening the eyes of the human race…eventually, empowering people and giving them their dues.
“War” is the peak of art…brilliant riffs, iconic guitar solos, soaring vocals, mind-blowing music and a message for humanity…it can’t get any better than this.
We wish all the best to Damascus Steel, Sameer, and Gabriel…they’ve done an absolutely epic job and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
Make sure to check Damascus Steel’s “War”…actually, go right now.
Cheers!
