So I was once told of some feud between David Parland and Paul of Necropolis. Something about one of the WAR albums being released without permission or something of that nature. So after a lot of bad press I suppose the two put their differences aside so that the two WAR albums Total War and We Are War could be released. So why is the band’s name different? Well the band War (best known for that boring song "Lowrider") stepped in and probably threatened with legal action. So here we are, both WAR releases on one CD. Great for new listeners, pointless for people who have already visited this band. Anyway, if you own these albums already, you don’t need to read this review. However if these albums are new to you, read on and ask yourself why you don’t own them already, sheesh you are so untrue. Anyway, a supergroup of sorts, Total War consisted of Peter and Mikael of Hypocrisy, David "Blackmoon" Parland, and the always entertaining duo of IT and ALL. The first war album, Total War is a masterpiece of speedy thrashing black metal. A straight up in your face satanic bloodbath. The opening track "Satan" explodes, and the inferno of metal will not be extinguished till the the album is complete. Memories of the controversy surrounding the song "I Am Elite" which contains some words that a lot of people make find to be offensive are returned. I really could care less. Racial slurs only show ignorance in my eyes but I really don’t listen to a band to pay attention to whatever silly politics they may have. I will pretty much disregard the bullshit on that song. I have to say I have always enjoyed listening to this album and now listening to it again I can say it holds up. In all honesty, I thought that We Are War, which was released after IT’s departure from the band and the scene, is not as good as the debut album. It really lacked the intensity that the first did, however the cover of "Bombenhagel" (Sodom) is a treat. In my opinion was not a good record. Rumors have it that the released version of it was nothing more than demo versions of the songs that they never fully recorded. I am not absolutely positive on that, however I can say that it really would not surprise me. My advice to you, turn off the cd player after track 7 and you will be very satisfied. I will say one thing about this release though, I really appreciate it when a record label doesn’t take advantage of it’s fans by re-releasing two albums that could easily fit on one disc separately just so that they can make more money. My respect to you Mr. Typhon, but couldn’t you have dug up a bonus track? *snicker* Written By: Destro