It's time for our 202nd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with our extensive backlog of new local album releases now stretching into 2027, let's continue our slow clear-out with a look at local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's third EP "War Songs"! Released to major streaming services on October 8th (their third EP in 2025 alone), this is again a one-man effort led by former Dirty Virgin drummer and Riverin frontman Matt Hicks, who sings and plays all credited instruments. Recorded locally & released through British indie label East London Recordings, you can stream "War Songs" on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox (perhaps among others), and you can buy it on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. Via their label deal, you can also buy "War Songs" on CD and vinyl!
Print-on-demand copies are available in either format from ElasticStage at this link, with CDs costing $17.90 and vinyl records going for $43.90 (this does not include EP #4 "Let You Fall" as the B-side like what The Realignment Project did with their first two). Featuring six songs running for about 25 minutes, let's begin with the opening song!
The first "war song" is "Digital Sacrilege", which seems to be about calling out someone for betrayal and/or selling out. This has more of a techno base to its instrumentation, and really gives off Nine Inch Nails vibes with how Matt is singing here, though his vocals are the only real lean to hard rock or metal here. There is real emotion and frustration in the lyrics, especially in the chorus and pre-chorus, but this song honestly feels unfinished, like the electronic elements should be layered over guitar work, and the percussion is a little overdone as such. It sets a good tone to start though! The title track "War Songs" is next, and this restores the rock stylings in full while still having a distorted electronic undercurrent. Lyrically about hiding from and ignoring incoming oppression, this features ominous spoken word verses and screamed choruses, though Matt's vocals there are largely buried in the mix.
Why he made that call, I don't know, as it really breaks up the momentum of the verses, but aside from the over-processed quiet vocals there, this is an improvement in all other facets, especially if you want some metal from T.R.P.! Third is the EP's shortest song "Look In The Mirror", which is a motivational "pick yourself up and don't give up" type of song, but still intense and heavy. The distortion when Matt yells the title is a little overdone, and the structure is a tad repetitive for the song's length, but it balances hard rock and industrial well with clear passion! I'd still have varied the structure a little more. Next up is "Acid Rain", an anti-war composition that shares a lot musically with "Digital Sacrilege", in that it's primarily an industrial song which only dips into rock territory via Matt's singing. Verses are approached in a bitter yet eerie tone that slowly build into the choruses.
Not a bad composition that goes along with the themes of the EP so far, but I do prefer Matt's heavier songs in this project, which better balance the musical styles without an emptier feeling without obvious guitars. Track #5 is "Bones And Dust", which is the longest song on offer, and its lyrics are basically resigning to one's fate when things seem hopeless. Proper rock instrumentation returns here, but this is more of a deliberately paced track that milks its length and only really gets into metal territory on the choruses. If Matt ever took The Realignment Project to live concerts, the choruses would play well with audiences, but the song moves along a little too slowly for my liking despite good intensity at its peaks. "War Songs" closes with "Claim Your Dead", which is about the after-effects of the war and what the survivors have to deal with even after the fighting has stopped.
This resolves the EP's anti-war concept well, and while it doesn't dip into rock stylings at all, its effectively a coda for what came before it, with a reserved and reflective (if dystopian) bent, including heavy use of symphonics and keyboard. I do prefer the heavier and livelier songs here, but this serves its purpose in the framework of the story! That all said, how does "War Songs" compare to The Realignment Project's first two EPs? While not far removed tonally, this being a concept EP does give it a distinct vibe and message, even if only half of the songs could be called "industrial metal". Lyrics weren't repetitive, Matt is definitely using his vocals in more varied ways, and there was a little more musical freedom here, especially on "Claim Your Dead", but if you like their heavier songs (music, not lyrics), this may be somewhat lacking. Even with the overly processed chorus vocals, my favourite song on offer here is definitely the title track.
For drawbacks, I did find the first two industrial-dominant songs to be emptier without guitar work, "Bones & Dust" was too deliberately drawn out, and there can be some uneven intensity in the vocals compared to the music. As far as The Realignment Project's discography to this point, I think my favourite is "The Frustration Sessions", but all have positive qualities and are very original in a local context, so see what you think at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review!m We'll continue clearing out our backlog when we look at local death metal band Pillory's new album "Old Soul" next month, so stay tuned for that in May! Thanks everyone!
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