Metal Underground.com

Mendeed’s latest album, “This War Will Last Forever,” is loaded with intensity. Even this studio album radiates an energy comparable to actually hearing a good metalcore band live—the sound is tailor made for the pits. Much of Mendeed’s appeal is in the guitars, which conjure up comparisons to Trivium and classic Metallica. Rather than just relying on the metalcore norm, Mendeed throws as many dual guitar breaks and classic, power-style chords as one can handle, making “This War Will Last Forever” an interesting listen from beginning to end.

Vocally, David Proctor doesn’t do much to stand out, but his scathing vocals do the job and never lack passion. The comparison to Trivium rings true not only in the glorious guitar work, but also in the vocal department, as Mendeed switches gears from extreme yelling to clean melodies in a slick manner. While the tracks on “This War Will Last Forever” aren’t quite as tightly woven as Trivium’s “Ascendancy,” and the vocals don’t quite match Matt Heafy’s studio-tuned vocals, the arrangements and melodies will sound familiar to Trivium fans.

The tracks on “This War Will Last Forever” are of high quality throughout. It’s apparent that, more and more, metal bands are intent on putting out thoughtful instrumental intros, and the introductory track on “This War Will Last Forever” does just that—it’s a Scottish-sounding beauty that wouldn’t be out of place in an period movie. “Stand as One and Fight for Glory” has an epic feel, with chanting metal “hey, hey” and “oh, oh” choruses mixed with fantastic riffage that almost rivals a Dragonforce track at times. “Chapel Perilous” packs a frenetic pace with a slower, punching chorus, sounding blacker than the rest of the album. Guitars never fail to impress, throughout the entire album.

Mendeed has thrown out a serious challenge to the metalcore genre—with dynamic guitars that blaze throughout and never become masturbatory combining with an extreme intensity, Mendeed does enough to distance themselves as standouts. For fans of Trivium, or, for that matter, any extreme metal fans, this is a no-brainer.