All too often, metal bands get caught up in the ethos of toughness, never stepping back to recognize the fact that what they’re making is entertainment. Yeah, it’s still art, but damn. The church burning and chest thumping gets real tiring, real fast.  Unfortunately, this is the only face of metal that many “outsiders” get to see.  Thankfully for those more in tune with the metal underground, there are bands like Lair of the Minotaur. The Chicago trio have a reputation for making unquestionably badass albums – their debut album Carnage and sophomore effort Ultimate Destroyer are almost universally regarded as sexcellent - and they don't need to go on a 'roid rage to prove it. Even so, a band's third LP can be a tough hurdle.  Alas, the gods smile upon us again with War Metal Battle Master.

LOTM focus their lyrics on Greek mythology (although less so on this album than the previous two), and song titles like “Black Viper Barbarian Clan” and “When the Ice Giants Slayed All” reflect the brutal and almost primeval sound of the music.  That sound is simple (at times), deliberate and thick. Vocalist Steven Rathbone’s delivery is not unique in its individual sound, per sé, but its variety more than makes up for that. It consists of a combination of searing screams, grunty barks that would sound at home in a death metal setting and shrieks that occasionally approach black metal tendencies. His guitarwork is equally diverse, combining with Donald James Barraca’s bass and Chris Wozniak’s drums to create a soundscape drawing on thrash (but thrashier), sludge, downtuned traditional riffery and deep, lurching grooves. It’s pretty much impossible to pigeonhole LOTM’s sound with one genre label, and that’s a major part of the band’s recipe for success.  

From “Assassins of the Cursed Mist” to the throat-shredding title track, War Metal Battle Master is LOTM hitting on all cylinders. Arguably, the sprawling “Doomtroopers” slightly overstays its welcome at over nine minutes, but this is a forgivable offense. While some purists will miss the raw production values of Carnage, there is no denying that the band’s third album turns a new page in extreme metal, and opens a new chapter for what’s becoming one of the most legit, underappreciated bands out there.

LOTM bridges genres without the clichés attached with crossover acts; the band uses fantasy imagery without the typical cheesy undertones and have inexplicably managed to avoid the somewhat stupid “power trio” tag. I don’t claim to understand it all, nor do I care to. Something about LOTM just works. War Metal Battle Master continues on the path carved by Ultimate Destroyer, taking the band to intuitive new lands. Just accept it:  LOTM are here to stay, and War Metal Battle Master is a powerful statement to that effect.