I'm somewhat weary to throw around the word 'epic' onto things; the word is hackneyed at this point. But Macabre Omen is a different beast in a realm contaminated by Wintersun and other production babies thinly disguising lame parts with excessive layers and giving them the 'epic' stamp. "Gods of War - At War" is truly heroic and of extravagant size; its songs capture black metal from its highest point to its lowest chasm without a glitch. Salient tremolo riffing and storming blast beats are slotted into a careful mid-paced edifice often taking its time to build up. The mid-paced spine is an incredible foundation; the sharp and strong riffs and melodies open up innumerable creative avenues for the band to discover. Essentially, "Gods of War - At War" is equal parts furious, violent, melancholic, somber, triumphant, and divine.

Some of the movements here, namely the protean sequences of "I See, the Sea!" and the fury of "Hellenes Do Not Fight like Heroes, Heroes Fight like Hellenes," rest safely at the top tier of black metal's class. Part of the record's overall majesty is due to how natural the whole thing sounds. The vocals (harsh and clean) and choirs sound grand among the cyclone of pagan rage, amplifying the effectiveness of the group's incredible range. Indigenous melodies and structures are cooked to the temperature of the rest of the record without causing a single surrounding part to boil over or freeze up, again showing supreme craftsmanship and the wonderful musical variance of black metal that is mastered inside and out by Macabre Omen's ability.