Labels: The Compound
Review by: Alex Deller
First couple of listens was like “oh, another decent Enabler release.” I’d gotten kinda used to ’em, see? As ever, though, a few more listens in and other twists and turns begin to reveal themselves to make this worth more than just blasé, file-it-away acceptance. It starts with a fairly needless melodic intro before the band kick into their frenzied metallic mania, retaining that thinner, cleaner sound I mentioned circa ‘A Shift Of Redemption’ but perhaps sounding more comfortable in their slippery new skin. Along with the snarks and snaggles there’re plenty of those crafty melodies winking away and, with tracks like ‘Sickened By The Wake’ and ‘Sleep Forever’ a strange, doomed, anthemic quality that makes you want to jump recklessly off of something very high whilst hollering defiant words up at lazy gods who seem to spend their time nonchalantly scoffing at the petty travails of us mere men. Or maybe that’s just me? Anyway, the Sepultura cover at the end is a bit “eh” (don’t mess with the greats, man) but kinda makes sense when you consider where Enabler are coming from “” a world of riffs piled upon endless riffs, choppy inventiveness and a knack for balancing songcraft with rampant heaviosity. That, to me, is a pretty good place to be coming from.