Enforcer-Into the night
Heavy Artillery
2008
The first time I heard Enforcer was last year on the "Speed kills...again" compilation on which they contributed two songs. They were signed to Heavy Artillery records and their debut was actually towards the top of my list of releases that I was most looking forward to in 2008. The opener "Black Angel" comes pounding on like early Exciter only with slightly higher vocals. Right away I know that I am going to love this album. "Mistress from hell" is on next and this is more like Raven's first few albums which is refreshing change as not enough bands acknowledge their influence on thrash. After that the influences go back and forth including a huge dose of early Iron Maiden, more Exciter, Kill 'em all era Metallica, Savage Grace and probably a few NWOBHM bands as well. One of my favorite tracks is the instrumental "City Lights" which begins like something from Iron Maiden's "Killers" and then halfway through switches to be more like something from "Piece of mind". Much of this album sounds like it could have come right out of 1983 with the blend of NWOBHM influences and early thrash bands. However, Enforcer are more than just a time capsule because they do blend styles and bring a smoothness and energy to their style. They have their own ideas and they how to weave those ideas in with their influences. This results in a spectacular blend of some of the best styles of metal's past coming together. Many of today's retro-thrash acts look only to the sounds of about 1986 and later, but Enforcer dig into the roots of the genre which happened earlier than that. I think one of my favorite aspects of this album is just their unbridled fire as they just plunge ahead and go. Personally my only complaint is that I had to wait until now for this to come out because I think originally they thought it would be out a few months ago. I will say the vocals are higher than many typical thrash bands and I think they work fine, but I can see some thrash purists not being big on them. This is a fantastic release that captures the sound and spirit of some of my favorite sounds in metal.
posted by Metal Mark at
12:15 AM
1 Comments:
great review and i agree 100%, this is a fantastic piece of work , perhaps the funnest album i've heard all year, the riffs, the solos, the vocals they all blend perfectly together to create one hell of a thrash metal act rooted on bands of the great 80's thrash scene paying great tribute to bands such as early Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth and yet remaining completly unique in its own right. THis is a fantastic album
- Guillermo
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