Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Enforcer
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2015
Length: 42:48
Rating: 4.5/5
Enforcer are one of the most convincing bands in the ranks of the new-wave heavy/speed metal revival, i.e. the revival of the classic eighties school of metal – which, like a glaciation, is spreading once again from the European north, Scandinavia that is. From Beyond is Enforcer’s fourth studio album overall.
The band stays hungry and relentless in its devotion to worshipping the old-school metal craft. Still, the fourth album leans more toward a search for melodic compactness and definition. The raw, direct aggression that makes up the energetic core of the band’s musical stance is held back and no longer shoves its way to the front as much as on the earlier albums, especially compared to the debut »Into the Night« (2008). The flirting with the speed metal form, which, say, the album »Diamonds« (2010) was packed with, has also been toned down a notch.
»Far Beyond« has the most fully realized melodies (and consequently the most pomp – check out the instantly infectious chorus of the song Undying Evil) and is a re-print of the European metal that was irreversibly defined by the rise of the NWOBHM, led by Iron Maiden. The opener Destroyer actually has the most of that incredible sharpness and unbridled fury of the debut. On this album Enforcer sound like a never-grown-up Iron Maiden from the »Killers« (1981) era. Listen to the instrumental Hungry They Will Come and it’ll all click instantly. The title track is actually a reworking of the song Slovo, which belongs to a side project of the band’s bassist Tobias Lindqvist called Terminal. There it’s sung in one of the Slavic languages, in Swedish of course, as a tribute to all the Eastern Bloc bands playing heavy metal.
Enforcer will keep reminding you of the rustic forms of eighties-school metal, while impressing with an amazing sense for walking the middle path between refined musicality and ravenously catchy aggression and gloom, the way any good metal music demands (regardless of genres and subgenres). »Far Beyond« can boast an enviable variety of lead motifs, which give the compositions their framework, with the resulting waves of electrified moods and an overall liveliness that won’t bore you for a second. The Swedes approach it all with extraordinary commitment and fierce dedication. In the glow of their famous perfectionism. The soloing and the way the instrumental middle sections develop are inherited from Iron Maiden, of course, there’s no shortage of triple harmonies, and the crew plays fantastically. The production is alive, dark and deadly. A truly rustic aesthetic, seduced and served up for modern times. With their fourth album Enforcer cement their status as one of the best bands devoted to reviving old-school eighties metal. Their packaging, all about recycling familiar contents, stays hugely convincing.
Enforcer are coming to Ljubljana on March 18, 2015, where they’ll play at Orto bar. All you fans of the honest, authentic message of early eighties metal, you absolutely have to show up at the Enforcer gig that day, or you’ll get a reprimand before being expelled!
Line-up
Olof Wikstrand – vocals, guitar
Joseph Tholl – guitar
Tobias Lindqvist – bass
Jonas Wikstrand – drums
Production
Olof & Jonas Wikstrand
Tracklist
01. Destroyer
02. Undying Evil
03. From Beyond
04. One With Fire
05. Below The Slumber
06. Hungry They Will Come
07. The Banshee
08. Farewell
09. Hell Will Follow
10. Mask Of Red Death
