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Rating:
7.2 |
Enforcer - Death By Fire
1 February 2013
01. Bells Of Hades
02. Death Rides This Night
03. Run For Your Life
04. Mesmerized By Fire
05. Take Me Out Of This Nightmare
06. Crystal Suite
07. Sacrificed
08. Silent Hour / The Conjugation
09. Satan
Some bands like to try their hand at reinventing the wheel. Some would prefer to throw the old wheels on their vehicle and just let it ride. Sweden's Enforcer are completely aware of the age of their traditional and brazen NWOBHM sound but rest assured the ride will be fast and fun.
First cuts "Death Rides This Night" and "Run For Your Life" proceed at a blistering pace leaving little to memory save the awareness of having been scorched by their untethered speed and mildly thrash braced nature, gearing you up for the album's energy.
Death By Fire is edgy and youthful in sound in a similar way to a spry Metallica on the Kill 'em All record and the guitars harness the, apparently, still burning flame of the NWOBHM. The midsection of instrumental "Crystal Suite" is straight from Iron Maiden's Transylvanian vault and the boding intro to "Sacrificed" channels some Angel Witch. Plenty of references external to the NWHOBHM are on offer with the riffs which roll off the back end of "Mesmerized By Fire" nodding to Motorhead and vocalist Wikstrand gives tracks such as "Take Me Out Of This Nightmare" some big hair and adds a bit of a glam styled chorus ala Quiet Riot.
Not all of it sticks though. It's not a case of too fast too flat but just that the songwriting doesn't always do justice to the quality performance of the band's members. It can be incredibly difficult to make this kind of rapid delivery of traditional heavy metal have any real staying power and Enforcer try admirably to bring that about whilst giving clear indication from where they're getting their inspiration. Beyond the fiery solos some nice changes to the tempo in tracks like "Silent Hour / The Conjuration" really aid in recollection and the memorable guitar licks make their presence especially noticeable.
The album's longevity will depend to a great extent on how much you enjoy heavy metal which is keenly aware of the genre's past. Old styled tunes played with a renewed energy isn't something unheard of course but Enforcer manage to do so while maintaining interest with their careful sampling of all things traditional about the genre.
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Performance:
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9 |
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Songwriting:
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7 |
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Originality:
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6 |
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Production:
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8 |
written by R'Vannith | 11.02.2013 |
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Comments
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5
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Users visited:
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146 |
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 K†ulu - 11.02.2013 at 07:12
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| Good review; gives an idea of what to expect here, so I will probably pass on this one as I assume it is similar to Steelwing, right? |
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Written by K†ulu on 11.02.2013 at 07:12
Good review; gives an idea of what to expect here, so I will probably pass on this one as I assume it is similar to Steelwing, right?
Pretty close yeah. Perhaps a bit more varied for an album of this sort, some of the songs stand out a bit more than others as they take elements from slightly different styles of heavy metal. For the most part its traditional speed/NWOBHM all the way. |
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LICH - 12.02.2013 at 15:05
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| Im gonna keep my eye on these guys , though somebody mentioned to me they are horrifyingly cheesy live... |
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Written by LICH on 12.02.2013 at 15:05
though somebody mentioned to me they are horrifyingly cheesy live...
then that person has never seen SkullFist live  |
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I'd rate this one higher, it's a wonderful album played with mastery in each instrument. It may be highly influenced by some other bands, but oh damn, they do an amazing work paying tribute to those bands.
8.5 in my humble opinion, maybe this rate will change later, but by far, I think this album is just great. |
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