E'nemia

Epicenter EP

Written by: AP on 05/03/2011 12:45:17

E'nemia take care to emphasize the word special in their promotional material, referring to their latest EP, "Epicenter", as a strange amalgamation of progressive riffs, rock choruses and breakdowns. Id est: the textbook definition of metalcore. The two songs that comprise this release are allegedly darker, and have a more progressive structure than, previous outings, and while my experience with this domestic fivesome is extremely limited, both dark and progressive are accurate anchors for pinpointing where E'nemia resides on the vast and crowded map of metalcore.

Unfortunately the band seems to suffer from the Danish metal syndrome, the symptoms of which include an all too ambitious approach to songwriting and the naïve perception that memorability constitutes selling out. E'nemia are talented musicians and have a refined compositional awareness without a doubt, but even metal requires hooks to capture the full, undivided attention of the listener and make a lasting impression. Both "Depths of Sorrow" and "Falling" showcase tremendous potential through their inventive riffs, serpentine scales and syncopated rhythms, but as soon as the songs draw to an end, they reveal a tendency to be entirely forgettable.

"Falling", in particular, gets off to an excellent start with an ominous, palm-muted main riff that evolves into an atmospheric, ringing chorus part and eventually transforms into a solo-backed crescendo... and then it strikes me that the reason E'nemia have trouble engraving their identity into my long term memory is the achromatic, monotonous vocal performance courtesy of Nichlas Nielsen. His guttural, death metal inspired technique is not flawed as such, it simply sounds out of place in music of this kind being less ambitious and expansive that its instrumental counterparts. The interplay just doesn't work.

But having mastered one technique, it shouldn't be presumptuous to think that Nichlas is capable of tuning his voice for a wider spectrum of styles. Once that happens, E'nemia will immediately take one step closer to widespread acclaim. Until then, however, I feel obliged to award them with a grade that both indicates the current quality of output and provides an incentive to explore new terrain.

Download: Falling
For the fans of: Billy Boy in Poison, Clockwork Protocol, Contrition
Listen: Myspace

Release date 11.12.2010
** Unsigned band **

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