Emmure

Eternal Enemies

Written by: PP on 22/04/2014 22:58:47

Despite all their shortcomings instrumentally, in terms of their general attitude, and their absolutely horrendous lyrics, there is a strange allure about Emmure's material. Dubbed often as the very lowest common denominator deathcore out there thanks to its stubbornly bone-headed approach to one chord chugfests presented as songs, there's no denying that their breakdowns are absolutely devastating and among the heaviest in deathcore. There are few bands that can punish their listener with barrages upon barrages of head-on collisions with brick walls like Emmure can, and their confrontational attitude against the non-believers (liberally applied to everyone who doesn't appreciate the band) is as infectious as it is stupid. There is no logical reason why you should like this band, yet "Eternal Enemies" provides yet another reason to do so just like "Speaker Of The Dead" did a couple of years ago: there's just something impressive about their uncompromising "I don't give a shit what you think, this is who I am" stance when delivered through such a muscular and cataclysmic musical platform as theirs.

"Eternal Enemies", their sixth full-length might be the most accomplished Emmure album instrumentally speaking, which I realize isn't saying much in their context, but it really shows one of the first instances of Emmure bringing in versatility to their sound other than the constant bombardment of artificially heavy one chord pummeling that they are so known for. Yes, this may appear in the form of screeching horror chords, but the contrast added by the horrendous high-pitch squeaking of the guitars next to the Zao-like cheese grater-style growls works surprisingly well. Better yet, there are multiple songs like "Grave Markings" and "A Gift A Curse" which rely on dynamic riffs to supplement the chugging, or "Free Publicity" which adds in haunting atmospherics on the background to make an otherwise one-dimensional track gain just what it needs to be memorable.

Yet, the band never, ever make it easy to like them. Their lyricism is juvenile beyond belief, riddled with constant swearing, telling people to eat a dick, and other not-so-subtle references to basically fuck off and die. Consider this excerpt from "Most Hated":

This is what I'm all about / No regrets, no fucking doubts / So you better watch your fucking mouth / Before I put you on the fucking ground / Bitch

Yeah I'm the motherfucker people always talking about / Aw shit / I see you standing, arms crossed, trying to stare me down / Get bent / So if you wanna see me fail I'll say it nice and loud / Eat dick / And you can hate me all you want because I don't give a shit

I'm not done, in fact I'm just getting started / I'm a great, true god is an understatement

In fact, it is the incredibly awful lyricism that continues to drag down the Emmure experience, making it difficult for anyone with half-a-brain to appreciate them as anything but a guilty pleasure. Simply put, us music enthusiasts are hard-wired to like music that isn't the equivalent of trying to stuff a square element into a round hole, which largely reflects what Emmure try to do album to album. Still, "Eternal Enemies" is oddly catchy and definitely among the best material released by the band to date.

7

Download: N.I.A (News In Arizona), Most Hated, A Gift A Curse, Free Publicity
For the fans of: The Acacia Strain, Bury Your Dead, King Conquer, American Me
Listen: Facebook

Release date 15.04.2014
Victory Records

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