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E'Nemia

Pride Comes Before A Fall

Written by: PP on 29/12/2014 00:38:52

It's always endearing to hear real progress from bands whose work has previously been under criticism here at Rockfreaks.net. One of these bands is E'Nemia from Aalborg, who have previously released two EPs in 2010 and 2013, respectively. They were the product of a young band wanting to play classic metalcore but without the necessary tools to achieve a coherent sound just yet. All of that has changed for their latest EP "Pride Comes Before A Fall", which contains by far their best material yet and showcases just how far this band has come since those records. The songwriting in particular has taken a massive leap forward and now represents some of the best within metalcore in this country, at least if these three songs (and an intro - boys, "Interlude" literally means a track in between) are to be believed.

For starters, the band's expression is now a mature metalcore one with tightly played riffs and percussion, solid production (thanks to Jacob Hansen turning the knobs), and brilliant melodies that latch onto the listener instantly from first listen. The vocals are varied, ranging from hardcore style grunts to traditional metalcore screams and some very well executed clean vocals that avoid the high-pitch trap, instead being delivered in a mid-range, slightly melancholic style that fits their soundscape very well. "Reckoning", the first real track on the EP, feels almost like a hardcore track because of the vocal texture, just with metalcore guitars in the background. These are instrumentally very technical and proficient, but not exactly a wizardry show off rather than a display of well-written leads, hooks and riffs that drive the song home during the verse melodies and provide a solid support during the catchy chorus part. Here, a juxtaposition of harsh vocals and cleans does wonders to the main melody to provide an excellent example of the much-improved songwriting from previous material.

But where the band really impresses the listener is on "Shadowside", which is arguably one of the finest metalcore tracks written by any Danish band in the genre to date. It has everything; a massively catchy chorus led by great clean singing and crunchy metalcore riffage, plenty of guitar hooks on top of that and even gang-shouted backing screams that arrive at a perfect timing to give the chorus additional texture. Simply put, this song oozes of charisma and confidence, which the band was lacking in the past, and moreover, it echoes the origins of the genre (think Killswitch Engage) from the early to mid 2000s rather than the over-compressed, theatrical and breakdown oriented metalcore that we see from Rise Records and Imminence Records on a consistent basis. When you then add in a slight modern flavor in the vein of Architects, it's safe to say the band are exactly on the right track. If they can deliver an album's worth of songs as good as the three on "Pride Comes Before A Fall", then it's time to consider pushing the band to international audiences as well.

Download: Reckoning, Shadowside
For the fans of: Killswitch Engage, Contrition, Architects, Diamond Drive
Listen: Facebook

Release date 07.11.2014
Self-Released