By Andrew Bansal
Swedish old-school heavy metal band Enforcer have been around since 2004. Till now they have released two albums ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Diamonds’, and graced the stage at many European festivals, winning new fans over with their adherence to the true ways of old school metal, in terms of the musical style, the attitude, and the looks. Now, the band is ready to release their third studio album ‘Death By Fire’. It comes out on February 1st in Europe and March 5th in North America, fittingly by one of the most ardent supporters of old-school metal, Nuclear Blast Records. I enjoyed the first two Enforcer records, but I must admit, because of the plethora of such ‘old-school revival’ acts popping up these days, specially from Sweden, I was a little sceptical about whether this new album will hold fort amongst the cut-throat competition, and whether or not it will get lost somewhere in the shuffle. But it proved me wrong completely, and in Enforcer’s ‘Death By Fire’, we have with us what promises to be one of the most impressive albums of 2013.
With nine scorching tracks adding up to a mere 35 minutes, duration-wise this is a perfect dose of traditional metal. This is typical of Enforcer, and vocalist/guitarist Olof Wikstrand mentioned in a statement that the reason for this is, the album is meant to be listened to in its entirety and meant to be pressed the old-school way, i.e. on vinyl LP, which loses sound quality if any of its sides is longer than 19 minutes. I was thrilled to read this, and at that very moment I was convinced that the band has the right approach, with their hearts completely in doing things the old-school way.
The short piano intro “Bells Of Hades” gives way to the first real track “Death Rides This Night”, an all-guns-blazing onslaught in every sense of the term. Olof Wikstrand is in top gear with his vocals, and for those who are unfamiliar with the band, I’d say the voice resembles a young Klaus Meine, at least in some aspects. With a song as killer as that, I thought it’d be hard to keep up the pace, but the next tune ‘Run For Your Life’ sure does, and presents some delightful solos and guitar harmonies. ‘Mesmerized By Fire’ is a bit more of a laid-back tune, but is equally enjoyable nonetheless, and the change in tempo right in the middle of it caught me by surprise, pleasantly, I must add.
Perhaps the linchpin of the album is track #5, ‘Take Me Out Of This Nightmare’. Starting off with a rich, instantly catchy guitar melody, it kicks into gear with some solid riffs as the vocals hit new heights. It’s without doubt my favorite track on the album, and the chorus is powerful to stay with the listener for quite a while. It’s the kind of thing which can suddenly start ringing in your head for no reason at all, and it’ll make you want to listen to the song right there and then.
The amazing 4-minute instrumental piece ‘Crystal Suite’ highlights the rhythm section of Tobias Lindqvist on bass and Jonas Wikstrand on drums quite a bit more than on other tunes, but on the album as a whole, they do play a larger role than what you’d expect on an album focussed on the vocal and guitar melodies. Crystal Suite is followed by ‘Sacrificed’, which begins with a slow intro and then breaks out into full speed, again boasting of some tasty riffs and solos. The longest track on the album, the two-part ‘Silent Hour/The Conjugation’ comes next, and is almost totally about the guitar parts, at which Olof Wikstrand and Jospeh Toll excel greatly. The rhythm section locks in with them really well too, creating a solid combination. The album comes to an end pretty much the same way it started, with the blisteringly fast tune called ‘Satan’.
If you follow my reviews regularly, you’d probably think I have a soft corner for traditional heavy metal, and you’re not wrong, but in reality my affinity towards this genre makes me even more critical and scrutinizing of the newer bands that play this style. A lot of bands do it wrong, and are doing it merely for the gimmick. I’m glad to say that Enforcer is a glorious exception to this trend, and they’ve proved themselves worthwhile with their newest effort. In terms of production, they’ve done a better job with this album as compared to the first two, in making it sound old-school. The production values, the mix and the guitar tone very much reminds me of the pre-Dickinson era Iron Maiden albums, and that can never be a bad thing for the band, or indeed for the listener.
Fans of early Maiden, and fans of speed metal, pick up Enforcer’s ‘Death By Fire’ as soon as you can, because this flawless traditional metal album is worth its weight in gold.
Rating: 10/10
Related: In-depth Interview With Olof Wikstrand
Record Label:
Nuclear Blast
Release Dates:
February 1st 2013 (Europe)
March 5th 2013 (USA)
Track Listing:
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
Links:
www.ENFORCER.se
Facebook.com/ENFORCER
Twitter.com/ENFORCERMETAL
www.youtube.com/OLOFWIKSTRAND