By Andrew Bansal
Based out of Stockholm, Sweden, classic heavy metal band Enforcer began in 2004 and following the ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Diamonds’ full-length album releases in 2008 and 2010 respectively, they decided to buckle down and give the next album a little more deliberation and time. The result is their newest creation ‘Death By Fire’ which came out via Nuclear Blast (Europe)/Earache Records (North America) earlier this year, 36 minutes of sheer heavy metal awesomeness that’s worthy of several repeat listening sessions at a time. ‘Bells Of Hades’ is the calm before the unrelenting storm that ensues once the album gets into gear with the first full track ‘Death Rides The Night’. This scorching set of tunes persistently throws one knockout punch after another and the combined unstoppable force of these nine tunes leaves the listener absolutely floored. Frontman Olof Wikstrand’s clean, high-pitched vocals are top-notch and his guitar work with fellow axeman Joseph Tholl is exemplary for this genre. The rhythm section has an old-school groove to it, and altogether the band’s music on this album is a nod to the glory days of classic metal. Tunes like ‘Mesmerized By Fire’, ‘Take Me Out Of This Nightmare’ and ‘Crystal Suite’ are worth their weight in gold, but the entire album has an undeniable flow to it which makes it extremely hard for one to pick favorites. With incredibly catchy songwriting and crystal clear production, ‘Death By Fire’ presents Enforcer at their new peak and gives old-school metalheads plenty of reason to rejoice.
Track Listing:
1. Bells Of Hades
2. Death Rides This Night
3. Run For Your Life
4. Mesmerized By Fire
5. Take Me Out Of This Nightmare
6. Crystal Suite
7. Sacrificed
8. Silent Hour / The Conjugation
9. Satan
Duration: 35.7 minutes
Visit Enforcer on the web:
Enforcer.se
facebook.com/Enforcer
twitter.com/EnforcerMetal
The countdown so far …
#50. Nails – Abandon All Life
#49. American Sharks – Self-Titled
#48. Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose
#47. Helen Money – Arriving Angels
#46. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Mind Control
#45. Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen
#44. Church Of Misery – Thy Kingdom Scum
#43. Wolvserpent – Perigaea Antahkarana
#42. Djinn And Miskatonic – Forever In The Realm
#41. Czar – No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive
#40. Against The Grain – Surrounded By Snakes
#39. Nekrofilth – Devil’s Breath
#38. Kylesa – Ultraviolet
#37. The Devil’s Blood – III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars
#36. Kadavar – Abra Kadavar
#35. Purson – The Circle And The Blue Door
#34. Carousel – Jeweler’s Daughter
#33. Kvelertak – Meir
#32. SpiralArms – Freedom
#31. Satan – Life Sentence
#30. Exhumed – Necrocracy
#29. Havok – Unnatural Selection
#28. Mothership – Self-Titled
#27. UDO – Steelhammer
#26. Ramming Speed – Doomed To Destroy, Destined To Die
#25. Revocation – Self-Titled
#24. Gorguts – Colored Sands
#23. Kobra And The Lotus – Self-Titled
#22. Toxic Holocaust – Chemistry Of Consciousness
#21. Saxon – Sacrifice
#20. Noctum – Final Sacrifice
#19. Intronaut – Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)
#18. Scale The Summit – The Migration
#17. Warbringer – IV: Empires Collapse
#16. Scorpion Child – Self-Titled
#15. Motörhead – Aftershock
#14. Holy Grail – Ride The Void
#13. Red Fang – Whales And Leeches
#12. Soilwork – The Living Infinite
#11. ASG – Blood Drive
#10. The Ocean – Pelagial
#9: Anciients – Heart Of Oak
#8. Cauldron – Tomorrow’s Lost
#7. Enforcer – Death By Fire
Check out #6 here.