Enforcer offers a thrilling rollercoaster ride back to the 80's on their enjoyable debut!
Enforcer consists of a bunch of young Swedish guys, who have chosen the old school way of Metal, completely ignoring any musical trend that happened after the 80's. Firmly rooted in the NWOBHM-style with nods to Thrash and Speed Metal,
Enforcer grants us a highly pleasing, intense lesson in what real Metal should sound like!
Opening with
Black Angel, the heavy Maiden-influence is apparent from the beginning; the song sounds like it could have been a long lost Maiden-track, circa around the time of the debut. Another thing that makes me think about Maiden as well is the prominent and detailed basswork, giving the album an extra dimension, an instrument a lot of bands tend to neglect the importance of.
The titletrack embodies what the album is all about: great riffs, sing-a-long choruses, powerful vocals and blistering guitars. In other words; timeless quality Metal!
The blistering
Speed Queen marks another album highlight, while the straight-ahead rocker
On The Loose shows the diversity of the disc.
On The Loose shows that the band is capable of crafting quality midtempo tunes too. It is a downright amazing song that reminds me a lot about
Saxon. Those songs are both examples of how darn effective a simple structure can be, if the riffs are good enough.
All songs on the album have something to offer, and the general quality is very high. The standout track for me has got to be
Scream Of The Savage, an absolute triumph in Thrashy, attitude-filled goodness. I can never get tired of this song. The bass work here is once again very detailed and up front, while the melodic guitars are the co-stars of a spectacular song. With a breathtaking drive, this song has so much energy, it will wake the dead! This tune marks the heaviest, fastest point of the album!
City Lights is the albums instrumental track, and very cool. I'm not really big on instrumentals, but I don't find myself skipping this one.
Into The Night is an extremely consistent album, without any bad songs, or any bad elements at all, really. The album has been on heavy rotation in my home for several months, and still won't leave my stereo.
The guitar playing is excellent, the Priest-styled twin leads will have many Metalheads drooling, and the overall performance of guitarist
Adam Zaars is very convincing! I'm also very fond of the highpitched vocals of
Olof Wikstrand. It could be argued that he is not technically the perfect singer, but he has a personal feeling in his voice. His performance oozes of enthusiasm and conviction in what he does, a very important quality.
So, what's not to like, you ask? Not much, really. I sometimes feel like playing this style of music can be used as an excuse for ripping off older bands, masking it all as "tribute", but not here. With
Enforcer, you really have a feeling these guys are genuine. The music is honest, well crafted and carried out with passion, conveying a sincere feeling that these guys are living for it. Even if the music is build upon a fundament created by
Exciter,
Judas Priest and the like, it has an own angle.
Enforcer take the influences and use them in an own way, creating their own version of the music, and that makes all the difference.
In a few words, Into The Night is highlight upon highlight, and should appeal to all fans of old school Metal!
Written by
Nina Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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