Release Date - 14th January 2021
Label - MNRK Heavy (previously eONe Heavy)
Enterprise Earth are a tricky band to fit into a specific genre. Are they Deathcore, metalcore or death metal? It of course, doesn’t really matter as genre is just a name. But if the music is good, its good, and this is good. So, forget genres and just bathe in the brutality of this album.
Enterprise Earth is just four members but, my word it is remarkably impressive how heavy this record is.
Drawing from various corners of the metal world the most likely comparison will be Whitechapel, with the comparative guitar tones and guttural vocals. But the vocals don’t just stick to this style, they flick from guttural to melodic and everything in-between. Enterprise Earth are carving their own path with the variation in vocal style, evocative imagery (see album cover) and short track interludes. Take the likes of ‘The Tower’ building the anticipation, before the next track pulverises your skull.
This album is explosive, intriguing and downright impressive. The main shining point of this album is the amount of variation in styles of music. At one point you are listening to ‘Unleash Hell’, which does exactly what it says on the tin. On the other hand, take ‘Overpass’. It starts almost like a love ballad, it uses clean singing before it morphs into a track filled with visceral vocals, plenty of sub-drops and a hooky chorus. A truly diverse track sandwiched in the middle of the album, it leans more towards metalcore and finishes with one of the most vicious breakdowns on here.
The vocal split between guttural and high pitched squeals are nothing new in the scene but, vocalist Dan Watson seems to have mastered his to perfection. Coupled with the brutal vocals, there are clean sung choir like passages which are found on ‘They Have No Honour’. This is one of the stand out tracks on the album; it encompasses a more of a thrashy pattern half-way through with a spangly solo to boot, and then switches back to absolute uncompromising brutality. On the subject of solos, there are plenty on here and they are all unique in their own right. Is it necessary for solos on this type of record? Who cares, as the saying goes, ‘If you have got it, flaunt it’.
What’s great about Enterprise Earth is they throw in other surprises that keeps the listener on their toes. For instance, the solo on ‘You Couldn’t Save Me’, the guitars and drums in this section would easily fit on a more mainstream album such as Trivium, for example. This is an absolute stomper of a track, filled with double bass galore, hints of Randy Blythe vocals and plenty of groovy riffs.
One thing to note is the length of the album. Fourteen tracks at times can be a struggle to get through and, perhaps a couple of tracks could have been cut. But, this is a minor criticism on an album that has so much diversity and variations it never outstays its welcome.
Whether this is classed as a Deathcore album or whatever, this is a cracking album to start 2022 off. If this is classed as a Deathcore album, then it’s going to be a challenge for other bands in the genre to step up to the plate. Challenge extended.
8/10
Joey
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