Be prepared to have something behind you for support as you get your head blown off when the might of Enforced comes through. On 28 April, Century Media Records (Havok, EyeHateGod, Arch Enemy) drops Enforced’s third full-length album, “War Remains”. They have come out with their axes blazing and their knives sharpened to rampage down your ear canals in order to break down your inner ear defences.
This 5 piece destruction unit consists of Will Wagstaff (guitars), Zach Monahan (guitars), Knox Colby(vocals), Alex Bishop, and Ethan Gensurowsky (bass).
The opening track comes in with heavy sliding blasting chords before settling into thrash mayhem. Refreshingly, they start with a solo before powering into the main rhythm. A consistent blend of instruments and vocals carries the album along.
When we are introduced to Knox’s powerful voice that only goes at full volume throughout the album, he carries the intensity of the art well. There are no moderations. It is all or nothing. If he has other vocal ranges, we aren’t certain as there are no changes in the pace of the album.
From a distance, you can tell which albums are theirs. Their emblazoned logo sitting top left helps overlook an intense scene. Joe Petagno was again commissioned for this piece. He has been involved for many years in the album artwork scene and is responsible for designing Motorheads mascot, The Bastard. War Remains has a cover that blends the mass confusion elements into an overall haunting scene. Agony, loss and regret swirl around reinforced by the surrounding detail of the central character. The little details in the artwork are fantastic. I’m unsure if there are hidden gems within the design, as those sorts of Easter eggs are always amusing to have.
The guitar tones are crisp with a grinding edge to them.
Played with fury, the air molecules around the guitar pick get sliced in half in the process. This is a hard-core offering with thrash seeping out like honey from the wax wells of the honeycomb.
Enforced: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Century Media Records
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Byron Lotz
