Continuing the barrage of releases this week, we had to consider some upcoming EPs, too. It wasn’t easy to decide, but the sting of regret made me hold onto these two rather than let them fade into oblivion. I gave them a spin or two, or three, and good thing I did—things went from weird to interesting pretty fast. Here are two EPs that might just bring a bit of color back to your bleak life.
Enforced – A Leap Into the Dark: What can I say? Enforced just gets it. It’s the perfect blend of Thrash pummeling and Death N Roll’s casual defiance. We haven’t had much exciting Death/Thrash this year (just this gem!), but Enforced is here to, well, reinforce our faith in the style. Groovy and grimy as a gas station toilet seat, A Leap Into the Dark is exactly what you need after shouting at some random idiot who can’t respect personal space in public. It’ll help you cool down, and with style. Sure, some of the solos and melodies are predictable, but there’s comfort in getting exactly what you want sometimes. And hey, it’s already out!
It has so much testosterone that your hair falls off just watching it.
Dragoncorpse – The Fall of House Abbarath: OK, I wasn’t ready for what Dragoncorpse had in store with this EP. I guess we could call it Powercore—it has the drama and cheese you’d expect from Power Metal, but it’s delivered with breakdowns and pure aggression. Yes, you’ll find those virginal choruses everywhere and plenty of story-telling (with dramatic spoken parts), but I have to give the band credit for mixing it up in a way we don’t hear every day. It might alienate some fans, but if you’re open-minded or just tired of Metal’s usual monotony, Dragoncorpse might keep you entertained for the short burst this release demands. It’s out on November 1, so buckle up and wait a bit.
The video is more serious than Grave of the Fireflies.
We’ve survived another week of relentless, unforgiving Metal. It wasn’t easy, but we pulled through together, the dysfunctional Metal family that we are (don’t worry, reviewers, you’re not family—you’re respected writers!). We’ll keep digging into the underground next week. The dark party is never over, and my mailbox calls again.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 