Enemo-J Ill Begotten Meand Review
Enemo-J have certainly had an excellent start to their career. Playing Download in 2010 and supporting bands such as Hed P.E and Korn definitely shows a certain level of ability and recognition, and with three albums already behind them it shows that they should definitely be a band to watch out for.
Although the album begins with an interesting clip from "The Boondock Saints" for me, it goes downhill from there. Don't get me wrong, there is some very good stuff on here but for me, the duel vocalist route doesn't work for them. Generally I have no problem with multiple vocalists but the issue here is that bands like Mastodon and Caliban feature vocalists that can actually sing. Enemo-J's second vocalist Finn struggles to keep in key and no matter how many effects they layer over the top it just never gets good. It's a shame really as musically, the band are quite talented I just couldn't get into it.
That being said, it's not all a total miss on this album. Intentions Aren't a Crime Yet is a definite highlight with its high intensity and gritty, thrashy guitars truly making it the stand out track on the release. Chaotic Disorder also stands out and it's clear to hear the influence of bands such as Sepultura and American Head Charge.
However, tracks such as White Noise and Children of the Night really let this album down, the former especially as its nod to Limp Bizkit style rap metal sounds really out of place. Children of the Night suffers from sounding just a little too cliche and is unfortunately, as with much of the album, let down by the second vocalist.
Overall, I think this album has some good ideas. However, it just sounds like a band struggling a little with an identity crisis attempting to mix together multiple genres and influences and come up with something new. Sadly, what they have concocted just doesn't quite work.