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Rating:
Enemynside is an Italian band making their debut. It's the first time I'm trying my hand at reviewing an emerging group, and it's a new and stimulating experience. Also because these Enemynside are worth it. Not outstanding, but they have potential.
Their thrash is fairly standard, with no particular stylistic innovations, nor daring or "experimental" compositional solutions, but excellent songs in the perfect thrash tradition. It would be wrong to associate Enemynside with today's thrash; let's say it is directly inspired (and you can hear it) by the purest '80s thrash, thus heavily drawing from the repertoire of Metallica and Slayer, the fathers of this genre. The timid imitation of James Hetfield in the vocals is especially amusing, but it isn't an unpleasant aspect; on the contrary, perhaps it's more than legitimate for a debut album to emulate one's idols.
The album opens with the excellent and fast "Suddenly Mad" and the more or less melodic "Bad Junks." It is immediately noticeable how mature they are in using their skills: a very appropriate and measured use of technique, with intelligent and always fitting solos. The energy becomes alive with "Ex-x-es," with its devastating rhythm and very pressing tempo, and with the following "In Memory Free," where the "Metallica" influence is very noticeable in the composition, in the vocals, and a bit in the text. "Your Enemy Inside" is definitely the group's manifesto and is the best of the bunch: it's catchy and pounding. While "Speed Killing" approaches Slayerian shores, the energy is replaced by an excellent melodic sense in "Peace of Mud," with an excellent slow section and outstanding solo work by the guitarists. The album closes with the three songs that convinced me the least, perhaps because they resemble the previous ones: "Unchained," "Scars," "Hatestone." All in all, these young guys are an excellent surprise.
If they were able to detach themselves a bit from their main influences to offer something more personal, they could do even better than the good work they've already done. Naturally, children of a musical period that cares more about sales, they manage to produce a work that, although not very original, will succeed in bringing a smile to those who live on bread and thrash.
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