Enforce - Biblakill

Enforce
Biblakill
Independent Release/Green Media Distribution

Technically, Perth (Western Australia) based melodic death metal outfit Enforce have been around on the Australian metal scene for the better part of fifteen years (Having been founded way back in 1996), which means that from a time perspective, they could well stand as one of the country’s more enduring and resilient acts.
But in reality, Enforce have spend quite a lot of the last few years keeping a fairly low profile, with supporting slots alongside the likes of Destroyer666, The Berzerker, Cryptopsy, Behemoth, Obituary and Kreator giving an indication that the band was still an ongoing concern.
But after a lengthy eight years since the release of their second full-length effort ‘Message Of Death’, the revamped Enforce (Who comprise of vocalist/guitarist Guy Bell, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Rob Hartley, bassist/backing vocalist Scott ‘BoltZ’ Bultitude-Paull and drummer Troy Watson) have finally managed to put a solidified line-up together, and record their third album ‘Biblakill’.
After a brief instrumental introductory piece (‘Apocalyptic’), Enforce get the album underway with the fast paced and thrashing ‘Tank’. Musically, the band aren’t delivering anything that hasn’t already been heard before, but what they do serve up is fairly brutal (Especially on the vocal front, where Bell’s gruff vocal style comes across as a bellowed kind of bark), with a strong emphasis on groove and shred in just the right measure.
From here, Enforce don’t mess around too much with the formula, with tracks such as ‘Saint Of Killers’, the church scathing title track ‘Biblakill’ and ‘Ghost Of Fuhrer’s Past’ all delivered with the same attitude and aggression of the opening track.
In terms of highlights, ‘Strong Will Remain’ and ‘Armed With Sheer Hatred’ are definite favourites with their catchy hooks/grooves and melodic lead work, while the speeding duo of ‘Sacked’ (Which is preceded by the spoken word piece ‘Anger Management’, and is a not so subtle dig at a former member of the band) and ‘Pain Of F*****g Death’ are the strongest efforts within the heavier side of Enforce’s repertoire.
I’m not entirely convinced that the album really needed two versions of ‘Self Mutilation’ (The other being ‘Mutilation II’), even if the two tracks do have some distinct differences. I personally would have liked to hear another new track.
Production wise, ‘Biblakill’ is a little muddy sounding, which doesn’t help give the songs enough separation to really stand out against one another.
But aside from those couple of issues, ‘Biblakill’ is a solid enough album, and should at least give the band another excuse to hit the road once again.

For more information on Enforce, check out - http://www.myspace.com/enforceofficial

© Justin Donnelly