ENABLER (All Hail The Void) CD
ENABLER from Milwaukee take the good old dark metallic hardcore punk (you may call it "crust"...) from the 1980's and mix it with other influences ranging from black to thrash metal. Technically, ENABLER do everything right. They really play as a tight unit, and especially guitarist Greg Thomas pulls a couple of nice and heavy riffs out of his hat that remind me of later Sacrilege or Concrete Sox. However, 'All Hail The Void' is located far from the filth and rawness of these two bands. Despite all anger and darkness, this album sounds almost sterile and too clean for my taste. It seems to me as if ENABLER wanted to play safe, but that is only an assumption.
Most of the songs are fast-paced, interspersed with some cool mid-tempo parts, which I like best. What I don't like that much is that there are a few songs with a certain black metal touch, but that's the way it is these days. Here I find the death metal influences more convincing, even if they are less dominant than with labelmates Black Breath. But first and foremost ENABLER is a hardcore punk band which is also reflected in the fierce lyrics. And also the aggressive vocals of guitarist Jeff Lohrber would do credit to each other band in the same field.
Overall, 'All Hail The Void' is a menacing and brutal affair that refuses to compromise. ENABLER let out all their anger about this confusing world and appear authentic and up-to-date. Unfortunately it's too up-to-date for me. By the way, the cover artwork looks funny and would tie in well with a zombie flic entitled "Crusty Zombies On Their Road To Hell" (or something like that).
(KK)