Enforced - A Leap Into the Dark EP (2024)

A Leap into the Dark is a brief holdover for whatever Enforced is headed towards next, but with six tracks, it's at least a little more substantial than some 7" or EP recordings are. The highlights here are the newer tracks, which have a nice punch to them. Not far removed from how the band sounded on War Remains, they've got a slightly cranked up depth of the bass presence, some good leads and riffs that are at least the quality of that full-length. "Deafening Heartbeats" is the most intense of the three, with some death/thrash in the riffing, and some cool riff progressions which work well with the splatters of wild solos. There is also a remaster of the "Casket" single from 2021, which I hadn't heard, but sounds like it belonged on Kill Grid (same year), only the production is a little more violent and booming.

This is capped off with a pair of covers from some pretty difference sources. "Deadly Intentions" is from the Obituary debut Slowly We Rot, and though Enforced do play it pretty close to the original, I found it ironic that they make it sound more like a later 90s Obituary piece, when the Floridians were themselves leaning more into the hardcore that Enforced came from. This would have fit right in on Back from the Dead, but structurally they still nail it. The other tune is the English Dogs' "The Chase in On", which comes from their 1984 EP To the Ends of the Earth. Another fun parallel since that band transformed from punk and hardcore to a more heavy/speed metal style, but Enforced take that cut and brutalize it a little more so it sounds like Doom but with Knox singing. I'd say both of the covers are fun enough to maybe incorporate into a live set, but the more forgettable aspects of this EP, buried by the consistent quality of the three new original cuts. But if you've enjoyed the two albums prior to this one, the material is probably worth throwing the band a couple bucks so they can get coffee or fill the gas tank on a tour.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/

Enforced - War Remains (2023)

In many ways, War Remains just feels like a Part II of Kill Grid from 2021. The black & white cover artwork from Joe Petagno, which is cool but not as amazing as what he came up with for the previous album. The overall aesthetics continue to explore a more purely brutal thrash sound, although I think there are a couple moments here which offer a slight throwback to the awesome crossover of the debut. The lyrics aren't all warlike, as the title might imply, but you get that same impression of battlefield thrash that reminds one of Sodom, or maybe war/death metal bands like Frozen Soul and Bolt Thrower, despite the difference in genre. One difference here, that nudges this ahead of Kill Grid, is that the production feels a more more powerful, dynamic and vibrant, losing some of the dryness and bleakness I felt there.

Same crew, they just really get a mix here that fleshes out the guitars and gives Knox Colby's vocals a lot more of a gut punch. The drums sound heavier, the riffs all have much more impact even though they're not structured with any more nuance or technicality than those from a few years before. War Remains sounds like a blend of Exodus mid-paced material, sans their guitar tone, Sodom's speed and those viral evil melodic Slayer breakdowns that turned Reign in Blood into a household name. When they roil out some faster tremolo picked riffs you get a little more death/thrash ("Avarice", or the grown in the title track), and the leads are well written and more memorable here than on the sophomore. Everything is performed with pinpoint accuracy, but it by no means sounds technical or over-polished, just written and delivered for maximum neckbreaking impact, and if you're just newly getting into thrash or seeking out an example of contemporary production and effectiveness, this is one to track down.

But while I think it's a very good album, a little better than Kill Grid, Enforced still doesn't have the same distinct qualities that so many my favorite 80s thrash acts did. Whether you were just into the 'Big Four' or 'Big Three' of that era, or even exploring the second and third tiers of the genre, there were scores of bands that really stood out vocally and musically. Like a lot of their peers, this just comes off a gestalt of repurposed ideas performed and recorded at a highly professional level. The execution is unquestionable, but the personality isn't quite as present as their more hybrid debut album, and although you'll catch me nodding if not outright banging my head throughout the runtime experience of this, it's not one where I can pick out a lot of songs of riffs after its over. Now that they've established this sound so well, it wouldn't hurt to hear some progression or ideas out of left field.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (Olive branches build the arrows)

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/

Enforced - Kill Grid (2021)

With Kill Grid and their signing to Century Media records, Enforced moved on to a sound that was the more archetypal thrash that most would recognize them by. That's not to say they abandoned all of what defined their debut, but wrote a record that was a little less oriented towards the crossover/hardcover aesthetics and meant for sheer head banging mayhem. It's certainly a more aggressive and intense effort than At the Walls, with a mix of of the West Coast sound and, say, Sodom, but there is also a little bit of a death/thrash bite to some of the material, for instance the blazing opener "The Doctrine" reminds me a lot of the Possessed comeback album Revelations of Oblivion, and that's not the only instance, so I think fans of that would be thrilled to check this out.

I also feel like the band is a parallel to Texans Power Trip, whose CDs I picked up but never quite got into as others seemed to. However, they did have a cool, caustic sound to them which is mirrored by the crunch of the guitars and the visceral vocals. And let me tell you, Kill Grid is saturated palm mute heaven, one of the most purely 'thrash' tones you've heard in years, spliced up with loads of wailing mini-leads and then some of the real deal, with a compact, tight rhythm section that works in lock step. They're playing around with a selection of riffs that won't feel novel to any thrasher whose danced around the circle for a few years or more, but they invigorate the material with an infernal energy that is going to snap you to attention even if you forget the songs five minutes later. For thrash, it's pretty brutal and unrelenting, and at some of its best moments (like "Beneath Me" or the intro to "Curtain Fire"), they'll erupt into this Slayer-like pattern which will remind you of just how much you liked where that band was headed in the mid 80s with Reign in Blood.

Some of the riffing structures also give me some Atrophy or Devastation vibes, and elsewhere like "Malignance" you'll hear some vaguely death metal progressions. It all works into the warlike format of the lyrics here, and Kill Grid is entirely consistent, like a level theater of war that never quite reaches a lull or climax, but shells are firing back and forth the entire 41 minutes. It's not boring, ever, and I do think it's a competent and studied example of old school thrash being trampolined into the modern era, but I have to admit that I miss the more vibrant and dynamic debut, with its more effective gang shouts and breakdowns and slightly less monotonous guitar tone. I also felt that one was produced better than this, which is functional but a little dry other than the leads. That said, Kill Grid is not going to let you down if you're into Power Trip, High Command or other modern thrash exemplars with a long road ahead of them if they can continue to refine and entertain.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (Riot rhythms of a world take hold)

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/

Enforced - At the Walls (2019)

At the Walls was one of those first records I latched onto in the modern wave of thrash and death metal albums incorporating hardcore aesthetics to their songwriting. No, it was nothing new, bands had been crossing the streams for decades before this, notably the crossover scene which Enforced is often tagged alongside, and for good reason, but when I listen through this I feel more of a street tough, 80s NYHC vibe rather than the more punk/hardcore stuff that was threaded into the sounds of D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, and their like. Combine that with crispy, crunchy, EXPLOSIVE thrash metal and you've got one hell of a debut, and At the Walls remains my favorite record from the Virginians, since they'd take on a more caustic and warlike feel on the later efforts that felt more like Power Trip.

The production here is absolutely perfect, with its thick bass lines, peppy drums and that aforementioned crispness to the rhythm guitars which delivers the maximum impact whether they are galloping along or headed into a thrashing breakdown. The leads are wild, loose, short and perfect at adding another reckless level of atmosphere, while Knox Colby's vocals on this album are absolutely fucking rad, like Lou Koller if he'd been the front man for Nuclear Assault instead of Sick of It All. There's plenty of metal here, though, don't you worry, from the Slayer-like harmonies of "Retaliation" that lead into the breakdown, to the bevy of faster, crunchier thrash riffs that would make even Municipal Waste weep. All of it combines into an album so vibrant, full of energy and propulsion. I haven't been a 'mosher' since my teenaged years, I just got tired of having my big feet stepped on, never felt I had much leverage, but I tell you there's music that passes my desk which has me privately performing that very dance.

26 minutes is all it takes, concise and to the point and never faltering on any track as the band just blazes the fuck out its hybrid sound. You could listen to the whole thing on the way to work, or for a quick trip to the gym. I wouldn't even say there's a misplaced note here; the leads might not feel super memorable individually, and don't have a ton of confidence yet, but again they are present for effect, for that feel of testosterone about to fall off the hinges. The gang shouts rule, the vocals might be more hardcore-focused but they match the metallic guitars quite well, and it's just infectious, transporting me back to the 80s when I would be just as thrilled to listen to Killing Time and Gorilla Biscuits as I was Anthrax or Overkill. Interestingly, a lot of Enforced fans have an inverse opinion to mine, where they prefer the later records, but I think this smokes them (at least so far), much more youthful and vital.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (Sell out your oppressor)

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/