Enbound,
active since 2006, has kept themselves somewhat quiet after the release of
their successful debut album And She Says Gold in 2011. I was a bit concerned
this would be a typical one hit wonder but thankfully Enbound is back with a
vengeance with The Blackened Heart. Their debut was already something
phenomenal, so the sequel can only bring more good stuff!
From the
first second on they hit the right spot. Start an album right away with
harmonic vocals in the intro, that’s really THE way to go to win the heart of
this critic! Opening track Falling lets its melodies roam free on top of a strong
base of tight drums and a solid chorus, that even has some canon elements here
and there. Fantastic!
Singer Lee
Hunter (Lars Säfsund) gives us everything that his golden throat can give and
the soaring notes he pushed out can be matched with the top of the genre. If
this album already starts on this level, it only makes me extremely happy! Give
me Light is another single that you can sing along in no time. Extremely catchy
en very solid in every aspect. No element is out of place. This simply pops!
Crossroads
is a bit more relaxed but Enbound continues to display top-notch talent. At the
end the bassdrum is released onto the last chorus and with that, Enbound shows
they can put something in every song that draws your attention.
Get Ready
For promises to be something epic. The verses keep themselves contained but the
chorus shows this explosive song’s true colors. This one is going to be yelled
along with at live concerts, I can guarantee you! Simple design, maximum
efficiency.
With each
song that passes Enbound shows more and more innovation. Feel my Flame has
these floating symphonic elements in the background that very subtle give it a
slight epic touch. There are also some effects thrown on the baselines here and
there and just like that little peaks of genius shine trough what seems to be a
simple song at first glance.
Twelve
doesn’t hide it anymore; Enbound brings out the big guns now in this glorious
hymn. Drums and guitars reign supreme and Lee comes charging in from all
corners of his vocal reach. Big and pounding at one moment, sweet and calm at
the next, without ever losing the main idea in the song. The way Enbound
manages to display their songs is magnificent!
Holy Grail
proves how pounding a lovesong can be. Somewhere happy and summer-like but with
enough fiery passion to make this song quite out of the ordinary.
Apparently,
Enbound likes to give at least 1 song on every album a title that makes you
guess what the hell they mean with it. On the last album it was Untitled X, and
here it is HIO. Heaven may know what that abbreviation means but it doesn’t
matter. Though it doesn’t have to compete with the rest of the good stuff on
this album, this might be the most ‘standard’ sounding one of them all.
But no
worries: they are back on track with the next song, a ballad called They Don’t
Really Know. Painfully beautiful and equipped with tons of raw emotion and an
open ending that underlines the feeling even more. Yes, Enbound also tackles
the ballads as true masters. Really, how can this be only their second album?
We end with
the kind of material where we started with. Make You So Unreal reminds of the
fantastic catchiness of the first two songs. Everything that’s good on this
album is once again underlined but it isn’t quite the huge epic gate closer
like on the first album. But that is not really a problem at all because
Enbound doesn’t need much more to show what they are made of. No talent is
wasted and this album is filled with roaring passion from front to back.
