A new release from Our Last Enemy runs the gambit of metal subgenres by delivering a vivacious and fierce thrashing soundscape that hits with the perfect combination of aggression and character to create something that you can scream along with, start your own mosh pit to, or pump your fists in the air along to just about any of these tracks.
As Within So Without is an EP that has no problems pushing boundaries and delivering something that's got an energy that becomes so infectious that it gets your blood pumping from the very first track through the last.
The guitar work on this track is outstanding as is the drumming and just about everything else as it brings together grindcore, east coast hardcore, classic metal, thrash, death metal, and so much more all rolled into one brutal record that has such a massive Sonic presence that you just can't look away.
There's influence from so many classic bands throughout this EP and you get great melodies, breakdowns, and this energy that beckons alive performance feel because it's so outrageous that you kind of left in awe that the energy level hit such peaks on a recording itself.
With a band that delivers so much fire in their performance you would imagine that the vocalist would struggle at some points to keep up or to just match the level of the band is at in terms of that fierceness in that aggression but instead, the vocalist actually pushes the band even further and that's kind of why I said earlier that it feels like a live performance at times.
I said that because it feels almost as if everyone on this record is feeding off of each other's energies the entire time and that's what gives it such an outrageous energy level.
It's raw but produced well, gritty but you can hear every word and riff, has drudging guitars but melodies as well.
It's kind of the best of a bunch of different worlds and I think what these guys managed to do is actually take some of the greatest parts of all these different genres that I mentioned earlier and put them into one killer release.
There are some surprises around the corners, there is experimental sections in the production, and the whole thing just makes you want to see this band live in your face so that you can get your face melted.
This entire record from start to finish was intense and fun at the same time.
The musicianship across this record is also Insanity because everything from the drumming, bass, guitars, and even vocals are all super on point.
Some memorable hooks and riffs stick in your head for hours after the songs have ended and this is something that a lot of people don't understand about metal in general.
Not only do you still want to put out hooks and choruses that stick, and leave their mark, but you want to put something out that has that fierceness to it and pulls your attention from anything else, and to do that you need to know arrangement, know your instruments inside and out, and be super tight as a band.
It's a little different than just pop music in general.
These guys hit all the sweet spots in terms of releasing an outstanding metal EP and they do it with such a crazy sonic tonality that it feels like they were all born to do it.
In terms of dropping an inventive, eye-opening, and character-riddled metal record, this one gets a 9 out of 10 hands down.
Listen to this one from beginning to end all the way through.
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