Albums•April 13, 2014•20,059 views

Emmure Eternal Enemies

01. untitled 02. Nemesis 03. N.I.A. (News in Arizona) 04. The Hang Up 05. A Gift A Curse 06. E 07. Like LaMotta 08. Free Publicity 09. Most Hated 10. Grave Markings 11. Hitomi's Shinobi 12. Rat King 13. Girls Don't Like Boys, Girls like 40's and Blunts 14. New Age Rambler 15. We Were Just Kids

2014 Victory Records

Our score 4

by Alex

4/14/2014

More than a decade into their careers, Emmure has achieved a respectable level of success. They headline tours, they sell thousands of albums, and their name is widely known among younger metal fans. Naturally, with success comes criticism, but Emmure attracts significantly more derision than most. The band primarily takes heat for two things: simplistic songwriting and the me-against-the-world antics of frontman Frankie Palmeri. If either component of the Emmure machine draws your ire, Eternal Enemies will do nothing to alleviate your contempt. They've not evolved, and they're hoping that Emmure fans haven't either. Eternal Enemies gets off to a rough start with an untitled track. The song was once called "Bring A Gun To School" before controversy apparently prompted the band (or Victory Records) to ditch the title. Frankly, Emmure should have scrapped the entire affair, because this is barely a song. It's an uninspired flogging of a single guitar string with lyrics that could have been written by an inebriated twelve year-old. I'll give Palmeri the benefit of the doubt and suggest that these lyrics were written solely to irritate writers. Mission accomplished. Next. "Nemesis" was the first song released from the album, and it's an Emmure song through and through. In fact, its beginning sounds a bit too much like Emmure fan favorite, "Solar Flare Homicide." No matter, repetition is not exactly a foreign object amidst the Emmure canon. Like much about the band, "Nemesis" is utterly confounding. It's effective, albeit simplistic, deathcore that hits all the right notes (or lack thereof) until Palmeri's embarrassing spoken word vocal part materializes. The blight is partially erased by the song's ending, which nicely combines electronics with an ultra-heavy groove. Emmure is often tagged as nu-deathcore and if anybody needs evidence to support the assertion, look no farther than track four, "The Hang Up." With a thumping bass and squealing guitar riff, it's Korn featuring guest vocals from Emmure frontman Frankie Palmeri. This style of metal must surely appeal to someone, but not I. Chalk another one up in the embarrassment column. Thankfully, when "A Gift A Curse" kicks in following a hearty drumbeat, we get some actual melody. This is not a great song, but it is semi-enjoyable and has more depth than your typical Emmure effort. Relatively speaking, the song is pleasantly ambitious. And right on cue, whatever capital the band earned via "A Gift A Curse" is pissed away on "E," truly an amusing title given Emmure's penchant for eschewing fretboard exploration (granted, Emmure doesn't use standard tuning, so perhaps "B" would be a better moniker). Gang chants of "get up" lead into a brief pause which finds Palmeri directing listeners to "bounce." Ugh. Uninventive deathcore and intermittent hip-hop scratching ensue. And so it goes. For every slab of decent deathcore, Emmure has a nu metal parlor trick or a stanza of junior high level lyrics. On occasion Emmure does attempt something new, whether it's borrowing from the Deftones on "Most Hated" or channeling A Day To Remember on "We Were Just Kids." While the band gets points for trying, these experiments feel half-hearted, if not ill-conceived. I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing Emmure live, but I have little doubt that most of these songs work extremely well in that setting, where any offensive subtleties aren't discernible and the band's mosh inducing abilities reign supreme. But on tape, Emmure is exposed too often. What these guys truly need is an executive producer to rid their music of resident tripe. A new lyrical dimension is also desperately needed (search the Internet for the lyrics to "Most Hated"). They must veer away from Palmeri's rebel shtick, which looms oppressively throughout Eternal Enemies. Please don't misunderstand, Frankie Palmeri is a good frontman. His raspy barks, hollowed throat bellows, and requisite hostility serve Emmure well, but the animus grows more tired with each successive album. Bottom Line: Emmure can still pack a punch and Eternal Enemies should satisfy the metal needs of unimaginative adolescents everywhere, more than enough to render this a marketplace success. However, their increasingly dated formula makes the criticism they garner seem more deserved than ever. As their fanbase grows older, Emmure should consider mounting a sincere effort to follow suit, or risk fading into the abyss as champions of three-fret deathcore.

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anonymous 4/14/2014 3:25:33 AM

haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure haven't head the pleasure

Emmure Eternal Enemies

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