The Light From Below
Enola
ENOLA is a Post-Hardcore Heavy Metal band, formed in 2010, based in South France. They like to explore all musical dimensions without limit, from the most emotional to the more violent and aggressive, through a kind of modern and coherent post-hardcore. The album here contains five tracks. The title track leads us off, with a doomy, yearning entrance. When the vocals enter the fray, they are at first tortured wails, but as the song twists and turns stylistically, we hear some shouting that is indicative of the Hardcore Metal style. There is no questioning the band's self-described "music without limits," because that is exactly what I am hearing here. Towards the end, they really pour some melodic emotion into the mix, with twin guitars leading the key change. "A Pilot" is the second track, clocking in at over seven minutes. Again we have a doomy opening presentation, and the pace is slow, sludgy and pointedly hard.
For imagery, it's akin to a zombie dragging a fresh corpse through the mud, on his way to his hideout in a swamp deep in the woods.
"The Door" is a six minute track that opens softly, with the guitars sounding like raindrops on a canopy. I really like the gentleness of the melody, which is augmented with the vocals and main riff come into play. Structurally the focus is on the interplay of harmony, and the style is pleasantly amorphous. I would gladly welcome more of this delicate yet potent beauty. "Desolated Landscapes" is the next track, featuring a swift and aggressive pace, and a bevy of varied instrumentation. It has a heavy, bottom-end dominating brutality reminiscent of country-mates GOJIRA. Closing the album is an eleven minute extended track entitled "The Fog." For me, it's an exercise in the creation of a journey, snaking in and out of various riffs and melodies, with starting and stopping points that accentuate significant events in the trip. There are major and minor points of melody, but all held together with a punchy, gritty bass guitar.
Overall, this is some pretty unique and interesting music. I have to say that I prefer the softer, more emotional moments on the album to the sometimes wandering elements of the harder side. One lasting feeling it gives me however is the promise of more music, and I would look forward to hearing the band's future creations.
7 / 10
Good
"The Light From Below" Track-listing:
1. The Light From Below
2. A Pilot
3. The Door
4. Desolated Landscapes
5. Fog
Enola Lineup:
Thomas - Vocals
Arnaud - Guitar
Steph - Guitar
John - Bass
Seb - Drum
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