It's me, the ultra fanboy once again. In all fairness, how could I not jump on this when it's the new album by the Nashville, Tennessee (USA) based Technical Black and Death Metal group ENFOLD DARKNESS?! You guys will need some time to realize what has just happened, just like I did. After eight years, the band are back with a new full-length after a series of single tracks; pairing with the quickly rising quality label The Artisan Era who have become one of my favorites in this year by putting out a lot of quality debuts or newer albums.

The album is named "Adversary Omnipotent" and it will see the light of the day on July 14^th, 2017, through the previously mentioned label. The album will have 13 tracks - which is a great amount in my opinion - and it will spin for an hour! It is an album that is well constructed, well executed, well planned, well written and well prepared; the band had a lot of time to put is together, and they used it well. Despite the fact that they released some material in the gap between the two full-lengths, this is the real deal right here, this is what you all have been waiting for. So far, I think two tracks from the album are available for streaming and one I know for sure is the ninth track on the album called "Terror of a Perilous Quest"; and there is also a teaser on the label's Youtube channel, so make sure to check it out, because this album will be the bomb of the upcoming month, or maybe of the entire year.

"Awaken, Brak'tal O'minn" opens up the entire enterprise with a haunting, classical intro, which truly seems to be a perfect intro for the lyrical themes that the band chose to write about; it almost gives you a post-apocalyptic feeling of supersonic immortal beings rising up to conquer everything we know. "Lairs of the Ascended Masters" is brutal from the very start, with some really high Black Metal oriented screams, a lot of shredding, brutal riffs, and a lot of added growl vocals; and all that is covered in really atmospheric and dissonant tones of unique bass lines and a lot of various riffs jumping from high speeds to ultra slow momentums. I also heard some vibes from their debut full-length "Our Cursed Rapture", which was an okay album for a start, but this one is like a more mature version of it, with a lot of experimentation going on. Still, the band remained loyal to its roots and it sounds sharper than ever.

There is so much blast-beat drumming, so many furiously executed riffs, such a brutal atmospheric touch to everything, and yet the vocals amazed me the most. "Liberator of Mages" is a different track than the previous one, since the previous one reminded me a little bit of their 2015 single "The Dirge of the Surrogate Invictus", which also made its way onto the album; I assume as a re-release. Almost all tracks are either a bit shorter or a lot longer than five minutes, which will definitely take the listener on an epic musical landscape/journey. "The Sacred Daemonic" is so far my favorite track, it doesn't start with screams at all - although some are added throughout the beginning. It is a brutal song of really high riffs, pretty incredible atmospheric touches to the entire thing - basically, a good song.

"Invocation of Na'ak Ba'ran" might also seem like an intro in the beginning - as a continuation of the first song - but it's only half true. It is an intro to a track that goes on to be a brutal song, and we're only at the first half of the album. There's still a lot more to go, and although the band has been active since 2005, this might be their best work to date, at least that's what I have to say. "Banishment" was a complete surprise to me, and I opened my eyes widely after the first few notes of the song, because it sounded extremely Avant-garde, Technical, Progressive, and still very Brutal at times. "Arise, Morning Star, into the Netherworld", once again, has a nice orchestral intro, which I have enjoyed a lot. Those who are impatient may skip it, but I would not do that if I were you. This will prepare you for the doom that the next song shall bring.

So far, the most brutal vocal award definitely goes to the song entitled "The Adversary, Omnipotent"; definitely no contest on that one! "Terror of a Perilous Quest" brings us one step closer to the end, but still the band keeps kicking us in the face with their face-melting riffs and bone-crushing vocalizations. Epic isn't even a word for this. It's just better. I need to mention that not only the musical parts are great, but also all those slow passages that the band does throughout most of the songs, and it might indeed simply be a way to make a song longer, but I doubt that it's the goal; it is more likely that it serves to make a song more atmospheric, and they have succeeded so well at that, it's just beyond words. "The Test of Wisdom" is really at it when it comes to the speed; it so fast and so brutal, and yet it also features some more slow moments that are beautiful and still so dark. A-ha! and here's the re-master of their 2015 single, "The Dirge of the Surrogate Invictus"! Was it really good? Yes! Is it better now? YES! It's amazing! I seriously don't know what to say, and this might also be my favorite on the album. They improvised a lot of the vocals and made them stronger and better - oh what a song this is. Definitely check this on out.

Now onto a previously unheard one - "Summoning the Archons" - and let's call it the penultimate track, since it's the 12^th in row. Can you imagine? Thirteen tracks of pure dynamics. We're at the final one, and I couldn't have expected anything better than this. "Vanish into Damnation" is everything this band has ever done in their musical career in one entire, eight-minute song. This track is beyond this world with its epic intro, its sharp riffs and its ongoing, relentless vocals. Everything is in its place and nothing is slowed down even though it is the end of the record, which is truly a great move from the band.

I am seriously blown away guys! Give these guys a listen if you like original Black/Death Metal with a lot of experimenting moments and added touches of technicality, brutality, progressivity, atmosphere, avant-garde...and so much more. Check out ENFOLD DARKNESS if you like THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, INFERI, VIRULENT DEPRAVITY and give their new album the support they need.