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ENCYRCLE
Encyrcle

Unspeakable Axe (2015)
Rating: 6.5/10

These Danish guys formed in 2012, and so I’m glad that – unlike some bands – it’s taken them a while to release their debut platter, one that will no doubt appeal to the current fan who revels in revival metal.

To put simply, Encyrcle offers up a speedy dose of mid-80s metal which if released back then most probably wouldn’t have turned many heads. But of course, in the modern climate, this sort of old school homage is very much the order of the day.

After a short intro (‘Chronoboros’), we get pulverised by the hasty ‘To The End’, which in reality is a rather sub-standard speed metal and traditional metal combination that comes out of its corner like a frisky yet naïve young boxer only able to offer basic punch combinations. It’s nice on the ear musically, although the vocals have a strange sort of warble about them. The track only really benefits when the voice is cranked up to a higher pitch, but it’s still the sort of formulaic revival metal we’ve become accustomed to over the last decade.

Having recently heard the latest Enforcer album (2015’s From Beyond), I’d suggest hopping over to the Swedish camp instead of listening to this, because they’ll show you how new old school metal should be played. If you find a day where you want something rather simple and naïve however, then maybe you’ll find something of value within this 11-track opus.

For me, a majority of the tracks would have benefited from being shorter. The aforementioned ‘To The End’ is a prime example, which becomes rather dull and predictable – as does ‘Evoke The Night’, although this offers up more of a mid-tempo traipse. The riffs are nice, although the general sound is hardly the “nocturnal speed metal” the outfit speaks of in the official press release. Again the vocals try to command, but don’t sit comfortable with me.

‘Bloodbasker’ comes out of the traps like a wounded greyhound not quite sure where it’s heading, but carries on sprinting anyway. Again, the music is of worth with some nice percussive pattern shifts, but once the track begins to gallop, you may as well throw this in the bin that holds so many modern bands of this ilk.

The promotional sheet for this album comments that, “Despite having strong roots in the old school of metal, the band thrusts a knife deep into the heart of conservative genre expectations and freely rides its own wave”, but I’m rarely hearing anything here that will separate Encyrcle from the hordes. Okay, so ‘En Trance’ suddenly offers some hope as a doom-laden mid-tempo march, only for the listener to discover that it’s a mere one-minute instrumental that leads into the furious but formulaic ‘Dizzy Me Deadly’, which will surely go down as being one of the worst song titles of all time. Even so, it does showcase the talents of the guitarists, but you know as soon as the vocals come crashing in that we’re going to be back at square one with another tepid mid-80s imitation.

It’s hardly speed metal, but more a case of traditional yet weak metal that doesn’t really know which path to take due to lack of ideas, and more the fool any band to mention “666” alongside “Dizzy Me Deadly” and try to make it work.

For the rest of the opus, we get a hint of hope with ‘Serpent’s Dream’, only again to discover that this Gothic, piano-led track is another short instrumental. Nevertheless, it does lead to the half-decent ‘Deathlust’ which builds in steady, suspenseful fashion, and again benefits for most of its duration by not featuring a vocal. Again however, as soon as those warbles enter the arena it’s back to type, but the track does suggest the band can muster up a good racket.

‘Facelasher’ is another raging albeit cluttered metallic frenzy of power metal nuances, while the eight-minute ‘Black Dust’ is just way, way too long and too tiring on the ears and lacking any sort of epic nature one would expect from such a lengthy outing. Finally, album closer ‘Obliteration Eyes’ is another predictable fizzing rocker with the expected mid-tempo whines and then reverting back to galloping type.

And so Encyrcle’s debut offering comes to end, and it’s one with sprigs of promise but all too lacking in ideas. While the combo is clearly enthusiastic and passionate about bringing back that 80s steel, the record will always remain an inferior and distant relative to its peers.

Neil Arnold

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