This is the fifth album from Swedish heavy metallers Enforcer.
Having first encountered Enforcer just prior to seeing them live, I’ve been a fan ever since. If you’ve even an ounce of true heavy metal in your blood, I find it hard to believe anyone could dislike a band like this.
Naturally, I’m over-exaggerating and over-simplifying; of course this won’t be to everyone’s taste. The simple fact is, however, that Enforcer are very, very good at what they do.
Zenith is a little different for Enforcer, however. On this new album they’ve expanded upon their core sound of speed metal with heavy metal elements, and broadened their musical horizons a bit. As such, on Zenith you’ll hear 80s rock, keyboard enhancements, and AOR, alongside the band’s usual fare.
Melodic, catchy, and memorable, Enforcer know how to write a good tune. Along with the increased diversity on this album comes a more varied journey for the listener. Some will think this positive, some negative; I’m somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the positive side for the most part, and overall I really enjoyed Zenith. It’s also really great that five albums in a band like Enforcer can feel confident enough to try new things. Of course, none of these new things are incompatible with their NWOBHM base – it’s not as if they’ve suddenly started throwing in some death metal – but they could have so easily played it safe on Zenith, so kudos to them.
Well-written, well-delivered, and positively infectious, Zenith is a very enjoyable and fun album from an enjoyable and fun band. Highly recommended.
