This is the fifth album from US death metal/deathcore band Enterprise Earth.
2020’s EP Foundation of Bones was a solid introduction to the band for me, but I really enjoyed 2022’s The Chosen. Yes it was too long, but I really liked the band’s ability to combine deathcore and death metal with a range of different ideas and influences to create something above the norm for the style. Two years and a new singer later, and Enterprise Earth have returned with Death: An Anthology, which delivers 59 minutes of new material. It has not disappointed.
Death: An Anthology is brutal and harsh, yet also refined and considered. It fuses death metal barbarity with deathcore dynamics, making for music that crushes and destroys without mercy. However, within this the band expand wider than those genres, including elements from classic metal, thrash metal and metalcore, along with progressive flourishes and atmospheric depth. I suppose a simple and easy description of Death: An Anthology would be a vicious blend of death metal, thrash, and deathcore, only with a decent helping ofmechanised heaviness from the likes of Meshuggah/Humanity’s Last Breath.
It’s catchier and has more hooks than this sort of music is commonly blessed with, and it achieves this without losing brutality or falling foul of most of the standard deathcore failings. There’s even occasionally a blackened edge that can be felt keenly, as sharp as razors. These additional elements, developed further on Death: An Anthology, are well-integrated and allow Enterprise Earth to roam widely, while still retaining mammoth heaviness and brutal hostility. This is a diverse album, with much to offer the discerning heavy music fan, more than is typically expected from anything with the deathcore tag in it. Enterprise Earth do not restrict themselves, and the material benefits from this massively.
The band have taken the components that elevated The Chosen and pushed them harder and further. Overall it’s the more old-school influences that have primarily been tapped into across this record. The classic/thrash metal feel of many of the leads and in particular the solos is striking and filled with emotion. There is more of a thrash influence in some of the riffs, and it’s true to say that the death metal precision and technicality has increased too. Alongside this the abovementioned Meshuggah-injection is mercilessly weighty.
The new singer’s breadth is impressive; from guttural death growls and thick roars to powerful cleans and ethereal singing, his voice is as capable and textured as that of the heavy music his voice graces. Guest musicians litter the album too, vocally and musically, from Trivium, Shadow of Intent, Spite, and Alluvial.
Taking all of the strengths of The Chosen and making them bigger, better, bolder, and more effective, Enterprise Earth have produced a storming record in Death: An Anthology. Well-rounded and very enjoyable, Enterprise Earth have developed their music into something special. It mixes genres and styles with impunity, and does so with accomplished songwriting and professional execution.
Essential listening for fans of heavy music that spans death metal, deathcore, and all things aggressively metallic.
Wonderbox Metal 