Simon RushworthEnabler – Fail To Feel Safe (Century Media)
Genre: Metallic Hardcore
Enabler now face an uncertain future, having apparently been put on hiatus. However, if this turns out to be the band’s last album, it’s certainly a powerful one, perfectly combining the metallic shards of last year’s La Fin Absolue Du Monde with the pummelling hardcore rage that’s always been at the Ohio act’s heart.
With mainman Jeff Lohrber handling all of the vocals and instruments, Enabler’s third full length is a dark, tense affair, veering from the Converge-esque fury of Sinister Drifter to the d-beat attack of the title track, which brings to mind Portland punks Tragedy.
It’s also Lohrber’s most varied effort while fronting Enabler, with the melodic, tortured, slow burning Malady merging into the pile driving strains of La Furia.
Producer Greg Thomas, meanwhile, has given the material enough weight to do it justice.
At 13 tracks, Fail To Feel Safe does contain a little excess fat – and could have done with some streamlining – but for the most part, it encapsulates Enabler’s 21st century take on extremity very effectively. Richard Holmes
RUSHONROCK RATED: 8/10 Safe Cracker