Enforced : "War Remains"

This Virginia based band is gaining a buzz with this album. They are being referred to a thrash, but there sound incorporates in equal measure death metal and hard core. The first song hits you with impressive force. The song however the pour on the speed, and the stiff snare pattern that follows is one of my pet peeves when it comes to this sort of thing as it feels like it belongs on a boring punk album. "Hanged By My Hand" finds a more effective groove and they slow down enough to be more effective song writers. 

The problem begins to occur going into "Avarice" when things start to sound the same before, they summon up a riff that feels more like Slayer. However when they speed up they begin to lose the cool elements they had begun to lock into. The vocals are boring they sound the same in every song, which begins to give this album a uniform feel. The title track proves the rule here which is , cool riffs alone does not a good song make. There are a few here but , no songs that are blowing me away, though the first one got my attention. Sonically they share a great deal of common ground with old Sepultura. 

Much like my complaints with black metal bands that use blast beats too often, thrash can be hampered by the need for speed. It causes bands to rush what might be other wise interesting riffs by you rather than allowing you to feel them. Doing so riffs run together ,as well as songs as I was listening to the title track and the next thing I knew I was already on "Nation of Fear".  There are some places where the vocals have more of a purpose than others. "Ultra-Violence" is not a cover of the Death Angel song, it is another rushed one dimensional chug fest. It seems like the are more concerned with which riffs sound best to solo over rather than what is going to work for the vocals .

They prove that being deliberate works on "Starve". This does not stop them from stepping on the gas, but there is more of a dynamic contrast established when they do. This is the first time the drummer stands out for me as being exceptional, I mean this kind of metal requires an above average drummer for sure. There is a more Slayer inspired groove to the last song that proves to be more effective than some of the other fury they unleash on this album. I will give this album an 8, they are great at what they do, what they do is just inconsistent in how unique it is. They are not re-inventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but they take this trip down memory lane in a heavier direction. Perhaps that is all you ask from music these days.As a teenager I would have been into this more.