The Absence - Enemy Unbound

Published September 19 2010

*=Staff's pick	Vertigo Erased Deepest Wound Maelstrom* Enemy Unbound* Solace Wartorn* Hidden In White Vengeance And Victory Triumph

Genre	Melodic Death Metal	Jamie Stewart	Vocals
Tracks	11	Peter Joseph	Guitar
Runningtime	57 Min.	Patrick Pintavalle	Guitar
Label	Metal Blade	Mike Leon	Bass
Release	14 September 2010	Jeramie Kling	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Producer	P. Joseph/P. Pintavalle
Similar artists	Arch Enemy, Shadow, Soulscar

By now, anyone who knows me or is familiar with my written work about metal is aware that I have something of a hard-on for melodic death metal. The Absense, a young band from Tampa, Florida, has been one of my pet favorite bands still practicing the sound in a pure form, with a pair of two previous excellent records. That being said, I had a high level of anticipation for Enemy Unbound, particularly after a pushed-back release date due to their drummer suffering injuries from an unfortunate car accident.

Typically the third record for a band following very strong debut and sophomore releases has the onus of being the album where they "get it all together" and iron out any shortcomings that were previously present; their magnum opus, of sorts. Unfortunately, Enemy Unbound falls short by a considerable margin.

That's not to say it's a bad record. But that's the problem: with the bar set as high as they have, The Absence's third release reeks of mediocrity. It's certainly competently played melodic death metal, and has all the hallmarks that the genre, and indeed the band themselves, are known for. But it lacks something extra; some kind of passion that should be exuded by a truly inspired band and conveyed through the music. Maybe it was a product of the arduous recording process for this one, but the band feels like they are going through the motions, with the end result definitely feeling like less than the sum of its parts.

It's strange, because the parts are definitely all their, sonically and stylistically. The production is almost identical to their previous release, and musically, the band doesn't really break any new ground, with the exception of the use of piano in one song. Hell, even the superficial "metal cred" checklist gets fulfilled: The band continues to use their original logo and even keeps continuity by using the same CD-design-with-complementary-color they have since their debut; They still have long hair (and beards); They use concise, evocative song titles with some obscure words; They take themselves lyrically seriously; And they have remained on their debut label.

But as it goes to show, the greatness of an album is not measured by the component parts that go into it. Make no mistake, Enemy Unbound is still high-caliber melodic death metal, and is not going to alienate any fans of the sound or the band; it's just not going to blow any of them away, either.