ENFORCED - At The Walls

Release date July 19/19 (War Records)

Originally posted June 21/19

Last month I attended a concert for the ages in my native Toronto: Iron Reagan + Sacred Reich + Exciter + Enforced. The original plan was to skip the unknown-to-me opener and arrive just before the mighty Exciter took the stage. However, the day of the gig I checked out an Enforced live clip on You Tube and was blown away by their performance and energy. As a result, I ended up getting to the gig early to catch the openers as well. Glad I did too, as they tore the good sized, early arriving crowd a new one. Fast forward a month later and I received Enforced's At The Walls, in my email in-box. Life is good!

Specializing in crossover thrash, the Richmond, Virginia unit have successfully translated the ferocious power of their live show on this their debut full length (after two demos). Very much crossover of the angry, in-your-face variety, there's also some huge breakdowns and shout vocals adding a hardcore vibe to proceedings. Let's not forget about the straight up thrash elements as well, as demonstrated by the Slayer-fied 'Retaliation'. So, altogether a heavy-ass entry that will no doubt see Enforced crushing more unsuspecting live audiences in support of the release. Up-and-comers!

[7.5]