Ensoph - Rex Mundi X-ile Review
by Mark Hensch
.
Rex Mundi X-ile, the third full length album from Venice, Italy's Ensoph, dances in darkness to a tune not all metalheads will like. Catchy but crushing, metallic but melodic, this will be a love it or hate it affair for most. Should one take the plunge with an open-mind, however, this Venetian outfit offers pitch-black candy as sinister as it is sweet.
The band's unusual mix of bombastic Goth flourishes meshed with rhythmic, chugging groove metal is like walking into a rave; the loudness is jarring at first but once one loosens up the whole thing is a blast. X-ile thumps skulls with chilling dance beats, driving guitars, and black metal shrieks all regardless of the sonic assault being undertaken, the album is definitely metal in spirit.
Opening cut "Dance High & Shine, Shiva!" is a great example of this. Techno beats are steamrolled by a massive rhythm section, all before the band unleashes a torrent of thick stop-start riffs. From here, the keyboards and guitars charge in unison, bowling over speakers with its rush of mechanical, cold noise.
For its part, "Shame on You!" immediately launches into a churning sea of riffs tossing about melancholy keyboard beats. When the earnestly-pop rock chorus hits, its mix of driving instruments and mournful crooning works a thousand times better than it should.
"In Cinere et Cilico," meanwhile, slithers like a snake through ghostly wails, claustrophobic guitars and even a moment of hallucinogenic ambience. When combined with the soulless computer beats, the final effect is one much more eerie than some of the more straightforward songs.
After this, the album's best cut "The Whore and the Ashetist" appears. Alarming electronic beats are annihilated in a wave of headbanging riffs, the likes of which are soon lost in a stampede of pinch harmonics and air-rending howls. With clock-like precision, the song reveals blood-freezing piano runs, massive groove walls, and roaring sing-alongs all at once. Best of all, the song is simultaneously epic while explaining immediately what Ensoph is about.
Up next is "Thir(s)ty Pieces of Silver," a shiny number with delirious keyboards and robotic vocals. As the assembly line progresses, components like ethereal choruses and artillery-fire riffs are added, furthering the futuristic feel. When the final product is revealed, the result is a slick, stylish piece of brutality.
Last but not least is a left-field cover befitting this bizarre band X-ile closes with an unnerving version of the Alice in Chains classic "Would?" In true Ensoph fashion, the song is less 1990s grunge and more 1990s industrial, sounding like the happiest modern terror since Nine Inch Nails. Rather than wallow in the mud like the original, this version instead rolls around in it with reckless abandon. Perhaps best of all, it works.
With all this in mind, Rex Mundi X-ile is a fitting name for an album like this. Ensoph have truly alienated themselves from the majority of metal culture most will probably scorn it as "dance metal" or a similar derogatory term. And much like points of reference in Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Meshuggah and Dimmu Borgir, Ensoph will succeed by doing something different. If that sounds right up one's alley, chances are one is already there.
Tracklisting
Evil has found a Servant
Dance High & Shine, Shiva!
Shame on You!
Splendour & Majesty
In Cinere et Cilicio
The Whore and the Ashetist
Thir(s)ty Pieces of Silver
and I Hear a Voice
9XS
Disciplina Arcani (Un Canto Per L'Esilio)
Come in Uno Specchio
Would? (Alice in Chains cover)
CD Info and Links
Ensoph - Rex Mundi X-ile Rating:8.5
Preview and Purchase This CD Online
Visit the official homepage
More articles for this artist
tell a friend about this review
.
...end |