Emmure have always been a band to divide opinions and it seems that on their latest album Eternal Enemies, they have tried harder than ever to release their most controversial album yet. Before the album was even released a lot of attention had already been drawn to it’s opening track, initially titled “Bring A Gun To School” (the song has since been renamed to “Untitled”). Whether the backlash to this song was deserved or not, these attempts at being controversial, then caving at the last minute, end up being Eternal Enemies’ biggest weakness.
Eternal Enemies is not an awful album, it is however an album that felt like a chore to listen to. It isn’t all bad, and there are certainly some standout tracks. “Nemesis” is a great mosh anthem which will get the pits going crazy when played live. “A Gift A Curse” shows more technicality than Emmure have ever displayed. “E” is packed with Nu Metal bounce which again will no doubt get crowds going on a sweaty Saturday at a summer festival. There is also no denying that when it comes to seriously heavy breakdowns and vitriolic vocals there are few bands who deliver quite like Emmure. Frankie Palmeri’s screams are as impressive as ever and are hard not to enjoy.
Unfortunately the great moments on Eternal Enemies are buried by tedious songs that seem more like like contrived attempts to offend as many people as possible. With titles like “Free Publicity” and “Most Hated” it’s clear that Emmure don’t care whether people love or hate them, just as long as they talk about them. Or at least thats the image they want to give out. Easily the worst part of all these attempts at controversy is how terrible some of Frankie Palmeri’s lyrics are. Admittedly he has never been a very good lyricist but this time round his lyrics are so childish it’s just a little bit embarrassing.
The other major problem with Eternal Enemies is that at 15 tracks, the album is just too long. There is no depth or variety to Emmure’s sound to really justify this length. it’s especially frustrating that all the best tracks on the album are in the first half, so the second half just becomes and blur of screams, offensive lyrics and breakdowns.
In the end Eternal Enemies is not the worst album you’ll hear this year but it really is a step back from Emmure who had genuinely begun to show some progress on their last album. It might make them some friends, but its more likely to make enemies.
