ALBUM REVIEW: Enjoy It While It Lasts – Off The Cross

Hurtling out of Antwerp, Belgium, modern metallers OFF THE CROSS play a blend of melodic death metal with symphonic, folky elements and catchy choruses. On their sophomore effort Enjoy It While It Lasts, which at least in name plants its tongue firmly in cheek, they’re out to prove they aren’t just a one album pony. It’s a star-studded affair, too, with guests from across the musical spectrum including Coen Janssen of EPICA, who provides many of the orchestral elements across the album, and Fabienne Erni of ELUVEITIE, who lends her considerable vocal talents to This Too Shall Pass. 

The band kick off fairly immediately with Masks; a brief intro on keys leads into a mid-paced melodic riff and while it’s got a real earworm quality, there’s not much bite to it. The verse follows with a pseudo-whispered vocal before moving into a bridge that sounds as if there’s a huge chorus on the horizon – before going back to the same speed as before. It’s jarring to say the least, as the band seem content to merely hint at a big chorus. When it does finally come shortly after the midpoint, there’s a stomping groove to it that doesn’t disappoint but doesn’t quite deliver. 

Second track Mute Deaf Blind uses the same vocal trick with a low croak, but in its intro throws in a horn part that hints at grandiosity. Fortunately it does decide to pay off with a rollicking section that gives its all but is sadly short-lived in all bar its final recurrence towards the end of the song. This becomes a real theme of the album – promising great things but delivering either late or in very small, unfulfilling doses. 

Exist and The Dance start with an almost identical melody and don’t really differentiate themselves both from each other or what’s come before. Sadly this theme continues throughout; songs frequently open with keys or orchestral passages, such as Dharma, which also gives a rare opportunity for the bass to shine in its opening moments. Closer A Life Lived To Die begins with soft, mournful strings before a charging, serpentine riff comes in, but despite early promise, it turns out to be very much the same as its predecessors with carnival keys and build-ups that don’t lead anywhere. 

The only standout on Enjoy It While It Lasts is This Too Shall Pass, which, as mentioned, features a guest spot from ELUVEITIE’s Fabienne Erni. The song itself is much more considered than the others here, with gentle ebb and flow dynamics through its first few minutes before it crescendos into an almost post-rock moment topped with her swirling, ethereal voice. It’s at this point that vocalist Daan Swinnen utters his first screams of the song, developing the motifs built throughout into a full-throated emotional release; a stirring moment that, oddly, isn’t backed by the strings you might have expected until after this point. This makes it a strange choice, but one that pays off. 

The biggest problem with OFF THE CROSS is variety – or more accurately, a near total lack thereof. With the exception of This Too Shall Pass, the songs all blend together. Swinnen’s vocals rarely waver from their higher rasp with the odd foray into a more midrange bark or a low croaking whisper, while the songs themselves have something of a joyful vibe (such as opener Masks in its chorus) but they start to bleed quickly. It’s very much a case of metal by numbers, which is a real shame because there’s talent here and with some tightening up – eleven songs gets to be a bit too much when they’re so samey – and some different ideas, there could be a great album in their future. But until then, despite the name, OFF THE CROSS are more often endured than enjoyed. 

Rating: 5/10

Enjoy It While It Lasts is out now via self-release.

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