Enforced: With A Reckoning Force
Thrash metal has always had a penchant for taking on board the pointers from other genres. With its roots planted firmly within the punk rock scene from the decade prior, the 80s birth of thrash proved to be one of the most timeless moments in musical history. As now we look wide eyed at the exceptional revival of the scene and sound currently happening, the bands at the forefront of its resurgence have a true grasp on the diverse nature of the sound that captured the world. The moment you hear ENFORCED giving it the full welly it’s likely you’ll be taken aback at the ferocity as you experience what they emphatically call ‘Crossover Death’.
“Our friend put together a flyer for a show we were doing, and in big letters had CROSSOVER DEATH next to our name, so we decided to keep it,” explains guitarist Will Wagstaff on their double entendre of motto and sound description. The frantic riffing and quintessential hardcore drumming made their initial reveal an explosive bomb of musical excitement. Getting the chance to speak with vocalist Knox Colby and guitarist Will Wagstaff shows a band more grounded and friendly than their audio onslaught would have you believe. As they reveal their birth from within the walls of the Virginia hardcore and metal scenes it becomes clearer just why their sound was so tight from the off. Their debut demo back in 2017 was written almost immediately after the band formed, and the following Retaliation EP was sorted just as swiftly. The instant release of tunes as feral as these helped assert ENFORCED onto the map, alongside their vicious live shows.
Coming from the same scene as legends such as IRON REAGAN certainly offered ENFORCED the opportunities they needed, but it’s fair to think that even if this band were from the frozen pits of Alaska, they would still have the heat they have following them currently. Will and Knox both agree that whilst touring with bands like this has been great, it’s been their own work rate that has put them where they currently need to be. With the two demos behind them, the band then began their writing process, which Will has admitted to becoming more and more refined as the band has continued their growth.
This refined writing process would eventually give birth to the fresh material ENFORCED are currently sitting on. Kill Grid is their official debut, but their unofficial At The Walls release certainly suggested the band that was yet to come. Reckoning Force and Skinned Alive were the two newest additions to the otherwise fully re-recorded material that made up the first release. “Those two songs were the most finished tracks we had at the time” explains Will for why they made the decision to include those two instead of holding out for the impending full release. With the introduction of a new drummer, Will also confirms “there is a lot of stuff our old drummer couldn’t do. So there’s more stuff like double bass on [Kill Grid].”
Kill Grid certainly sounds like a step forward for the band the more both of these gentlemen discuss it. Will and Knox both exclaim their massive nerdom for anything 80s related, and the self-professed 80’s-heads use this as their main driving influence behind their chasing of the thrash metal revival. Despite this, their ability to sound both nostalgic and truly modern at once is one of the best things about ENFORCED as a band. Combined with this frantic musical concoction, Knox’s vocals and lyrics also play a key role in the bands distinct identity coming together over their lifespan. “I like to go deep down into rabbit holes,” Knox explains regarding his writing process. “I like to do research and really invest time into what I’m writing about. I like things to be grounded.”
There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to ENFORCED. From their savage, buzz-saw sound to the unique branding in a genre saturated with copycats, ENFORCED feel as if they’re cut from a different cloth entirely. With the knowledge of their sharpened writing process, new energy brought in by new members, and an already explosive sound to build upon, it makes perfect sense why the initial singles from Kill Grid have sounded utterly brutal and why the rest of the album should be handled with extreme care. Oh, and keep your ear out for a recreated Russian radio drone that has been a mystery in the world since 1984, because it’s what a modern thrash record needs, according to Knox, who found the original drone and fought his corner to have it appear on the record, even if it was recreated by their new members. ENFORCED are something else entirely, and it’s high time you realised!
Kill Grid is out now via Century Media Records.
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