Enterprise Earth: You Have Been Chosen
Since their inception in 2014, ENTERPRISE EARTH have been widely regarded as a hot and rising prospect in the deathcore scene but it was 2019’s Luciferous album that really helped to put them on the map. With this well received accolade under their belts, it was time for the Washington based deathcore outfit to keep the momentum in full swing and capitalise on their acquired spotlight with the release of fourth album, The Chosen. A release which may very well surprise a lot of listeners.
“It’s pretty diverse, especially for us,” declares guitarist Gabe Mangold. “We are delving into different types of sounds. Every song on the record has its own fingerprint, identity, flair. So for those listeners who really enjoy checking out an entire album they’ve all got their own thing going on to keep you engaged so I’m excited for people to hear the batch of tunes we’ve concocted. We’ve been sitting on these songs for the best part of two years so we really want to get them out there. We were expecting a potential backlash of people crying because of our introduction of clean vocals but the response so far has been incredibly positive and people seem to be digging it.”
The Chosen shows a lot of growth and experimentation held within its chapters, ushering in an exciting era for ENTERPRISE EARTH. “I just wanted to write fun songs that would be great to listen to and to play live and I feel that’s why it came out so unique and diverse,” admits Gabe. “We were just like ‘fuck it’, we didn’t want to stick to a plan. Getting Brandon on drums was a big step up for us, he’s phenomenal and really helped elevate our sound. We really pushed ourselves to the next level with songwriting and this was the first full length release we’ve done which was completely self produced so it was a really natural and cohesive experience. We felt like we were in control the entire time. Every decision we made was ours and didn’t have any outside influence and it felt really good to do it that way.”
The pandemic hasn’t really thrown too many curveballs into the mix for the band with regards to their opportunities to collaborate and get together to work on material. “We all live in different parts of the country so on that front nothing really changed for us,” explains Gabe. “This time round Dan flew over to me and we recorded vocals inside my studio and it was really cool having him be hands-on in the process and we could hang out, go camping and spend time in the woods and in the mountains and just spend two weeks screaming! It’s definitely a lot more fun having someone else there. Myself and Brandon also worked on the drums with Jason Suecof in Florida so we had the chance to work directly there too.”
At the back end of 2021 it was announced that vocalist Dan Watson would be unable to attend their various bouts of touring, including their upcoming support slot run with FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. This left the band with quite the predicament to navigate. Luckily long time friend and THE WILLOW and AETHERE vocalist Travis Worland was on hand to lend his services. “It was very unfortunate that Dan couldn’t tour with us but it was all for the best,” states Gabe. “We were all on the same page with that but it was tough. Thankfully, Travis came in and crushed it. At first we were worried about how we were going to find a suitable replacement as Dan brings a lot to the table, especially when he has now introduced singing and is doing all sorts of different vocal styles. Travis is one of our good friends so we were very glad he was able to step up and fill Dan‘s vocal shoes. I really enjoy being direct support on tour because it usually means we get to play to the full crowd and we don’t have to worry about being at the venue too late, packing up and whatnot. I obviously do like headlining too but it can be quite exhausting and intense.”
The Chosen is out now via MNRK Heavy.
Like ENTERPRISE EARTH on Facebook.