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Enter Shikari-The Mindsweep
'The Mindsweep' is the fourth studio album by Metalcore/Trancecore band Enter Shikari. Enter Shikari quickly became one of my favorite bands after hearing the pulsing electro-metal political/social commentary of 'A Flash-Flood of Colour'. It was something very fresh and new to me, combining two of my favorite kinds of music in a way I hadn't heard before. Now, due to my newly found love for this band, this became my most anticipated 2015 release. On this release, Enter Shikari continues the political/social lyrics but changes it up musically.
Unlike it's predecessor, musically this album takes a much more melancholy approach. This is heard in the opening song 'The Appeal and the Mindsweep I', which begins with ominous ambient electronics with Reynolds's spoken word. Drums soon start beating and guitar comes in, soon building up to great trance-esque electronics. Soon after, the guitar gets faster and Reynolds screams 'I AM A MINDSWEEPER, FOCUS ON ME!' before getting more of a melodic hardcore/punk feel. The group chanting of 'You Are Not Alone', which comes a bit later, adds a lot to the song fitting the grandiose nature of the electronics. This perfect opener flows straight into the next track, 'The One True Colour', which is a much more melodic track. The album isn't without it's more pulsing techno-metal moments though, being heard in the third song 'Anaesthetist', which I've already described in my review of the single.
The songs that are among my favorites are 'Never Let Go of the Microscope', 'Myopia', and 'There's a Price on Your Head'. 'Never Let Go of the Microscope', combines menacing atmospheric electronics with rapping and pulsing beats at the beginning. The passages with flowing guitar and Reynolds singing 'I've got a sinking feeling' are my favorites, his voice is especially emotional which contrasts well with the rapping parts surprisingly. At the end , space-like electronics combines with heavy raw guitar and screaming. 'Myopia' is an overall much heavier track, although it has a melancholy beginning with ambient trance-like electronics and dripping sound effects. Soon menacing fast riffing comes in with Reynolds's screams. The chorus has the rebellious feel of Enter Shikari's previous albums with the scream/chants of 'They're living in denial of science, they're happy to defile silence'. The next favorite of mine, and probably my favorite is the System of a Down-esque 'There's a Price on Your Head'. The beginning of the song combines System of a Down-esque vocal styles by Reynolds, and Power to Believe era King Crimson-like distortion. Throughout this song the electronics and fast riffing combine well. At the end of the song odd drumming and violins and cellos come in ending the song at a very unique note.
One of my favorite things about Enter Shikari is their lyrics. Their lyrics really touch on subjects based on political and social corruption, but topics that most bands seem to stray away from. The thing that's different about this album though, is that the songs sound much less rebellious and light-hearted then the previous album maybe because of the change in musical atmosphere and style. You have songs about the healthcare system with 'Anaesthetist', and the obligatory anti-war song in 'The Last Garrison'. Also included are environmental lyrics in 'Myopia', and lyrics relating to questioning when should scientific progress stop with 'Never Let Go of the Microscope'. Hearing screams like 'We'll harness the sun, and burn you out of fucking existence' really stands out. 'There's a Price on Your Head' pertains to classicism with lyrics like 'I am upper class, I - I am upper class, Upper middle lower class I am lower class, I - I am lower class, Lower upper middle class'.
Overall, this is one amazing album. This shows Enter Shikari evolving even more, and makes me eager to await anything else they have coming. If you want something heavy, melancholy, and lyrically dealing with current events you cannot go wrong here. A true great album.
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