Paradise of Putrefaction

Oh how I’ve longed for the day this bad boy would end up in my possession. I knew my friend Martin had the album in his distro, and since he occasionally hands me some stuff to review I begged him to hand me this. But he just wouldn’t comply, and kept giving me other albums to review (which were all great, but still not the one I had my eye on). Until one day when I suppose he just had enough of me nagging him, I finally got my hands on Enclave’s debut album – Oh glorious day!

I’ve read some reviews of this album before, but almost every single one have been hammering down on the CD with uncompromising despise. Now why, I ask myself. Am I the only one who’s realized what masterpiece "Paradise of Putrefaction" is? From the very first second I heard I was hooked, so what the hell is up with everyone else?

To me this is a very unorthodox album, blending tons of various black metal styles. One of the first things that strikes me as unusual is the vocal aspect, as it sounds far from any typical black metal shrieks. He mixes a fairly deep scream with a more high-pitched yelp, and it adds such harshness to the recording. Occasionally there’s also some growling grunts involved, but more to a back-up effect. Musically it’s very diverse; one moment it’s almost Dark Funeral-esque blasting, while there’s a strong ambient vibe interluding their sound there’s also some death metal influences, creating a somewhat similar sound to Behemoth. And yet I can’t help but to think of Ondskapt’s "Draco Sit Mihi Dux" for some comparison. So you’re probably guessing right now it has loads of various influences comprised into the album, and I haven’t even begun to mention the keyboard yet. Enclave use lots of keyboard, and they do it well; like a not-so-symphonic version of later Hermh.

I can’t stand keyboard when it’s flooding the overall sound, drowning out all the other instruments and basically bugs the hell out of you ‘cause it’s so freaking in your face it feels like you’re being terrorized by a swarm of mosquitoes. But certainly not here. Despite the fact that they do use lots of keyboard it is extremely well done, and it never irritates me. They’ve hidden it behind the guitars and drums, so that is only enhance the overall sound and atmosphere. And the atmosphere is very dark and haunting, presented in a suitably clean and heavy sound that still carries with it a rough edge.

The variety within a single track can be quite extensive as well, and the tempo variations, different drum patterns, various riffing styles (etc) is simply explosive. Quite complex song structures executed marvelously. They’ve managed to take on such different influences and styles and comprised it into a very coherent album. People must be afraid of change and development, ‘cause this album to me is a big favourite.

Originally written for http://www.misantropia.se

Perhaps we should be grateful that bands are finally taking steps into more progressive and advanced realms in the black metal genre and do not always rely on the 'old and true' approach. No more endless and monotonous blast orgies, endless repetition of riffs etc. etc. Yes, we should cry out in relief that there is some movement out of this dark valley of "simplicity is beauty" towards a brighter and shinier future... or would this be a Fata Morgana?

Enclave try something new on their first and only release, which is already a full-length; 1000 copies. The music is by no means simple structured. Influences from a variety of genres appear and a significant would be the ambient one. As the whole album vibrates with contrasts in atmosphere and tempo, this aspect in particular would offer the greatest range possible. On the one hand there is the extreme black/death metal (Dark Funeral, Behemoth and similar ones) and on the other calm moments which work as a counter-point; yet, these would appear on a quite surprising scale, as the songs generally offer a whole set of them. Symphonic elements play a role, too, but they remain often in the background and work rather as a texture in the background, while the guitars and vocals have the dominating role on this recording. There is some sphere of progressiveness hanging over the whole release, especially when it comes to the song-writing and the use of interludes as well as variation of motives.

Final bits and bytes
The Polish band set the levels up to somewhere high in the skies and fails in their attempt to actually reach it. Modern, progressive, full of variation, switches in tempo and all of these aspects that reviewers tend to criticize on legions of albums from the underground scene, can actually be found on this piece of music, yet Enclave did a bad job in combining them. The songs are confusing, occasionally overloaded or without a clear structure, lacking something of a red line. Even though Enclave are most certainly able to handle their instruments, the songs appear not in such a way as to they could use their skills in a useful way. The music is listenable, but it simply fails to fascinate me.