The third studio album from the “English post-hardcore rockers” (according to Wikipedia) arrives with us in the depths of January. No doubt there are cynics out there who might argue that this is to get a higher chart position than they might otherwise get, but when the tour to promote your third album includes dates at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange and the London Hammersmith Apollo, you have clearly reached a certain level of success.
Like the likes of Pendulum, Enter Shikari mix metal with sounds more commonly associated with the dancefloor. This is far from a new idea of course (look at how The Prodigy are headlining Download this year, primarily a metal festival, ‘Eyeless’ from Slipknot’s debut – over a decade ago now; and of course Korn’s recent dubstep adventures). The question is how well they can pull it off. The answer is – by and large – pretty well indeed. There’s quite a few party anthems in here, mixed in with the politics – ’Search Party’ and ‘Stalemate’, though the standout track to these ears is probably ‘Ghandi Mate, Ghandi.’
If the thought of listening to this album after what I’ve written above puts you off it – then that’s your call, but it’s a pity. Because there’s a hell of a lot of ideas, music and songs, dammit on display here – and I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Whatever time of year this album comes out, it deserves to do well.
