Despite being credited as one of the most hated Metal bands around, Emmure are back with a sixth studio album, Eternal Enemies. Their label, Victory Records, has backed them for seven years and counting, so they must be worth investing in – people are buying their records, and the game plan of causing a shitstorm seems to be working. Whether you like it or not, another fifteen tracks of criticism, hate and controversy have made it to the surface, so all that is left to do is embrace it.
Opening number ‘(Untitled)‘ managed to create a stir before it was even released, infamously announcing itself to the world as ‘Bring A Gun To School‘. Credit to them for realising its distasteful nature and backing down, and then credit to them for producing another classic Emmure, minute-and-a-half long banger. In fact, it’s all pretty typical “Emmure“.
‘Nemesis‘ is full of the standard threat-talk, and the opening stages of ‘The Hang Up‘ surely featured somewhere on Felony a few years back, but the fans sat in flat-peaks and Despised Icon gym shorts are not calling for progression. That is why ‘Like LaMotta‘ is the pinnacle of Eternal Enemies. It is placed slap-bang in the middle, and delivers all that we truly want from Emmure. It’s about two minutes long, you need more than a pair of hands to count the number of breakdowns, and the chorus – “Like LaMotta. I’m only hear to tell you, you better save yourself” – is reassuringly blunt.
Eternal Enemies was never going to be a masterclass in musicianship, but Palmeri and co. have built a fanbase by doing, playing, and saying whatever they want. Their latest record is no different, and neither will the seventh. Critics will hate it, loyal fans will love it, and we can all just go back to our daily lives when this particular storm blows over.
