Style: Progressive Metal, Djent, Synthwave (mixed vocals, majority clean)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Sithu Aye, Andromida
Review by: Doug
Country: Ireland
Release date: 27 January, 2023
Some things are constant in progressive music. Lyrics will be pretentious; songs will slip into needless spoken-word audio samples when you really just want to keep listening to cool music; and Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater among others, just in case you needed that introduction) will show up where you least expect him to drop a brain-melting keyboard solo, refuse to elaborate, and leave. The Enigma Division may manage to sidestep that first cliche for their debut self-titled album, but still, two out of three ain’t bad.
This Irish trio are a little hard to pin down in terms of genre. “The Escapist” conveniently demonstrates their stylistic variety, opening with a heavy, djent-fueled intro but quickly mixing in more standard prog metal as Ben Wanders’s vocals kick in, all of it laced with sci-fi-sounding synth arpeggios. The refusal to commit to either the Dream Theater-esque traditional style which dominates their solos or the more modern djent which fills in the gaps leads to a dynamic performance oscillating between the two. Extra novelty arises from the synthwave influence; although synth-sounding keyboards are not rare in progressive metal, The Enigma Division play more with retro effects, hearkening nostalgically back to the scintillating futurism of ‘70s and ‘80s media.
With all that going on, The Enigma Division could easily sound unfocused, but that’s not the case here. Despite the variety, the album is pretty well unified; the alternation of styles creates interplay, not chaos. The more basic djent sections lay a foundation without which the solos would not stand out so memorably, and the synth work adds a distinctive shining glaze of starlight. However, a lot of that foundational sound is also not so interesting itself. We’ve all heard this kind of djent a million times, and The Enigma Division don’t achieve anything novel with it even though they’re clearly capable of much more. Only the interspersed breakouts of lighter and more intricate instrumental work give a window into that ability, and I wish it were a window we got to look through more.
There are moments – quite a few of them, especially within “1977 – Ad Infinitum” – where I really love The Enigma Division. The instrumental work is overall truly excellent, from primary band members and guests alike. The solo work in particular absolutely stands up against the modern giants of prog, and the quadruple guitar solos in the closing track are the highlight of the album. That said, all this greatness is spaced out too much by generic djent filler for my liking, and the “Ad Infinitum” audio samples certainly don’t help either. It’s all put together and presented well, but I would be so much more excited to listen to it all if it could be focused on the parts that naturally shine. The consequence of all this is that I enjoy the album pretty well when it’s on in the background; the exciting parts catch my attention, and I can enjoy the music for a little bit as each one arises. But in between, I just tune out the rest, and I haven’t found much extra appreciation by dedicating time to just listen and dissect the soundscapes. No individual track completely meets my expectations for this kind of musicianship, even though the potential is clearly there for The Enigma Division to create something enduring and memorable.
In fairness to The Enigma Division, I have heard far too many bands use audio samples in much worse ways. “1977 – Ad Infinitum” integrates its various Voyager mission-related samples into solid instrumental noodling better than most, splitting up the clips in a way that feels more natural to the music even if they still distract from the melodies for the most part. Although not nearly as plodding as Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Enigma Division cultivates a deliberate and epic mood reminiscent of such a film score, including a lot of spacey, open-ended composition which serves an aesthetic more than it does a musical appreciation of melodic development. Based on the highlights, I can tell that this trio have both compositional and performative chops among them, but I feel that the album could do a much better job of highlighting both on a consistent basis.
Recommended tracks: Echoes in the Deep, Kaleidoscope, 1977 – Ad Infinitum
You may also like: The Resonance Project, Wide Eyes, Semantic Saturation
Final verdict: 6/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
The Enigma Division is:
– Conor McGouran (guitars, keyboards)
– Ronan Burns (bass, keyboards)
– Ben Wanders (vocals, drums)
With guests:
– Derek Sherinian (keyboards, “Echoes in the Deep”)
– Richard Thomson (vocals, “Afterglow”)
– Sam Bell (guitar, “1977 – Ad Infinitum”)
– Mal O’Brien (guitar, “1977 – Ad Infinitum”)
– Dave Whyte (guitar, “1977 – Ad Infinitum”)
0 Comments