Review Summary: Diverse and interesting, Enter Shikari aim for new heights
Enter Shikari don’t like conforming to musical standards, which is good seeing as metalcore and post-hardcore are at a bit of a dead-end right now. Lyrics focus primarily on ex-girlfriends and how the singers are so over them. Musicianship consists mostly of stale guitar riffs, overusing blast beats and faux-djent breakdowns. Whilst there have been many good metalcore/post-hardcore albums released recently, there’s been nothing truly inspiring for a while. This is the reason why Enter Shikari are incredibly important right now: they are inspiring change in the scene.
Their mix of manic hardcore and electronic music have always meant that their sound is among the most unique in heavy music, and their fourth full-length
The Mindsweep is their most diverse sounding record yet. Rou Reynolds’s vocals range from clean melodies to impassioned screaming, and even delves in rap on tracks like
Never Let Go of The Microscope without sounding like a parody. The electronic elements on this album add a euphoric layer to the tracks (save for the iTunes exclusive B-Side
Slipshod), and trumpets and piano interludes contrast with heavier tracks like
There’s A Price on Your Head, which channels The Dillinger Escape Plan and System of a Down weirdness (possibly aided by Sikth guitarist Dan Weller producing the album). Some may say that this means that the band just produce an inconsistent din, but this distinct style makes sure that the listener is engaged throughout the run-time of the whole record; there is no album filler on
The Mindsweep.
But just as they are trying to slap some sense in heavy music, so too are they trying to make a political statement.
The Mindsweep continues the political tone of the band’s last album
A Flash Flood of Colour, but whereas AFFOC sometimes sounded like it was merely jumping onto the political bandwagon of “capitalism sucks”,
The Mindsweep contains more direct and genuine anger. Topics vary from the privatisation of the NHS (
Anaesthetist) to corrupt banks (
The Bank of England) and beyond.
Enter Shikari are a band who clearly believe in their goal: to provoke change through music. Be it through the wide pool of genres they touch in their music or through lyrics that protest against the bull*** that exists in our post-millennial society, Enter Shikari are trying to start a revolution. Even their biggest detractors cannot deny that they are making a real effort in their music.
The Mindsweep separates Shikari from the scene-kid mosh fodder and cements their place as a veritable musical force to be reckoned with.
