Review by Josh Felty
Rating: Listen!
Hardcore music is honestly the future of rock. The genre has changed so much in the last four or five years, let alone the last decade: we've seen everything from rap-rock to post-alternative throwbacks. Perhaps the greatest aspect of rock is it's never something that can be categorized so easily as say, hip-hop or R&B. And it's only appropriate really, that a group like Enemy of the Sun comes along who combines the best of all rock genres, from down and dirty death metal to more progressive, Middle Eastern sounding fare.
And all this from a German metal/thrash band. But who am I to conveniently make comparisons?
I couldn't help but be enamored by a song like "Another End of the Rainbow", which starts out as an intense thrash headbanger and bounces between melodic verses and intense, hardcore sensibilities. And amazingly, there's some really moving solos. Yes, solos still exist in metal. Then, we're given an especially Middle Eastern-esque intro to a track called "I Am One", which eventually turns into something bigger and greater than expected. Soaring vocal harmonies intermixed with very aggressive screaming is ever a recipe for beautiful things, in my opinion. And Caedium shines as a very strong release for that reason alone.
The awesome simply continues with songs like "Castaways in the N.W.O.", "Paradigm", and "Sky Shooting Stars", which all bring back memories of metal's long and storied past. I guess that's the wonderful thing about new metal: it's constantly redefining and looking back at all that came before. And any metal band worth their salt has all their instrumentation down pat. Enemy of the Sun has no problem with this, as their guitarist has ties to both Eyes of Eden and Grip, Inc. (the latter of which is a side-project of Slayer's Dave Lombardo)
Caedium is a moving, consistent metal record with one purpose: to rock you until your ears bleed. Funnily enough, when I started playing it just the other day, switched over to "Another End of the Rainbow", and was nearly deafened by the opening riffstravaganza on that song. Always check your volume levels, people; before and after you leave the computer/CD player. One can truly appreciate the delicate balance at play in this collection in that there's plenty of guttural, larynx-ruining screaming followed by layered harmonies and hooks. This is almost what Slayer would sound like if they banded up with, say, Ozzy or Alice in Chains or somebody. I know one of my rules is "TO NOT MAKE COMPARISONS", but in all honesty, these guys do it justice.
But be warned: this is not your parents' Euro-metal. I never heard one word of German; not that I know German. Basically, no "Du Hast" action here. There are so many influences reflected throughout, I could sit here all day and list them. But I'll spare you. Listen to this album, be moved, and remember to turn the volume down. Unless you absolutely want to lose your hearing.
Ah, who am I kidding? Crank this baby!