Album Review: Disgrace - 'True Enemy'

There’s not much to complain about when a band gives you exactly what you want. Disgrace’s latest LP ‘True Enemy’ is a perfect example of that, presenting aggression bundled into tortured screams, rapid instrumentals and a hardcore finish that forces you to headbang whether you like it or not.

It’s what you’d anticipate from a group that features members of Nails, Forced Order and Twitching Tongues: an intense, punch-packed onslaught.

When we say it’s everything you want it to be, we don’t mean sunshine and rainbows. Title track ‘True Enemy’ is brutal, cracking onto you intimidatingly from its first seconds. The lyrics aren’t overly innovative (unless “suffer/suffer/suffer” is a new phrase in core) but it’s not a particularly noticeable issue. ‘No More Fools’ dishes up its fair share of hostility, kicking up the angst a notch. ‘The Forgotten Land’ is faster, but like the others, is allusion-stocked and fury-loaded, making the record worth even a scope.

What’s also worth noting about ‘True Enemy’ is its 10/10 instrumentals. The guitars on 'Uncreation' aren’t repetitious but explorational, and the stunted beats are on 'The Well' are on point. Apart from the impressively swift guitar/drum combo that dominates the album, fast screams also give it texture. For reference, check out ‘Bootlicker’, in which occasional harmonies ghost the vocals and dish out equal amounts of venom.

Disgrace’s successful track construction is evident on ‘Conquered’, which has a suspenseful build up in its first moments that feels like someone waiting to see you in person to tell you something; you’re living in anticipation until hard instrumentals hail the song in for a confrontation.

All in all, Disgrace are more of a hardcore band than a metal band, despite who they get slotted in with. ‘Slave to the Lead God’ has hard, guttural screams that point out that fact, and despite aspects of metal being sewn into the record, it’s also somewhat purer than metalcore. ‘The Dawn’ leans towards a sharper, faster hardcore sound, as opposed to being broody and mood-utilising. Funnily enough, ‘Conclusion’ is where the broody, mood-utilising undertones come in, almost sounding like a different band but simultaneously showing off Disgrace’s nuanced abilities. It’s less of a frontal assault and more a battle of attrition, but we’re not arguing.

Disgrace aren’t the type to exercise restraint, and their cathartic hardcore tracks make us glad for it. ‘True Enemy’ is one of the finest examples of how valuable it is for a band to make solid music that doesn’t screw around. Consisting of some of the finest talents in the scene right now, it’s anything but a disappointment.

1. True Enemy

2. No More Fools

3. Slave to the Lead God

4. Uncreation

5. 1000 Voices

6. Conquered

7. The Forgotten Land

8. The Well

9. Segue

10. Bootlicker

11. The Dawn

12. Conclusion