Enabler – Year One

Recently wound up talking to Kaleb from Sacred Plague Records for a bit recently, who released the cassette version of Enabler’s War Begins With You, which is included here in Year One. While talking about bands like Enabler, Protestant and Impatience, he made a great point: when it comes to bleak-sounding Midwestern bands (in this case, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), there’s no fucking around. There’s rarely any affectations in play – the bands sound bleak as fuck because the Midwest, especially in, say early February, can be a pretty bleak place. Industry is dead or dying, cities are broke, it’s twenty below with the wind chill, the hot water’s been out for three days. While a place like Portland may be a hotbed for the type of stuff that Enabler’s doing – dark, apocalyptic, frantic songs – it’s also an incredibly clean, friendly city that shuts down if there’s an inch of snowfall. All I’m saying is after giving Year One a few spins, these guys have more than convinced me. It’s full of brutal, concise songs that are simultaneously nimble and dense with technical chops. This collection rules.

Toeing the line between darkened blasts – almost D-beat at times – ala Discharge and a hybrid sort of crust/metal amalgam that bands like The Awakening or even Fighting Dogs fucking ruled at, Year One’s fucking relentless. Dual vocals, dual guitars, a low end working together so tightly they’re practically bolted together. Palm mutes, dives, a pair of shredded throats that someone’s Bedazzled with graveyard stones. Song titles like “End Of The World Party”, “Fucking Wartorn” and “Black Friday In Hell” tell you all you need to know about the lyrical content here. This stuff is seamless and punishing as hell.

Made up of the Eden Sank To Grief and War Begins With You LPs, Year One has thirteen songs (including a Beastie Boys cover. No, seriously.) that honestly would give any band on any crust kid’s assflap patch in the world a run for their money. I have no idea why this band is not gigantic right now, unless it’s because their tour van’s stuck in the snow somewhere.

Seriously, though – this is a near flawless collection of songs. This band is great. This release is more than worth seeking out. If you like bleak, epic hardcore firmly rooted in the touchstones of both metal and thrash, this band is the way to go. It’s one of the great things about punk: that ability to make hopelessness and ruination sound like redemption. And Enabler just happens to be really, really good at it.