The name of Phil Anselmo carries a lot of weight in the many communities across the world of metal whether people like it or not, and the man’s ever-growing list of projects just keeps on going at a staggering rate. I figured by now he would’ve decided to do something new with Down, Superjoint, or Scour, but he is clearly a man with many ideas in his head with the ambition and connections to pull them off, so more power to him I say. Obviously, he’s more associated with metal way more than anything else, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed to try something different stylistically every once in a while to shake things up, and if En Minor is anything it’s a definite change of pace.
Straying far from any sort of metal sound that we would assume of in any sense, En Minor takes the route of something much more melancholic that exudes emotional weight through dry atmospheres and passionate performances that make all eleven tracks of this debut interesting to listen to. “When the Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out” is, admittedly, a performance that isn’t very energetic in virtually every single way with Anselmo himself almost sounding like he’s yawning throughout certain portions of certain songs, but it’s the character and the soul that bleeds through every note and lyric that really carries the listener throughout everything that En Minor has to throw our way. Where it’s been in virtually every other instance throughout much of the history across all of the musicians involved here, the heaviness has been thrown to the wayside for this release in order for us to see a side of these guys that we’ve rarely been able to before and it’s both far from anything we may have been expecting as well as an odd breath of fresh air.
I’d still greatly prefer to hear something new and heavy from the likes of men behind En Minor, but that doesn’t mean that what’s done all throughout “When the Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out” is without value. When you block out the rest of existence and simply allow En Minor to wash over you in order to truly absorb what’s to be had with this album, you can really feel everything that the band is going for here in a way that will instantly be lost should you let any one of these tracks begin to fade to anything near background noise. Emotional work is anything but a rare thing in the world of music in any capacity, but that doesn’t make a good example of such any less astonishing, and En Minor has undoubtedly created a qualifying work here with the likes of “When the Cold Truth” as you can feel all the weight, hear the pain, and really connect with the suffering of all sorts that are spotlighted in this album.
It’s an entirely different feeling than what many may be expecting before heading into this work, and that arguably makes what’s presented here all the more special. Everyone involved here has done a great job to create something against the norm, and everything that was poured into “When the Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out” is something that every fan of this style should be able to get into without a moment’s thought.
“When the Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out” releases on September 4th via Season of Mist! You can pre-order the album via Season of Mist here, and you can stream the single, “Blue”, via YouTube below.
Track Listing:
1. Mausoleums
2. Blue
3. On The Floor
4. Dead Can’t Dance
5. Love Needs Love
6. Warm Sharp Bath Sleep
7. Melancholia
8. This Is Not Your Day
9. Black Mass
10. Hats Off
11. Disposable For You
Just a metal head who loves just about all metal. I want to spread the word about the REALLY great bands out there, well known and underground. I do this for fun and don’t want any sort of money from doing reviews. It’s its own reward. I also do daily reviews for my own review site, Head-Banger Reviews, where the reviews are longer and daily as mentioned. No bullshit, just here to have some fun, listen to cool music and meet cool people.