Rough Edge: Sworn Enemy CD Reviews

SWORN ENEMY

"Total World Domination" (Century Media; 2009)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

After sticking it out for over a decade, NYC hardcore metal troupe Sworn Enemy return in top form with a ripping thrash-heavy monster of an album that pulls no punches.

Again choosing to work with Tim Lambesis, this quintet’s relentless assault on the ears is bolstered as always by Sal Lococo’s gargantuan vocals yet this time twin guitar work that digs deep from the Exodus and Destruction songbooks accompanies the pummeling to mercilessly take you down and out for the count (“On the Outside”).

Imagine the intensity of Municipal Waste (without the frivolity) colliding with the clobbering tactics of Madball and Earth Crisis and you’ve got the template for this NYHC-bred unit’s latest barnburner, as choice cuts such as “Still Hating,” “Ready to Fight” and “Run for Shelter” provide the adrenaline necessary to demolish everything in the way throughout the course of the day and showcase that this band proudly holds onto its roots with an unwavering aggressive as ever mindset leading their charge.

For more information, check out http://www.swornenemynyc.com.

"The Beginning of the End" (Abacus; 2005)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

NYC hardcore torchbearers Sworn Enemy return with a metallic vengeance on "The Beginning of the End," a pummeling 11-track excursion to the place where NYHC and metal crossover.

From the guitar acrobatics of “Forgotten” to the skull rattling “Scared of the Unknown,” this quintet pull no punches, laying down a scolding concoction of serpentine vocals, chunky guitars, and rhythms that can transform any moshpit into a warzone.

Producer Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying gets the band to demonstrate its thrash metal roots and love for Slayer on tracks like “Save Your Breath” and “All I Have,” but don’t fret, hardcore peeps: Sworn Enemy still have a lot of Madball’s fury and Agnostic Front’s angst blanketed inside face-ripping double bass drumming and fierce guitar solos that any Swedish metal band would kill for.

Crossover in the truest sense of the genre, get ready to be blown away by Sworn Enemy’s latest.

For more information, check out http://www.swornenemynyc.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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