EXENEMY — The Choir of the Martyrs (review)

EXENEMY — The Choir of the Martyrs album cover

Album · 2016 · Power Metal

4/5 · 2020-11-10
siLLy puPPy

So what are the most metal nations on the planet? Surely the Scandinavian nations are up there with more metal per capita than probably any other region on Earth but then again metal is huge pretty much everywhere in the world these days but power metal seems to be mostly a European and US thing with less bands from far flung places taking up the classic sounds of Helloween, Blind Guardian and Running Wild but there are always of course exceptions. Now here’s a strange one. EXENEMY comes from one of the last places i’d expect to hear a European power metal band and that would be the nation of Bangladesh.

Formed in 2012 in the capital city of Dhaka, this band definitely demonstrates that exquisitely designed power metal with nice technical skills doesn’t have to come from a nation where you freeze your ass off in the winter much like Brazil’s fiery Sepultura took the thrash world by storm during the day. Starting out as many bands do as high school chums who want to make some noise, these guys took their passion all the way and so far have released one small EP titled “Overture” followed by this 2016 release of the band’s debut full-length THE CHOIR OF THE MARTYRS which is dedicated to the martyrs who died fighting for the nation’s independence in 1971.

The first thing you can expect when putting on THE CHOIR OF THE MARTYRS is that this band means serious business and offers a ferocious attack of the senses for its ten track run that just misses the 55 minute mark. The album hosts both rampaging power metal fury in the vein of speed-frenzied Dragonforce but also crafts beautiful ballads and all the territory in between as it narrates its heroic tale of rebellion and national unity. EXENEMY consists of two strong guitarists, a skilled bassist and drummer as well as a full time keyboardist. Slower parts have some flute sounds as well as classical piano rolls. The band are quite gifted at crafting heavy duty power metal tracks that borrow heavily from the European scene but still manage to sound like something different.

Perhaps the weakest link of this fine lineup are the vocals of Emran who does a decent job most of the time and has no problem with the operatic parts but often sounds a little goofy. Sometimes he’s a dead ringer for Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch but other times can sound a bit like Dexter Holland of the pop punk band The Offspring or even Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta. While he mostly makes the mark, at times it seems he struggles a bit to make the quicken transitions that the speed of the guitar, bass and drum triumvirate forces him to keep up with. The guitar work is perhaps the most amazing aspect of THE CHOIR OF THE MARTYRS but the entire album is actually pretty strong and a true surprise coming from one of the last places on Earth that i would expect such an album to emerge from.

THE CHOIR OF THE MARTYR’s is a passionate tribute to the nation’s history and EXENEMY does an excellent job of narrating this tale in musical form. The tracks are distinct, the pacing is perfect as some tracks rampage at high tempos whereas other glide on slo-mo. While Emran’s vocals are the aspect of the album i like the least, they aren’t actually that bad with the exception of some of the slower parts like on “The Unnamed Soldier” where he sounds a little too airy fairy for my tastes but overall this is a personal preference and shouldn’t be projected on a singer is quite capable of delivering a strong power metal performance. This is actually an album that is strong in every way. Nice compositions fueled by outstanding musical interplay with a few tricks and trinkets in the technical department thrown in now in again to arouse the wow factor. A true surprise! There is power metal brewing in Bangladesh!