I have mixed feelings about the popularity of that particular brand of melancholic melodeath inspired by Insomnium. It often represents the best thing going in the genre today but it’s also prone to overly long compositions and a lack of teeth. As such when I saw people bouncing up and down in excitement for a brand new release from Enshine, the project of Jari Lindholm (Slumber) I felt both intrigued and a little skeptical. Would Elevation elevate itself over the competition?
It starts promisingly. There’s a guitar tone particular to this sort of metal that sounds like the moon is crying and Enshine nail it. They nail all the riffs that are meant to go with it too. There are the crushing riffs that contain just a little too much hope to be pure doom metal, with the start of “Where The Sunrise Is Felt” being a particularly fine example. There are the slowed down melodeath leads working in gloomy progressions as on “The Moment”. There are the shimmering interludes like the prog inflected ending of “Heartbliss”. All the tools are here yet as Elevation goes on I find myself asking where’s the intention in using them. The synth heavy “Distant Glow” is the moment where that becomes noticeable to me but once I heard it, I couldn’t unhear it. “The Purity of Emptiness” features a simple lead over chunky riffs in a way that’s reminiscent of My Dying Bride‘s “The Cry of Mankind” but with none of the focused, emotive power. I want this sort of melodeath to build up to a powerful moment where the band goes directly for my heartstrings but Enshine don’t do that. The songwriting instincts feel more in line with drifting 70s prog soundscapes and that’s just not what I want from this.
This is all a crying shame because the quality of everything else on Elevation is top notch. Lindholm‘s ability to make sad pretty noises is top notch and there’s no weak spot in Enshine‘s performance. Unfortunately, when the melodies don’t build on each other to create great songs, there’s not really a strong spot either. Elevation is pleasant and better than a lot of what’s in the genre today, but it falls into the common traps of its kind and as a result, the main thing it sounds like is missed potential.
