It’s hard sometimes to see a band with so much to give call it quits before their time. Enchantment is one of these bands. The doom generation of the early nineties produced few poor offerings, and although Enchantment certainly doesn’t fall into that category, there are definitely a few things they were lacking. Peaceville have now re-released their sole offering, ‘Dance the Marble Naked’, and you can’t help but think that these guys had a lot more to offer.
Unsurprisingly, as it was with the majority of fledgling Doom bands of the era, Enchantment are heavily influenced by the ‘Peaceville Three’, and elements of early My Dying Bride and Anathema are particularly prevalent here, but never enough so they could be accused of outright imitation. The guitars of Mark Gibson and Steve Blackmore work beautifully together, with a thin distortion on some hard mid paced riffing. Musically, these guys hold their own with the best Doom bands of the era, however if there was any reason why they never really made it big, it’s got to be the vocal stylings of Paul Jones. There are times on here where he sounds ok, usually when using a ‘cleaner’ voice, but when he brings in the death grunts, he sounds like a man struggling with a chronic case of constipation. The best death metal singers make it sound effortless, as if the sounds were being conjured up from the very bowels of hell, whereas Jones seems to just conjure it up directly from his own bowels. By the time you get halfway through the album, it just becomes funny, and it kind of defeats the object if you are chuckling along with a band that base their output on misery and despair.
Bowel straining antics aside, ‘Dance the Marble Naked’ is a very solid offering. ‘God Send’ in particular is a great track, with a sound reminiscent of Anathema during the ‘Crestfallen’ period. ‘My Oceans Vast’ and ‘The Touch Of A Crown’ also stand out, the latter sounding a lot like early Bride, if perhaps Aaron had sustained some sort of injury to his balls. The best track on here though is ‘Meadows’. It’s an instrumental. Enchantment were originally signed to a six album deal, however they broke up after this was released. It’s a shame; because the signs are there that they could have been amazing. With a change in vocal style, (and vocalist), the next album could have been a belter. As it stands, this is their legacy. A good album by four talented musicians and one awful singer.
http://www.ektomorf.com
http://www.peaceville.com
