The ever so evolving ENTHEOS is releasing their first full length album on Metal Blade Records “Empty on the Inside”. It is out October 23rd. This will mark their 5th album as a band. Joining Crabb and Koperweis are guitarists Michael Stancel (Allegaeon) and Scott Carstairs (Fallujah). Although the married couple has been a collaborative entity, the newly announced guitarists contributed compositions and solos to the album. Until now it’s been Chaney doing vocals & lyrics with Navene doing drums and guitar. I’m sure that’s a lot of stress off them and more of a collaborative effort as the couple has gone through a handful of different live guitarists. Now with an actual lineup who are also creatively contributing the band is even more primed to take off.
A new era of the band has arrived and so has this upcoming new album. It’s more progressive and experimental and less death metal. While the infamous Navene blast beats are still there, it’s not as prevalent. And the classic fans won’t enjoy it but if the evolvement is good I’m sold. Chaney is also singing a lot more, which will annoy more people. But she’s been singing more but still doing plenty of gutturals and her high shrieks. Crabb has stated she’s been singing longer than growling. It’s honestly a welcomed change even as a fan who’s loved everything since their inception. It’s more artistic and the gutturals are more impactful. Ala the industrial “Undone” isn’t a shock since there’s a lot of electronic elements in their music. Hell there’s been some cool effects on her voice the first two albums (like some sort of vocoder?).
The guitar solos of their courtesy of Carstairs who doesn’t shock me as a fellow guitarist. The guy is a phenomenal guitarist in his own band Fallujah (crazy demanding band by the way) who’s well equipped to contribute to ENTHEOS. Stancel has also been doing backup vocals on top of songwriting. As previously stated it’s been a nice collaborative effort and it’s a real solid album. Even a guy who is autistically obsessed with death metal welcomes this progression. Fans will say they “sold out” and I see their point. I love the first handful of albums and ep’s. But as an artist, sometimes you get bored of writing and performing the same exact style of music. Chaney and navene have diverse tastes and music and that’s on an even bigger display. The heavy synth influence shouldn’t shock anyone. Being big nine inch nails fans they leaned even harder into that territory. The title track is a great mix of their style with that style.
What makes this release stand apart from previous Entheos records is the collaborative spirit behind it. While earlier material often highlighted the technical brilliance of Crabb and Koperweis, this time all five musicians came together as a true unit during the writing and recording process. “Empty on the Inside is a statement piece for us,” exclaims Crabb.
“From the start, our goal was to capture the raw, visceral energy that made ’90s rock and metal so impactful and timeless by prioritizing authentic performances and our individual voices as musicians over hyper-polished modern production.” The result is a more cohesive, focused, and dynamic album, one that still delivers the jaw-dropping musicianship, intricate performances, and progressive intensity the band is known for, while also embracing tighter songwriting, stronger hooks, and a deeper melodic presence.
It’s Entheos at their most refined, balancing technical mastery with memorable songwriting in a way the band never has before.
Co-produced by Mark Lewis and Mastered by Justin Sturtz at Sterling Sound, the album’s visual artwork features an eldritch visual of Crabb taken by photographer, Rachel Craig.
Crabb notes, “The album art for Empty on the Inside represents the feelings of grief and despair that come with losing yourself. It was incredibly important for us to create the scene and take a picture of it rather than rely on a photoshop created image. It reflects the overall authentic, raw and visceral vibe of the music we created.”
If someone deserved to be well respected and known, it’s something as talented as ENTHEOS. They work hard at their craft, trying to create unique music. Not everyone will enjoy every release you do and it’s expected. “Empty on the Inside” is a talent filled, diverse and honest effort from the band I love. I’m a fan of the album and being such good down to earth people I wish them the best of luck. You can support the band by preordering at the metal blade store here. You can preorder via the band website (product running low, BTW) here.
Courtesy of technicalmusicreview.com.
