Melodic metal is such a broad descriptor for a band’s sound. I tend to throw power and symphonic metal in that camp, but lose track of the line where AOR and hard rock begin. It is quite blurry, but the one thing that is necessary is melody and a good companion of sweet harmony. Enbound, after over 8 years of silence, have released their third full-length offering of melodic metal and are skirting around the borderlands of melodic metal.
Formed in 2006, Enbound is a Swedish band formed around drummer and keyboardist Mike Cameron Force. The original line-up was rounded out with bassist Swede, guitarist Marvin Flowberg, and lead vocalist Lee Hunter. The band released their debut “And She Says Gold” in 2011 following up with “Blackened Heart” in 2016 that featured guest appearances by vocalist Linnéa Wikström (Kamelot, Therion, Thundermother) and bass player Mike LePond (Symphony X). Since then, both Marvin and Lee left the band on friendly terms where guitarist Andy and vocalist Toby filled in the line up for “Set It Free.” What are they setting free?
Emotions, by the sound of it. Their style is an emotionally-driven hard rock bordering on metal in places that brings enough variety to keep it interesting. The driving musical forces are the synths and rhythm guitars that weave together a harmonic texture for Toby to croon over top or in the midst of. The drumming is quite good showing exquisite technique in the lightning quick double bass sections, but also sensitive to set the stage in the more mellow sections. There are some guest parts on the album that fold in well demonstrating the talents of the band stand well next to industry veterans.
There is plenty of synthesizers and harmonizing vocals on a bed of rhythm guitar and solid bass lines. Using this texture, it emphasizes the softer side of the melodic metal making it an attractive release for fans of AOR and 80s rock. But that it isn’t without some choice metal riffs in spots such as in “Extreme” and “Overload” and some ripping solos such as on “Set it Free” and “Actors.” The songs tend to follow a traditional song structure with a couple songs opting for a slow build up over the course of the song. One example is the ballad “You Never Walk Alone” that grows from piano leading to an emotional high point with heavy guitars and another is the album closer that is rather soft for the first couple of minutes before it builds into a grand finale.
Toby delivers great vocals throughout the album with some choice hooks and harmonizing backing vocals that drive the emotions. The rhythm guitar work is solid as well as Swede’s bass work that bubbles up a little like on “Assaulted Taste.” Although buried in the mix at times, Andy’s guitar solos and other lead work is quite good. Synths work in tandem with the rhythm guitar, but it is the odd little electronic bits in between parts that add interest to the songs.
With all of this goodness, the inconsistent mixing of the album ultimately led to an amateurish finish to the album. This comes across in inconsistent volumes for instruments across songs and overall volume levels within the songs. Prime example is hearing the rather thin opening in “Invincible” compared to the more full “Set It Free.” There were also parts where the guitars were buried more in the mix robbing songs of some metal muscle. Although the mastering was done by the mighty Jacob Hansen, mastering cannot fix all issues in the mix.
After listening through the album quite a few times, “Set It Free” is an enjoyable offering of melodic metal that tends toward the more tender side with brief forays into metal. I would have liked a little more tension between these two sides of their sound as I got desensitized to the emotional elements after a while. I can’t drink straight up heart juice all the time. There are good breaks from the emotion in “The Foresight Bleeding In Heart” and “Overload,” a great metal song with heavy backing vocals that was a breath of fresh air. If you are in the market for melodic metal bordering on AOR, this release is worth checking out.
Rating: 7/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Assaulted Tasted
2 – Maximize
3 – Set it Free
4 – Invincible
5 – Actors
6 – You Never Walk Alone
7 – The Foresight Bleeding In Your Heart
8 – Extreme
9 – Black
10 – Overload
11 – Leave Them To The Night
Enbound is:
Toby – vocals and backing vocals
Swede – bass
Andy – guitars
Mike – drums, keyboard and backing vocals
Guests:
Lee Hunter (Enbound, Work of Art) – vocals on “Actors”
Linnéa Wikström (Therion, Kamelot, Thundermother) – vocals on “Falling”
Kevin Moore (Dream Theater) – keyboard on “Leave Them To The Night”
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Record Label: Embrace The Fear Records
Discography:
2011: And She Says Gold
2016: Blackened Heart [review
2025: Set It Free (2025)
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Video for ‘Maximize’