Album Review

Enter Shikari - The MindsweepEnter Shikari – The Mindsweep

Enter Shikari are back with their fourth studio album ‘The Mindsweep’ and it is safe to say that if you were blown away by their third studio album ‘A Flash Flood Of Colours’ like we were here at Alternative Vision then you are in for a treat with ‘The Mindsweep’ as when you think you have heard everything that Enter Shikari have to offer they come back and surprise you and that is exactly what they have done with ‘The Mindsweep’ an album which happens to be the most diverse sounding album the band have ever released and also one which see’s the band get a lot of their chest.

The album opens with ‘The Appeal And The Mindsweep I’ and like the start of every Enter Shikari release it is a spoken word track but this time around Enter Shikari have put everything into the track with Rou Reynolds starting off with his spoken word vocals before doing what he does best and screaming his bollocks off and when the song reaches its peak the beats are huge the guitars are insane and the whole band join in for group vocals of “I will read your mind” as the song continues to grow in epic proportions with Rou Reynolds singing “You are not alone” over and over again.

‘The One True Colour’ is a mixed track which features some banging drum beats and fuzzy synths but it is vocally where the song really shines as one minute the vocals are really soft and gentle and then the next they are loud and aggressive and that is one of the things that I have grown to love about Enter Shikari over the years the fact that within seconds they can turn quite a pleasant sounding track aggressive and vice versa, as the track progresses towards the end Rou Reynolds gets all spoken word on us and guitars become extremely loud.

‘Anaesthetist’ is the latest single from Enter Shikari and it features the band angrily attacking the government and the greedy idiotic people who want to dismantle the NHS and start charging people for healthcare and lyrically the song hits all the right marks with Rou Reynolds screaming out “You fucking spanner, just a cog in the industry; you’re part blind, you take the blood from the conflicted, you parasite, you play god and you don’t care who it affects, you suck the blood of the afflicted”.

‘The Last Garrison’ was one of the first singles to be released from the album many months ago now as the band were slowly teasing that the album was ready and it one of the most diverse songs on the album where one minute things are quite melodic and then the next the song explodes into mayhem with a sound which is going to see the mosh pit go off at future Enter Shikari live shows and I am sure it is going to be epic hearing hundreds and thousands of fans singing “Still air in my lungs, still blood in my veins” along with Rou Reynolds.

‘Myopia’ is a massive mix of a song which see’s the band go all melodic one minute and all heavy the next, its extremely fast paced for the majority and one of those songs that you find yourself tapping along to without even realising. ‘The Bank Of England’ see’s Enter Shikari go down quite a simple and mellow route until the last minute where a massive range of amazing synths come in and the song beams to life in such a big way. ‘There’s A Price On Your Head’ is by far the most insane track on the album and it is utterly fantastic, full of aggression and reminds me of System Of A Down in a couple of ways. One of my favourite tracks on the album has to be ‘Torn Apart’ as the song is so melodic and Rou Reynolds vocals are at their absolute best as he sings his heart out in such an clean, upbeat and melodic way.

The album comes to a close with ‘The Appeal And Mindsweep II’ the song is quite insane which returns to the opening of the album with many different twists and turns as Enter Shikari go for it for one last time.

‘The Mindsweep’ is easily the biggest and best Enter Shikari album to date as the band seem to get bigger and better as time goes on and it is clear to see that the band have put everything into the creation of ‘The Mindsweep’ as it is such a relevant and powerful album which is going to see Enter Shikari top the charts and quite possible move into headlining arenas across the country.

5/5

Review by Trigger

 Band Members

Rou Reynolds
Rory Clewlow
Chris Batten
Rob Rolfe
 Track Listing

1. The Appeal & The Mindsweep I
2. The One True Colour
3. Anaesthetist
4. The Last Garrison
5. Never Let Go Of The Microscope
6. Myopia
7. Torn Apart
8. interlude
9. The Bank Of England
10. There’s A Price On Your Head
11. Dear Future Historians…
12. The Appeal & The Mindsweep II

 Band Related Links
Enter Shikari Facebook
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?