Traditional metal (or 'trad' for short) is a funny old being, the bands of this genre wear their hearts firmly on their sleeves and have their influences pouring out of every aspect of their songs. In many ways this is a good thing, but at the same time, they are also striving to carve out their own identity in a rather flooded market.

One of the front runners of the trad metal genre is Swedish quartet, Enforcer. With the release of their fourth album From Beyond, they are looking to propel themselves further away from the crowd as one the best of the bunch.

Opening track Destroyer comes at you at break-neck speed and is catchy as hell. Instantly transporting you back to the 80's. Thumping drums courtesy of Jonas Wickstrand, a slick riff and spectacular nearing-falsetto vocals by Olof Wickstrand. You only need to listen to Enforcer for a minute to understand what they're all about - speed, power, and heavy 'f*ing' metal.

Next up is Undying Evil which is an absolute belter of a track. Sounding like something that could be lifted from an Iron Maiden's "Piece of Mind" or Helloween's "Keeper of the Seven Keys". With it's twin-guitar harmonies and catchy chorus; this is going to have audiences worldwide in full voice.

The title track slows things down somewhat but that's not necessarily something to complain about, this really showcases what accomplished musicians the band are. One thing that can't be overlooked is what an exceptional guitarist Joseph Tholl is, From Beyond features possibly the best solo on the the record, which is quite something as it's packed full of them, and whilst Tobias Lindqvist does a fine job on bass throughout the album, this track is certainly a standout performance.

The start of Below the Slumber brings down the tempo even more, before exploding into a near seven minute epic, packed full of hyper speed riffs, slaying leads, pounding percussion and the best vocal performance of Wickstrand's career.

Hungry They Will Come is an instrumental that feels like a song where they've forgotten to add the vocals in production. A really strange addition in my opinion but the musicianship on display here is still top drawer.

The real hit of the album for me is The Banshee which breaks out the blocks with a cracking solo from Tholl once again. Whilst Wickstrand screeches through the chorus of "Oww Banshee's call!" it's hard to not join in with him. Great stuff.

As you listen to this album there's a real "live" feel to their sound which works perfectly, it adds so much energy to the overall performance which so many records lack as they feel well overproduced. The listener almost feels like they're packed inside a sweaty venue in 1986 with their face being slapped with a ginormous blonde perm headbanging in front of them.
Bringing everything to a close is the slow, menacing Mask of Red Death. It feels like the six minute love child of Motley Crüe and Maiden and could be used as the soundtrack to the Wicked Witch of the West. It's a fine ending to the album but I would have chosen Farewell which seems a lot more suitable.

From Beyond is probably the finest output that Enforcer have produced in their young career and one of the strongest trad metal albums of the past few years. It will be a shock if this does not propel them on to bigger and better things over the next few years, and we here at MNN look forward to seeing where the journey takes them.