Blood Red Under Blue Skies,
Best Of EnemiesI haven't heard a band like BOE for quite some time. Basically they fuse skate punk with the poppier variety yet manage to keep a large British slant to it. Imagine Pennywise or Social Distortion mixed with Sum 41 - except it actually works pretty well. While the concoction is far from groundbreaking, Best of Enemies know how to rock out. The Exeter boys can write a pretty good hook and from the first few bars of 'Five Days To Die' through to the closing strains of 'By The Way', this is refreshingly honest. And very British.
It is very easy for a band to simply copy their American counterparts. Shit, here at Punktastic we hear a tonne of clone bands that simply sound like Hawthorne Heights or Blink 182 and are happy. BOE are far from a band of that ilk, and while they do wear their influences on their sleeves, they still manage to twist it enough to sound like something not quite so contrived. The drumming on this record is exemplorary, the vocal melodies fantastic. 'Five Days To Die' reminds me of Sum 41 vocally, but musically they're far too fast and aggressive - and it's a style that really suits them.
'Little Black Book' keeps up the breakneck speed yet maintains a sense of melody, while 'Like A Bad Dream' and 'By The Way' are top tracks. The last song on the album reminds me of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer theme tune during the early stages actually. 'We want ours back' is a bit boring, while 'Mind Over Matter' is a bit too quick for its own good however. Still, this is highly impressive stuff and anyone looking for melodic punk, with a British twist, could do a lot worse than checking these guys out.
Freakscene
www.bestofenemies.com
paul
