Enrapture – DRØNN Review

[Cover art by Hannah Felicia Lange]

The timeline for the creative process is an inherently curious thing. Some bands are naturally prolific, dropping new tunes, collaborations, and one-offs multiple times a year, while others may end up waiting decades between releases. Obviously, there are extenuating circumstances that go beyond creativity at work in many of those cases. Still, there’s something to be said for those who patiently wait, ponder, self-edit, and hold until they feel what they have is as close to perfect as they can make it. Personally, I’m a “that’s good enough, let’s roll” kind of person, as I’m sure my error-riddled reviews will tell you, so it’s always fascinating to come across a group that has the patience to ponder.

Enrapture spent nine years as a band before releasing a full-length album. Sure, they released an EP in there, too, but it was clear that they were likely a persnickety bunch pouring over every detail before making their published moves. In a similar fashion, when the world decided to shit the bed on all of humanity with a pandemic, Enrapture decided to forego the label delays and challenges that were ubiquitous in 2021 and release Another Green Drought on their own. A great decision to ensure your album is released but perhaps one that also leads to it being more likely to fly under the radar. Perhaps, dear reader, you are one such person who missed that lovely debut of progressive post-metal that managed to capture a sense of driving adventure and hitting all the key elements of those two genres while managing to avoid its typical self-indulgence. If that’s the case, I urge you not to make the same mistake twice by making sure you give DRØNN a listen.

Enrapture is intentionally making that fan conversion a little bit easier as this EP boasts four songs reaching just past the 20-minute mark, and unlike their debut album, only one song surpasses six minutes. Beyond the digestible format, DRØNN succeeds by ensuring that each of its tracks has its own identity within a consistent whole. Despite the fact that I said Enrapture is primarily a progressive post-metal band, they are also content to stretch what all that might mean as is evidenced by the fact that opener “Of Burning Stone and Water” is basically a black metal song.

For a hot second as the track starts, you’ll think “I don’t remember turning on Catch-33,” but then that first rock-laden black-metal riff kicks in. That rock element is a key to the band’s success. While there are blast beats and razor-sharp driving tremolo guitars, it’s the Big Riff moments balanced against those blackened elements that truly bestow the song with strength. Around the 2:30 mark, a big open killer riff transitions into a guitar pattern that sounds like rushing water without necessarily feeling “Cascadian.” Much of this song reminds me of last year’s Krigsgrav album in that there’s a sense of melancholy that still has some fight in it. There’s a touch of atmosphere but no meandering or lengthy interlude and Enrapture knows how to close a track as this one absolutely blasts.

“Seas of Disruption” opens with a Yob riff and leverages a rare dose of Nordic cleans. Throughout, there are moments of chugging heaviness and angular riffage before the track closes with layers that clamber ever higher, providing a sense of triumph. “Deluge” creates the briefest and perfectly timed moment of space with a bass run between bright driving passages. Drummer Lars Løseth Takle, in particular, shines on this track during a latter stretch of quick fills and stuttered rolls. The longest track, “Finitude,” opens with a Crack The Skye-era Mastodon passage before ripping out a gorgeous guitar lead. That closer blasts, down picks, batters and slowly ebbs away into a quiet before all is said and done.

Enrapture is continuing to do what they showed they could do well three years ago. What makes DRØNN even more noteworthy is that it shows the band continuing to flex in even more of their influences while exhibiting an unwillingness to sit still. This brief EP is familiar yet fresh within the context of the band’s small back catalog. Be sure to check in on Enrapture now because they’re sure to look a little different by the next time they cross your path.