Enid — Munsalvaesche
Okay, Another try? How about the new Enid album? Oooh, maybe. In a deranged case of terminal brain-fartery I confused Enid with THE Enid…..you know, that brilliant symphonic prog band helmed by Robert John Godfrey (look him up). The Enid, at their worst, which is not very often at all, sound like some fae mashup of Camel and Henry Purcell. But at their best, The Enid is hauntingly beautiful and majestic….. one of prog’s greatest and most underappreciated bands. But oops! I curiously found my tiny apartment filled with sounds of some sort of orchestral-ish metal. Blast beats?! WTF!
Now I remember (after copious amounts of caffeine): Enid is the brainchild of composer/musician Martin Wiese. And I found myself listening to Wiese’s newest album, Munsalvaesche, which was certainly a wee bit on the morose side. A perfect fit for a moody day of grey solipsism. Munsalvaesche is based upon/inspired by Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval romance, Parzival. The Eschenbach poem mostly concerns itself with Parzival’s (Percival) quest for the Holy Grail, as well as the process by which Parzival becomes a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table (and more). The music on Munsalvaesche is suitably epic and Romantic, effortlessly moving from mood to mood, from thumping metal to orchestral sweeps. The album is a tasty tidbit for any true power metal fan, with the tracks “Belrapeire” and “Munsalvaesche” having a nice thump to them. And a good many power metal fans have more than a passing taste for all things Arthurian and Romantic (in an artistic sense), so the backstory will surely enchant. Wiese certainly is a capable composer and on the evidence of this album definitely skilled enough to do soundtrack work in the future, if he so desires.
So why do I feel less than impressed with Munsalvaesche? In part, it is because the album just does not rock hard enough. When time comes for the metallics to overwhelm with their power, they feel more than a little stilted and overworked. The orchestral parts are fine but a bit too watery (instead of awe-inspiring) and the vocals are too out front, for my tastes. Maybe if the guitars had more punch and the bass sounded more like Thor’s hammer pounding your weakling skull. Fists would be raised on high in triumph instead of reaching for another lukewarm beer. Perhaps in all his attention to the finer details Weise forgot that the heaviness of the music must come first (after all, this is supposed to be metal), with lyrics/story supporting the initial musical crush. Concepts and lyrics and artiness mean nothing if the music does not connect with listeners; it is that initial musical blast an audience first engages with, allowing art and story to burrow their way into their consciousness. It could very well be that Munsalvaesche possesses subtler charms than my meager perceptions can distinguish on the first few listens, but my intuition says probably not. More’s the pity.
Enid’s Munsalvaesche is a very good album, but it is not a great one. But I am most positive that Martin Weise and the other musicians involved will create an even more impressive piece of metallic art with their next album. While waiting for that triumphant release, let us console ourselves with Munsalvaesche.