Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is perhaps nothing more beguiling in the face of a stranger than an Enigmatic Smile. It is the combination of fascinating inquisitive allure shrouded in the dark and the beast of sex appeal that captures the imagination. It either can lead down a path of enlightenment or towards the sinister and threatening, in the case of German Metal band Annisokay, enlightenment and the mysterious go hand in hand.
It is the dichotomy between the light and dark, the rampant juxtaposition between the scream of a chieftain ordering his well drilled clan into the battle and the soft purr of the tiger relaxing in the Indian afternoon sun that makes the enigmatic so energetic and out of the ordinary.
Dave Grunewald, the chieftain ordering the attack on the beige and faithless, stands tall as each line is delivered with the clarity of a memento mori being administered carefully into the home of a collector of such priceless memories, the scream is full of vigour and yet the silence surrounding it plays havoc with the mind and it is from that the album resonates with graft and craft; the enigmatic claiming another willing victim.
Being enigmatic is not enough to get the job done, it is not enough on its own to be beguiling, it takes substance and a formula of truth in which to come across as anything other than slightly off balance and with Christoph Wiezoreck, Phillip Kretzschmar, Norbert Rose and Daniel Hermann the beating heart of the machine gives the vocals and lyrics the desired effect of endurance and freedom required to make this album a core listen.
The shiver of excitement is felt as songs such as Naked City, Wolves In The Walls, New Autumn Light, What is Left and the superb Panic Attack fill the air with astonishing precision, the accuracy of a bolt of lightning hitting the right spot on Earth just as you are taking a picture of it, it is this that stands behind the enigmatic and the carefully placed mask of metal fervour.
An album of sincerity and exactness, the summer evenings of the loud and impressive have a new hero to hail.
Annisokay support Fearless Vampire Killers at the Liverpool 02 Academy on 13th May.