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    HM Magazine #77/Frank's Enemy
    Frank's Enemy — Illumination cover

    Frank's Enemy

    Illumination

    (1998)

    Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

    DiscogsBandcamp
    Label Cling RecordingsHM Magazine #77May/June 1999
    death metalgrindcorehardcore

    Don't fall for the trick! These guys start off with a ska riff for the first half-minute of this album. Then they blast beat their way out of this spoof faster than you can say Horde! The vocals are about the lowest frequency I've heard with distortion in all of grind. Musically, the band really shines on this release, laying down some killer grooves and super tight and fast riffing. "Face to Face Again" and "Antigod" have some of those infectious Pantera-like riffs that just shake your whole body. Other riffs, like the lead-off notes in "Ashes," recall shades of Tourniquet's "Stereotaxic..." Powerful. The vocals throughout most of the album almost seem like just a processed accent to the sound, rather than a focal point. But the music here is so good, it probably doesn't want to share center stage with a vocal line. There's a few exceptions, like the rapcore strains of "Straight Up/Down," the screaming "Friends in the Skies," or the techno (yeah, that's right!) "Frank's Enemy Metro," but this description pretty much fits for 15 straight songs.

    Other coverage for this album

    Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by sesspoolAhh... our good crust core buddies are up to it one last time. This cd starts off with some pretty decent ska actually... at about 30 sec into that, it breaks into some intense and indefinable death metal just like always. One thing that I noticed about this album, was the increased lack of definition in both vocal and instrument categories moving from Neoblasphemies, the guys of Frank's Enemy…Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by MuchWelcome! with a catchy, brief ska intro (as much as I hate ska, I kinda dig this). Right when you start to get all jolly, the intro is totally PULVERIZED by "Codebasher", which displays some of the sickest grindcore known to humanity. Without a gap between tracks the ska is just destroyed in a nanosecond ( fully hilarious!) I stand firm to say this LP is the best from the band. Again we have…Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by FetusThis cd, in my opinion, does nothing but pick up where Neoblasphemies left off. I could tell no distinct differences or changes in style. The only change that caught my attention was that instead of alternating from punk to grind, they kinda split this cd up half and half. Anyone who has Neoblasphemies knows what I'm talking about there. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for more metal to…Dead Zine 1998Reviewed by D_ListerI left my review for last, because if anyone out there knows anything about me they know I really love Frank's Enemy. I guess the best thing for me to say straight up here is that if you like Neoblasphemies, you will like Illumination. If you don't like Neoblasphemies, you will probably hate Illumination. The opening of this CD was probably my absolute favorite part of the entire CD. Starting off…

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    More from Frank's Enemy

    1992Final Absolution1994Frank's Enemy1996Neoblasphemies1992Atrocities

    Also in HM Magazine #77

    1998All Star UnitedInternational Anthems for the Human Race1998CornerstoneJesus Rides Harley Too1999Various ArtistsMoms Like Us Too1999UnveiledYouth Music1998AntestorThe Return of the Black Death1973Various ArtistsGodspell