I had originally planned to write about Annisokay late last year when I first heard their cover of “Wrecking Ball” and was treated to my 7-year old doing his first mosh in our living room. For whatever reason, that glowing review didn’t make it to post but luckily, Annisokay is back with a new album that has nothing to do with Miley Cyrus and I have another reason to spread the word (Seriously, the “Wrecking Ball” cover was sick! Check it yourself here).

But I digress.

Enigmatic Smile is the latest from Germany’s Annisokay and it’s a hefty piece of metal in the vein of Bring Me The Horizon with a far wider range. Kicking off with “Carry Me Away”, the quintet immediately go for the jugular with a “new school” metalcore approach meaning “more mature” in this case. From start to finish, Enigmatic Smile is sheer technical ecstasy to music fans ears. Whether it’s the clean singing of guitarist Christoph Wieczorek or Dave Grunewald’s aggressive bellows, Annisokay present enough of a diversity in each song to keep every kind of heavy music fan interested until the end.

“Naked City” shows off drummer Daniel Hermann as he lays down some beats that would make Tomas Haake jealous while the  moody “Snowblind” offers a bit of a change until “Panic Attack” lays waste with its’ ferocity, bringing Killswitch Engage to mind at times. If you need a new metalcore anthem then look no further than “Wolves In The Wall” which is equally beautiful (Check out Wieczorek’s heartfelt closing), brilliant, and of course, brutal. “Traveler” is another one that stands out as it mixes synthetic sounds with an intense riff barrage courtesy of Philipp Kretzschmar and Wieczorek.

Switching gears yet again, “Life Cycles” is this gorgeous almost-ballad that transcends the “metalcore” and “heavy metal” tags while “New Autumn Light” brings those glorious melodies crashing back to reality with a song that’s a true headbangers delight.

Enigmatic Smile is out now through Long Branch Records/SPV and available for purchase here and here.