ENFORCER
Live By FireII
Swedish heavy metal traditionalists go big south of the US border
NUCLEAR BLAST
Having released just one studio album since the first Live By Fire, you’d think there can’t have been too much progression since for Enforcer, but the stylistic difference is night and day. Where the first edition played up the Swedes’ speed metal inclinations, II flashes forward to the point where heavy metal was conquering stadiums. The furious Mesmerized By Fire and Run For Your Life deliver Exciter/ early-Megadeth flashy guitarwork to please the speed freaks, while mass crowd-vocals on From Beyond and Destroyer bring Scorpions-style enormodome magic. Across its 75-minute run-time you’ll find heavy metal in all its glories and excesses on Live By Fire II, right down to the ‘probably should have skipped it’ drum solo.