The first time I saw Enabler was in July 2012 at the Brooklyn metal club the Acheron. The Milwaukee band were the opening act on a (ridiculous) bill that also included Burning Love, the Secret, Martyrdod, and Black Breath, and the tour on which all five bands had embarked served as sort of a traveling showcase for their collective label at the time, Southern Lord Records, the indie run by Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson. Over the last five or so years, Southern Lord have specialized in a pretty specific sound: buzzy, violent, metallic, blackened crust punk (e.g., Nails, Wolfbrigade, Craft, All Pigs Must Die, plus all the aforementioned bands and lots of others), and in 2012, Enabler were a very good if somewhat generic Southern Lord band. But after the release of their 2012 debut LP, All Hail The Void, Enabler cut ties with Southern Lord — around the same time they parted ways with drummer Andy Hurley (who had to quit because his old band, um, Fall Out Boy, were reuniting). And Enabler have spent the last two years touring hard and honing their sound — check their two excellent 2013 EPs, Shift Of Redemption and Flies, to witness the strides they made. Or even better, listen to their soon-to-be-released sophomore LP, La Fin Absolue Du Monde (translated from French: “the absolute end of the world”), which is their most textured, assured, and satisfying release to date. The songs found on La Fin have the fury and leanness of tough-guy hardcore and the stomp of d-beat, but the dextrous guitars and anthemic hooks of ’80s thrash. It’s jolting, physical music, but there’s a compelling emotional core that reveals itself in the melodies and especially in the vocals (primarily delivered by guitarist/vocalist Jeffrey Lohrber, but aided here by bassist/vocalist Amanda Daniels), and once revealed, takes hold. It’s an impressive statement from a band that has found its voice, and with that voice, announced its arrival. You can stream the whole album here, now, and you definitely should. Also, Enabler are touring now, they’ll be at Maryland Deathfest this weekend, and on 5/28 will join the Eyehategod/Ringworm tour which will keep them on the road till the end of June. Check out all those tour dates below.

Enabler tour dates:

05/20 Bar Le Megog – Sherbrooke, QC
05/21 Jim’s Basement – Burlington, VT
05/22 Geno’s Rock Club – Portland, ME
05/23 Even Flow – Bay Shore, NY w/ Maruta
05/25 Baltimore Sound Stage – Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest
05/27 Longbranch Saloon – Knoxville, TN w/ Ringworm

With Eyehategod, Ringworm:

05/28 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
05/29 Drunk Horse – Fayetteville, NC
05/30 Chop Shop – Charlotte NC
05/31 611 – Frederick, MD
06/01 Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
06/02 Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, PA
06/03 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
06/04 American Legion Post 80 – Binghamton, NY
06/05 Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
06/06 Even Flow – Long Island, NY
06/07 Europa – Brooklyn, NY
06/08 Basement Transmissions – Erie, PA
06/09 Bug Jar – Rochester, NY
06/10 Loving Touch – Detroit, MI
06/11 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
06/12 Birdy’s – Indianapolis, IN
06/13 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL
06/14 Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI
06/15 Bottom End Bar – Appleton, WI
06/16 Triple Rock – Minneapolis, MN
06/17 Diamond Pub – Louisville, KY
06/18 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
06/19 Hi Tone – Memphis, TN
06/20 Southport – New Orleans, LA
06/21 Dollhouse – Savannah, GA
06/22 Orpheum – Tampa, FL
06/23 Looseys – Gainesville, FL
06/24 Zydeco – Birmingham, AL
06/25 The Handlebar – Pensacola, FL

La Fin Absolue Du Monde is out 5/27 via the Compound.