23rd November 2025

Review: “In The Shadows Of Unrest” by Enemynside

Rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of Scapegoat in 1999, 2025 marks the twenty fifth anniversary of a demo EP titled “From The Cradle To The Way” by Italian Thrash n’ Heavy quintet Enemynside. What better way to celebrate that than with a new record? Two and half decades of destruction does not pass without casualties and there are of course just two members of the original band in the current incarnation in guitarist Matteo Bellezza and vocalist Fran Cremisini. They were joined in 2017 by a new rhythm section in drummer Fabio Migliori and bassist Andrea Pistone with “In The Shadows Of Unrest” marking the debut of second guitarist Andrea Mataloni.

If its a metaphor for return of the world to the Cold War era that came to an end in 1991 or something more concerning “In The Shadows Of Unrest” serves as both an opening cut and title track. A ripper of a tune during which the band combine Thrash rhythms, lightening lead licks and dueling guitar harmonies, its not a tale of dread but a call for unity with all the style and grace that the veterans have in their collective lockers. Moving into Groove Thrash territory “Concrete Jungle” takes a leaf out of the Pantera book with some Dimebag Darrell inspired moments and a scorching solo to burn the house down. The beauty of these tracks is that while they have all the production qualities of the present day, they’re utterly timeless and if you’d offered a friend this record at the start of the bands career, they’d have been none the wiser. That’s not to say that the band haven’t evolved as musicians because they have and their musicianship is impeccable throughout but just to say this isn’t a sound defined by any particular era. Continuing the Groove Thrash narrative “Carnal Betrayal” has an earworm main riff as well as plenty of bark and bite from Cremisini, the soloing nothing short of intensely sublime with shades of the kind of work that Trivium offer. The staccato riff breaks on this one slap, the fretboards left smoldering in the calloused hands of Bellezza and Mataloni. A spoken word accompanied by a little melancholic guitar “Desolation” rounds of the collection leaving us wanting more and that bodes well for the future of these legends [8/10]

Track Listing