'' Eternal Enemies ''is the sixth studio album from

Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled ''The Compl ...

, released on April 15, 2014. It is the final album to feature drummer

Mark Castillo Mark Edward Castillo, (born October 10, 1980) is an American musician. He is a former drummer of the deathcore band Emmure, a former drummer of the hard rock band Crossfade, a former drummer of the progressive metal band Between the Buried and ...

after his departure less than 3 months after the album's release. It is also the final album to feature Jesse Ketive, Mark Davis, and Mike Mulholland after their departure on December 22, 2015.

Background

When the track listing for the album was released on February 18, 2014, the name of the first track, "Bring a Gun to School", sparked

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

. This resulted in their former guitarist Ben Lionetti making a statement with respect to his former ensemble and commenting on the track, calling lead vocalist Frankie Palmeri a "disgusting human being". He reportedly considered filing

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

against Emmure, their record label and their management to retrieve the money that is due to him and his brother Joe, a former drummer of the band. The song title has been changed to simply "(Untitled)" in the

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store.

Critical reception

At ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'', Phil Freeman rated the album four stars out of five, remarking how the release is "Emmure's latest slab of relentless, skull-battering

deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with met ...

" and it "finds them in top form." Elsewhere, the album was heavily panned. At

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, Davey Boy remarked how the album was "so unsubtle and earnest" in its "targeting of rage-filled teenage males, through aggressive, hateful and

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

words." Tomas Doyle of Thrash Hits called lead vocalist Frankie Palmeri a "very angry man", and unfavorably compared the album's controversial intentions to the brilliance of controversial artists like

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

and

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

. He went further as to say the album was "so fatally lacking in musical spark."

Track listing

(*) = Title was later changed to "(Untitled)" on the album’s retail release.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 57 on the ''Billboard'' 200 (No. 55 in the Top Current Albums), and at No. 4 in the Top Hard Rock Albums chart with 6,475 copies sold in its debut week in the U.S.

Personnel

;Emmure *

- drums * Mark Davis - bass guitar * Jesse Ketive - lead guitar * Michael Mulholland - rhythm guitar * Frankie Palmeri - vocals ;Production *Mixed &

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

Joey Sturgis Joey Sturgis (born January 3, 1985) is an American record producer and owner of The Foundation Recording Studio in Connersville, Indiana. Sturgis started recording in 2004 including producing the Asking Alexandria single "The Final Episode" whic ...

@ The Foundation Recording Studios, Connersville, Indiana *Vocals recorded by Nick Scott & Allan Hessler @ Metro 37 Studios *Guitar & bass recorded by Nick Scott *Drums recorded by Joseph Hall *Publicity by Rachel Rosenberg *Booking by Amanda Fiore (The Pantheon Agency, US) & Marco Walzel (Avocado Booking, EU) *Art & layout by Randy Pfeil *Photo by Eric Richter & Dustin Smith

Charts

References

2014 albums Emmure albums Obscenity controversies in music Victory Records albums Albums produced by Joey Sturgis {{2010s-metalcore-album-stub