Cincinnati-Based Hard Rock Band ENMY Drops New Banger “Silver Bullet”

ENMY, a heavy modern rock band out of Cincinnati, released a new single, “Silver Bullet”, recently. As soon as I heard the beginning of this song I knew it was going to be one that resonated with me, and it definitely lived up to that potential.  This is the first of several new songs coming up for this awesome band, and I’m really looking forward to continuing to get to know ENMY’s music more and more.

Formed in 2019, the lineup of ENMY has not changed since the beginning. It includes: Brady Reis (vocals); Michael Quinn (guitar); Kevin Vincent (drums); and Trevor Johnson (bass).  After releasing music in 2019, the band pretty much “started over” after the pandemic so they could take their music in a different direction. The first release in this new era of ENMY was “Demon Eyes” in September 2020.

ENMY collaborated on the initial instrumental writing and demoing of “Silver Bullet” with Jake Adkins of the band Wake Up Hate. They took the song to producer Jon Eberhard (I Prevail, Until I Wake), and proceeded to construct a revised demo that sounded closer to the finished product.  The lyrics were written by Brady Reis, and later edited with Michael Quinn and engineer Nick Matzkows (Attack Attack, Wake Up Hate).

Michael Quinn was kind enough to answer some questions for me about the writing process for ENMY, and specifically “Silver Bullet”.  He told me “Silver Bullet” is part of a larger work of art, which is a full album to be released in the future.  The band has been working on further developing their sound style from their previous work – adding more industrial and electronic sounds and elements.  Michael says he’s a big fan of “creepy” or “sad” sounding melodies, similar to Avenged Sevenfold or Alice In Chains.  He’s also recently gotten into video game soundtracks and artists like Mick Gordon who have introduced him to a whole new style of guitar and melody writing.

“Silver Bullet” opens with a build up to a heavy guitar riff that leads to the first verse, which is haunting and incorporates those electronic elements Michael mentioned.  The chorus is powerful, with the amazing and unique voice of Brady Reis. There is an intricate guitar solo in the bridge of the song.  Following the final chorus, the song changes pace, featuring the bass and drums in harmony with new lyrics sung by Brady that bring closure to the track.  I really love this song from start to finish. The different tempos keep me intrigued, and the outro actually might be my favorite part of the track.

Regarding bringing lyrics and melodies together, Michael shares that Brady Reis focuses on giving each song its own story and theme, and making that theme mesh with the instrumental sound of the song so the overall energy is cohesive.  Trevor Johnson and Kevin Vincent strive to find new ways to be creative with song structure and grooves.  Overall, Michael says the band is finding ways to do “more with less”, and let the songs just come to them – not forcing things.

When it comes to lyrics, Michael says the band always tries to keep their songs open to interpretation, so each listener can draw their own conclusion about a song’s meaning that they relate to the most. When I listen to “Silver Bullet”, it makes me think of someone who is battling inner demons and uncertainty in a relationship, and it’s turning them into a monster.  The realization that this change is happening is reflected in the chorus lyrics:
“I come alive in the night
Feel it through the moonlight
I’m changing, cannot escape it
I cannot let my guard down 
I will eat your heart out
Cock back and pull it
You are my silver bullet”

Michael said I’m pretty close.  They tied in the “Werewolf” theme to give it a creepy element.  At the end of the song, the subject has to accept that they have succumbed to the change they sensed was coming:
“It lives in the shadows, it stalks me like prey
The burden that won’t go away
I wait in the gallows m      ow I can’t escape
I’ve become the monster
The monster you’ve made me”

The lyric video is absolutely perfect for this song.  It incorporates colors of red and black, and the “creepiness” of the werewolf theme.  It reminds me of an old-fashioned horror movie. The design and animation for the video were done by Frank MacNeil.

Currently, the band members of ENMY are heavily into writing and developing new music. They have four or five songs completely done, and will continue releasing singles.  Eventually those songs will be combined into an album with other, unreleased tracks.  The band is planning on doing shows this summer, focusing on the Midwest. You can find ENMY on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the band’s website.