The band name is not unlike an illiterate person attempting to sound out the words he wants to spell. The thing of it is that thought is not terribly far off from the truth; you see, it takes its inspiration from the novel Feersum Enndjin from author Iain M. Banks. It is a science fiction story set in a future where ancients have left the Earth and those who remain are complacent and surrounded by technology they don't understand. One of the characters is written in phonetic English, leading to odd spellings such as the band's name. What influence this has on the music, I am not sure, but it is an interesting basis for the band name (I may need to check out that book).
Feersum Ennjin is poised to release their debut full length CD on November 22, 2011. They previously released an EP back in 2005. Most of the songs that appeared there seem to have been rerecorded for this new album. This is a new release date as the self-titled release was pushed back so that another song could be added. The song is called "The Fourth" and, unfortunately, it is not included on this pre-release version I have. It is a notable addition as it features the reunion of former Tool bassist, Paul D'mour (Who left following the 1995 album Ænema), and Tool drummer Danny Carrey. It is the first time they have performed together since D'mour's amicable departure.
Despite not having that tune to check out, I have to say that Feersum Ennjin's album is a pretty solid dose of synth flavored rock. Before I even realized that D'mour was a former Tool member, I was thinking that this had a bit of a Tool feel to it. It is not like this is just Tool under a different name; it just has that feel to it, as if Tool took a more straight forward approach to the music. In some ways I like this more than Tool. I do love Undertow and parts of most of their other albums, but a lot of their output felt self indulgent and boring. I also recognize I am likely in the minority that believe that, so be it. They have a lot of talent; it just may not be for me.
Article comments
1 - Warstub
Please don't tell me that the album is going to have the same songs on it as the EP! Hope not...
Porcupine Tree are a great band to check out, but they are English, and on occasion that whole Pink Floyd/Beatles melody thing shines through (which i like in those bands, not so much in other bands). Most of the work PT did before Fear of a Blank Planet is really great, but i do find that each album contains about 2-3 songs only that I go back to and listen to.
Danny Carey also played on two tracks on Free Mars by Lusk (1997), an album Paul did with Chris Pitman, Brad Laner and Greg Edwards. Not many people know about this alternative pop-rock synth album. It's pretty cool.
2 - Warstub
Tool are my #1 fav band, but I know what you mean by 'self-indulgent' - the very fact that they spend so long between albums makes them unnecessarily indulgent. If they pushed themselves a bit harder, they might have had two extra albums out, which would have been two extra albums of great music, instead we have 10,000 Days with forays away from actual songs.
Paul was a part of what made Undertow and Opiate sound the way it did. In many ways he brought the hardcore feel to the band, which is evident with the Feersum Ennjin song 'Dragon'. Without Paul, Tool were able to pursue their prog-rock leanings without anything holding them back - sometimes for the better. To their credit, they still know how to put together brilliant music - 'The Pot' is one of their very best songs and I have always been impressed by the technical crafting that they do.
Paul's music does seem to be a bit more straight forward, and for a hard rock enthusiast like me, that is something that is always going to connect with me.
'Fishing Grounds' and 'Safeways' have actually been around for a few years now, the former the weaker of the two tracks (in my opinion), but 'Safeways' has a great minimalist approach that, in some ways, reminds me of what Tool have forgotten - simplicity rocks, and it rocks hard!