The British metalcore band, Enter Shikari, led by the talented singer Rou Reynolds, released their 8th studio album “Lose Your Self” on 10 April and it is certainly a special one. No promo, no singles: just the album.
Frontman Rou: “We’re delighted to present LOSE YOUR SELF, and give people the chance to hear a Shikari record like never before – as a cohesive whole.
We want people to go on a proper journey with this album and see where it takes them.
No lead-up, no singles, and no explanation. Forcing the listener to actually listen, without being drip-fed ideas out of context, or spoon-fed explanations.
We simply present it all, for the listener to immerse themself in.”
This cohesion is something you can definitely feel throughout the whole album. While it starts with some “Enter Shikariesque” tracks, it develops to so much more and Enter Shikari once again is able to reinvent themselves entirely anew. It goes from an almost bluesish sound in “It’s OK” to heavier songs like “I can’t keep my hands clean” that remind me of their older albums.
Losee Your Self is such a good mix of modern and older Enter Shikari colliding, creating a brand new look. It has a new freshness to it which I missed a lot in recent metalcore records. For me, this album does a great job of combining electronic elements with breakdowns and more metal sounds. A great example of this is the song “The Flick of the Switch I.”, one of my personal favourites of this record.
Enter Shikari always was political and so is this album. It’s probably one of the most political and darkest albums Enter Shikari has ever written. It expresses complete despair at the state of the world. The lyrics portray how you feel when you are at the brink of losing hope.
While the melodies sound happy and to some might even seem full of hope, the lyrics say something else. Despite that, the hope isn’t completely lost. Spread throughout the tracks you can find some glimpses of hope, especially the end of the album. In the closer “Spaceship Earth (III. Maestoso)” he promises “A change is gonna come, my love” over and over again.
The album sits heavy on you after listening to it and paying attention to the lyrics. It’s dark and depressing because it feels so personal and close to the heart. It shows how I feel and a lot of other people currently feel about our situation: in despair and almost hopeless. You go through this journey of emotions and feel how Rou felt when he wrote this album and the more you think about it, the closer it gets to your heart.
“Lose Your Self” is a brilliant piece of art, mixing a cohesive story that a lot of people can relate to, with a fresh new sound, catchy melodies and a uniqueness I’ve been missing in this genre.
Alongside this intimate album, Enter Shikari announced a run of intimate album release shows around the UK. You can see them this month in:
The Cavern, Liverpool – 23rd April
The Fighting Cocks, Kingston – 24th April
Signature Brew, London – 25th April
If you can’t catch them now, Enter Shikari will be on a big arena headline tour in November 2026 in the following cities:
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – 13th November
Utilita Arena, Cardiff – 14th November
Connexin Live, Hull – 15th November
Hydro, Glasgow – 18th November
Coop Live, Manchester – 19th November
Alexandra Palace, London – 20th November
Alexandra Palace, London – 21th November
Photography by Emma Gibbon, taken at Leeds First Direct Arena for Leeds Living on 9 February 2024.
