It wasn't enough that Enslaved regaled us with a number of great streaming performances and a killer new studio album, they had yet more material waiting in the wings during the pandemic and that has manifest on the short but sweet Caravans to the Outer Worlds EP. This is comprised of 18 minutes and four tracks, two of which are instrumental, but that's never a band thing in the hands of these capable Norsemen, and the two longer vocal tracks will more than compensate for any misgivings that might create. I do feel that the title track is really the centerpiece, a vicious and incendiary cut with some rapid riffing that is just covered in ambient atmosphere, drawn-out roars that drift into the difference, and an awesome contrast between some vocal harmonies, calm acoustics and heavy surges. This more or less fits the Utgard aesthetic, so like that album it can create nostalgia in turn for their mid-90s and 21st century material, but overall it feels like some of their most modern and ethereal music to date.
The instrumentals are quite cool, with some low-end, creeping organs and eerie chugs leading into a massive, crushing wall of slower doom/black metal for "Intermezzo I", and "Intermezzo II" seeming like some prog doom that erupts into a melodic death metal riff. I do think both cases would have been stronger as full-blown compositions with vocals, though, the riffs and atmosphere in these almost seem too good to waste on their current formats. Probably the most bizarre piece here is "Ruun II - The Epitaph", an acoustic 'sequel' song that has these lush walls of acoustic guitars, brooding chants, and then squishy sounding little bass or guitar sounds that add an unusual sense of tribal percussion to the proceedings. But it's the clean vocal that arrives right after the 4 minute mark that brings it all home, just great stuff. Caravans to the Outer Worlds would have been more impressive with the two instrumentals extended into proper tunes, for a total of maybe 30 minutes, but as it stands, its still strong writing from one of the best bands in the world, which shows no sign of endings its aural cross-genre adventures any time soon.
Verdict: Win [8/10]
http://enslaved.no/
Showing posts with label enslaved. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enslaved. Show all posts
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Enslaved - Caravans to the Outer Worlds EP (2021)
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Enslaved - Cinematic Tour 2020 (2021)
One complaint I can launch against the Cinematic Tour 2020 product is that it might be parceled out in separate audio and DVD release here rather than just the one that I've seen out there that includes EVERYTHING. Granted, the price isn't terribly off to buy them individually, and they're not expensive, but still it felt a little lame, some nickel and diming of the fans. That said, this is by far one of the most tremendous things to come from, and probably exclusively the product of the COVID-times, a fantastic band collecting a number of its streaming performances into a quality box set that should thrill fans of the bands various efforts. Even having watched most of these live as they were happening, this was a recording I was eager to get my mitts on. Their 2017 Roadburn Live was pretty damn good, but this goes beyond reasoning...
Four sets of vinyl or discs covering four distinct performances, each with video accompaniment, the audio quality equal about between them. You want to hear them perform Below the Lights in its entirety, one of their very best albums? Here it is, and it sounds quite damn good although some of the lineup is different than on the original recording, that's a caveat throughout the boxed set. But all of the instruments sounds excellent, airy and live and wonderful much like on the studio versions. For someone so new to the band, Iver is owning those drums, and to think he had to learn so much material to mesh in, AND he offers yet another weapon with his smooth, clean vocals. Now, I would say a few of the cleans throughout these can be a little unbalanced in volume, but its a minor issue since the actual sculpt and delivery of them is top notch. So these discs were a true treat, and I also really loved the full performance of Utgard...the album itself hadn't fully sunk in with me, but after watching them pull it off live it enhanced my appreciation and understanding of that material and now I love the thing.
The other two sets here, Chronicles of the Northbound and The Rise of Ymir, are not as focused performances, but rather thematic arrangements of tracks through their history, a mix of new and old, and they might even be BETTER than the single-album sets. Getting to hear "Ethica Odini" and the sprawling "793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)" in the same set is just ridiculous, and I'll say the old material in some cases sounds even better than it did back in the 90s. There are a few tunes that crossover into multiple sets ("Ethica Odini", "Havenless"), and that in no way hurts their individual placement or performance, but it would have been even more added value if all the songs were exclusive into just one of them. Regardless, the Cinematic Tour 2020 is an awesome, polished product and a good idea to create something positive out of the nightmare of these last few years. If you have to choose between the two, I'd go for the video because it's a little more epic to experience in that contest, but if you don't use DVDs, or just want something for your car or daily jog, the audio definitely holds up on its own.
Verdict: Win [8.75/10]
http://enslaved.no/
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Enslaved - Utgard (2020)
When I heard the first few singles for this latest Enslaved album, "Homebound" and "Jettegryta", I was suitably impressed, and thought immediately that drummer Iver Sandøy was a cool addition to the roster, bringing them yet another avenue for the soaring clean vocals they like to measure off against Grutle's snarling, or the other cleans contributed by both Vinje and Kjellson. But it wasn't until I watched them perform the new album in its entirety on one of their COVID-19 quarantine live-streams, that the hooks really started to sink into me; that I started to feel that hypnotic draw which their signature blend of progressive elements and Viking black metal has long manifest since the turn of the century when their style truly began to expand. This is truly one of the best of the business, an outfit which can seamlessly integrate disparate ideas, never truly compromise, and continue to garner the respect of both their audience and metal media.
That's not to say that Utgard is some crowning milestone of their career, because at its heart it's not one of their more interesting in terms of its quantities of nuance or creativity. To be clear, there are things here that you might not have exactly heard before, like some of the approach to proggy jamming, a few of the vocal configurations with these three throats, or some of the more exotic lead guitar passages, but you're still hearing a lot of the familiar aesthetics that defined their last 7-8 albums, like the spacious Pink Floyd sections, or the wintry black metal surges dominant on discs like Isa and Ruun. Utgard is very smoothly mixed and mastered, and surprisingly, while it doesn't lack for the complexity or inaccessibility of its compositional structure, it's somewhat more accessible on its surface level than other recent efforts like In Times or E. I don't think it's far-fetched to say that Utgard is playing it safe to some degree, but even an Enslaved sticking to its last decades' worth of sounds has a massive sandbox of riffs and combinations to play around, and tracks like the rollicking prog metal bite of "Sequence", with the ambiance of the other instruments layered over the verses; or the synthy Hawkwind-esque space rock of "Urjotun" are welcome and refreshing additions to the Norwegians' canon.
Performances across the album are spotless, and as usual its a technical feast of rhythmic variety, all manner of psychedelic rock integrations, but still fully aware of the band's own roots...and you can hear plenty of faster Frost-like executions as well as a number of thundering riffs that hearken straight back to the Viking black metal source of Bathory's Blood, Fire, Death. Certainly I heard individual riffs on this one which almost played out like a catalogue of references to their other albums..."Flight of Thought and Memory" might have belonged on Vertebrae, while "Homebound" channels a little RIITIIR or Axioma Ethica Odini. It might not be as stunning or revelatory as the first time you heard them delving into these styles, but the fact remains that eight of the nine tracks on this are extremely well crafted, the one exception being the 2-minute interlude 'title track" which is merely warped, windy psychedelic ambient noise with some throbbing bass, electronics and sexy spoken word. The lyrics are great, the cover art has a proggy sort of symmetry to it plus Hugin and Munin, and I've probably already given this a good half dozen listens during the month of October when I'm usually putting all my listening priority on horror metal stuff...what does that tell you?
Enslaved still rules. I'm not surprised, you're not surprised, and Utgard isn't surprising, but in hands as capable as these that becomes the diametric opposite of a flaw.
Verdict: Win [8.75/10]
Friday, December 15, 2017
Enslaved - E (2017)
Inevitably, the CD called out to me once more, its simple, scratchy cover runes confidently requesting that I take another chance, since I was being so stubborn the first couple runs. I failed whatever Saving Throw it is that I fail so often when experiencing the creations of these Norwegians, and then found myself listening to it again. And again. And six more times after that...
Gods. Damn. It. I was hooked by another Enslaved record.
E is not an effort that will surprise any of the band's following over these last 17 years since the band took a significant leap in nuance and originality with Mardraum: Beyond the Within. Many of their hallmarks remain: a hybrid of triumphant melodic black metal, progressive and psychedelic rock elements, bright tints of post-metal or 'blackgaze', gnarled and clean vocals. They've gotten so well trained on this blend that these traits are distributed quite evenly among the tracks, all spun up into a heavily varied rhythmic stew which, while not offering any specific nuances that you'd feel stand out from the rest of their 21st century discography, still seem like they have a lot of stones unturned, so the precise melodies, percussion patterns, atmospherics and vocal patterns here remain fresh and memorable, hardly doppelgangers of what they've already produced over the last 4-5 albums. Add to that what is, alongside In Times, some of their cleanest production yet, and you've got another effort which transcends the boundaries of their initial genre, with seamless integration of its musical ideas into not only one another, but also the philosophical application of folklore and ethnic Scandinavian religion which they use to manifest timeless, interesting lyrics and imagery.
You'll hear a few straightforward, driving pieces here redolent of an Isa or Ruun, where they were first adopting this brighter, accessible brand of modern Viking, but despite the consonant, shining and warm vibes carried through a lot of the soaring backup vocals or the glint of upper range guitars, they also maintain a subtle air of dissonance that keeps the listener just on the edge of lapsing into a truly safe space. "Axis of the Worlds", a personal favorite here, just rocks itself out with a mesmerizing and evil rhythm guitar slathered and harmonized by wonky, wailing, eerie leads. "Hiindsiight" spits out horns into a comfortable, numbing flow of prog that it feels almost Rush-like, but riding on the fjord-waters out to sea with a shifting sun bearing down on the guitars from over the horizon. What truly surprised me, though, is the band's cover of "What Else is There?" from the 2005 album The Understanding by electronic countrymen Röyksopp. They manage to transform the original into this organic wall of chords, clean and growled vocals which is entirely their own, paying tribute to a cool band and song while not interrupting the natural progression of originals that led up to it, just a really great closer that I would never have expected going into this...
There are euphoric moments on this record where it lives up the drug that shares its namesake, and then heavier passages which remind us that they haven't, for one fucking second, forgotten where it is that they came from, and it's this 'eternal cool' factor, an eternal relevance, which is one of the most attractive aspects of their existence. Enslaved is one band that I know I can trust, that I can always take seriously, that doesn't ever seem to put out a record for the sake of it, and yet has enough professionalism to keep the content flowing along at a normal pace. There are those that will forever denounce anything this band has written since Frost as high brow intellectual pap for neckbeards and progsnobs, and their opinion is very unlikely to change with this 14th full-length, but yet again I've got an album here that I feel I can share with those who lounge on the periphery, or outside the den of extremity, an easy recommendation for anyone that just likes good music, that you can either chill out to or rage alongside in equal measures. And I predict it won't be the last. Thank the nine realms for plans that backfire.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (the mind-knot will hold)
http://enslaved.no/
Monday, November 6, 2017
Enslaved - Roadburn Live (2017)
By the time "Building With Fire" had reached its climax, I realized that this was probably one of the best live efforts I'd heard. Granted, it comes with some restrictions...a roughly hour-long set list from a band who could fill a dozen such performances with killer material and not exhaust the highlights of their discography. Enslaved had to be picky and choosy here, and they focus heavily on material that was newer to the 2015 era when this was recorded. So you've got three tracks from In Times, one each from RIITIIR, Isa, Below the Lights and Monumension. Not a problem for me, since this is one of my favorite bands on Earth, and I happen to be more partial to the now-predominant, proggy era of their career, but if you're grognardin' for some Hordanes Land, Vikingligr veldi or Frost then you're not going to be terribly satisfied with this. Which would be a shame, because Roadburn Live sounds fantastic, everything from its atmospheric guitars, organs, drums, and bass grooves resonating at excellent levels over the audience, slightly more raw than the studio recordings but still having all of the minutiae and nuances available across the instruments.
Occasionally the harsher growls get drowned off against the other sounds, but they're still readily audible, and the cleans even more distinct. The track selection is not void of heavier breaks, but the overall intention of the set choices here are to let the audience bask in the atmospheric swells and clarity of the riffing, and it does quite a grand job of that, allowing the sort of engagement and escapism you'd probably experience at pure prog gigs, just dowsed in some snarls and distortion. All the tracks form a seamless set, but I was quite surprised to hear that the finale was a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which plays it somewhat straight but adds on a lot more of the same fulfilling atmosphere as their own cuts, so it sounds nearly as much as an Enslaved tune as it does the original piece. Not as kickass, no of course not, but at the very least an interesting interpretation of a track that I think we've all heard plenty enough. I especially dug the bridge there, and it really rounds out a highly focused, smooth performance which is a great representation of where the Norwegians have been traveling lately and where they're headed.
Verdict: Win [8/10]
http://enslaved.no/
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Enslaved - In Times (2015)
If that description raises some red flags that the band has 'mellowed out', in any way, do forgive me, because that's not exactly what has taken place. More of a refinement. Cutting and piercing tremolo picked black metal passages still abound, particularly in the opening bursts of "Thurisaz Dreaming", but there is an unbroken chain of melody, overt and implied, coursing through the record's most feral ideas, and not an unwelcome one, fusing together motifs from both their earliest recordings like Frost and their more recent masterworks Below the Lights and Vertebrae, into a reflective, consistent air of melancholy that creates one of their most consistent experiences to date. The jazzier progressions of chords they began tooling with in that era are now seamlessly integrated into the biting winds, now distributed fairly evenly across both the faster and slower moments, nothing more than the natural lexicon from which they twist out each phrase and passage. Structurally, where numerous tempos and aesthetics are still present in the writing, In Times doesn't possess quite that titanic level of tectonic variation that records like Axioma Ethica Odini and RIITIIR thrived off. Individual pieces on those discs still serve as solitary epics in my listening habits, which is no mean feat in of itself, but from bow to stern, I felt that this was more fully coherent.
Grutle Kjellson's harsh intonations and Herbrand Larsen's cleans continue to present a dichotomy within the material that, as the band becomes even better versed and fluid in production standards, seems to become an even sorer thumb for some listeners. I think the reason is that the latter's singing voice has grown so much over the last decade that the rasps, by comparison, seem a little too crude, monotonous and jarring in comparison. Not a point of contention for me, since I'm just so accustomed to how this works, but when the guy sings in 2015, its the perfect marriage of humility and contemplation, melody carried through honesty, a pair of vocalists well aware of their limitations and working their best within the bounds. The mid-ranged, soothing and airy harmonies placed throughout this record, as in the bridge of "Thurisaz Dreaming" or the depths of "One Thousand Years of Rain" are so effective that counterbalancing them with the harsher tones does often come off a bit like trolling a good thing, but won't come as any surprise to those who have been following them for the last 20 years. Enslaved is just not a band I expect to fully depart from what made it in the first place, no matter how deep they dig into unfamiliar musical terrain.
Of course, as far as they've come, in both the vocals and the smooth, interesting bass lines that always lend appropriate mood and gravity to the more complex guitars, it is those rhythm guitars themselves which prove the most captivating component. Lush floes of chords collide with some nastier, progressive blackened thrash licks, but at the same time interspersed with these immediate, evil sounding melodies that Ivar and Arve will unexpectedly break out, as in the later half of the "Nauthir Bleeding" bridge, which instantly refresh the attention span when one catches him or herself off dreaming to the chord patterns they generally affix to Cato's blasting and double bass patterns. There is just not a song here which lacks some hypnotic ascendancy beyond its surface value, whether that's the sparser, swaying punctuation of bass line to the punctuated guitars in the vocal harmonies of "In Times" itself, or the Darkthrone-like black tremolo picked groove in "Building With Fire", at which point you can just mentally picture Nocturno Culto's voice barking out, before the coitus interruptus of shining keys and cleaner guitars. The lyrics are triumphant, poetic and uplifting without swimming too far into the shallower waters.
There must be some sort of statute Enslaved has broken, having produced so much quality music by this time. But for the sake of my ears, I hope they continue to dodge the law of averages and career nadirs, and to just be themselves. They've a sound I can instantly distinguish from the hordes of other neo-black metal veterans still breathing, even though it overlaps with a lot of their Nordic neighbors who have simultaneously continued to mutate and renew from their own points of origin. The ideas and musical ability really speaks for itself, this is not a band thriving off some controversial legacy or outspoken contemporary press-whoring, but a group of consummate musicians who did everything THE RIGHT WAY. In Times might not prove to be their crowning achievement, it might not bring as much nuance to the table as a few of their other recordings, but it certainly holds office at court, and even a half dozen listens in, the more I experience this record, the more I am absorbed. The older I get, the rarer that has become, so color me proud to be aging alongside this amazing, intrinsic band.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (there is no end)
http://www.enslaved.no/
Friday, November 30, 2012
Enslaved - RIITIIR (2012)
And then a funny thing happened: I listened to it more, and more, not for the sheer magnetism of the music, but because I kept second guessing myself over the lack of lasting impact RIITIIR has had upon me. For all intensive purposes, Enslaved is a band which thrives on this plateau of adventurous genre-blending in which memorable licks and melodies are intertwined with the blackened, Mythic bombardment of their roots. The records they write tend to hit me not only with a strong, instant attraction but then by pouring on layers of depth, nuance and meaning that I find engaging and, frankly, eternal. RIITIIR champions all the strengths of its predecessor Axioma Ethica Odini, and has no gaping flaws of note through the substantial 67 minutes of content. There are hundreds of techniques happening through its length. Stark, wintry grooves. Atmospheric, hostile barrages of tremolo picked notes and uproarious Grutle growls. Proggy, spatial electronics and soft, shining organs serving as backdrops for the meatier riffs. No shortage of thought was placed into any given measure. No two tracks feel quite the same, even if the album has a more internal consistency than many in their lexicon. To deny the fulfillment factor of RIITIIR as a work of art would seem dishonest, and yet there is some nigh invisible barrier which prevents me from lavishing it with the utmost praise...
Perhaps it stems from the fact that this album, for all its range, does tend to play it rather safe when one examines the content of their last decade of work (beginning with Below the Lights). The clean vocals are even more unwrinkled and prevalent than the earliest attempts to incorporate them, and a lot of the plodding, slow to mid-paced guitars feel in places banal. There are a number of jazzy, warm floes of chords infused into the black metal sequences which hearken back to the divisive Vertebrae, but I found RIITIIR to lack that same balance of cloudy escapism and unwashed grittiness. The music here isn't exactly settling any new territory, but it's merely refining the rough stone cairn that its forebears once built to mark their passage. Not to say that such an effort is incapable of achieving perfection with the proper songwriting, but Enslaved have consigned this material to the mere realm of 'greatness', one that they have so often transcended. To that end, I would have to state that RIITIIR is a disappointment, in only the mildest sort where I'll fully immerse myself throughout the experience as its happening, but rarely crave it elsewhere.
On technical parameters, the band excels through the eight tracks. Rarely are groups so cohesive on a level of both creativity and competence, and there's really no shining star among the quintet. Herbrand Larsen and the inestimable Ivar let the synthesized elements speak for themselves when needed (generally in brief intro passages), but otherwise the keys dote the landscape of the metal riffing as distant copses of woodland on a grassland hike. The riffing melodies, and in particular Arve's leads simply ooze class, favoring emotion over indulgence and brightness above darkness. Grutle's barks and grunts are quite well rounded here, by this time lacking all awkwardness they might have created in the late 90s/early 'oughts. Cato Bekkevold is yet again perfectly content with the rock foundation that best complements much of the music, but he's always filling in the gaps with intensified reminders that he's very much a metal drummer capable of opening up the field, which of course happens numerous times through pounders like "Roots of the Mountain" or "Thoughts Like Hammers". The bass lines are also pumping pistons where necessary, though the more spacious segues of airier guitars might have been better served by some more interesting note choices in the grooves.
One area in which RIITIIR largely excels is in the poignant, poetic resonance of its English lyrics. A few tunes like "Roots of the Mountain" have a pretty stripped, metaphysical composition, but others rarely fail to echo all manner of imagery through me. 'Static is the common language', 'motion is the mothertongue', I devour that shit, and in particular I'd point out "Thoughts Like Hammers", "Storm of Memories" and the title track itself as my favorites. As pretentious as it sounds, Enslaved remain a very literary, 'thinking person's' metal band, as if William Faulker performed some stoic transliteration of the Poetic Eddas into a novel. This isn't mosh fueled misogynist carnage or cheesy Viking hymnals gouging on imagery that was probably lifted off a Manowar album cover. The band translate their cultural roots into something meaningful that can be applied to a world or a life far removed from the ways of old, and to say this places them in rare company would be an understatement.
Let me be clear: I realize the tone of my reaction to this record paints it as somewhat of a letdown, but that's only because I (like an asshole) place such major personal expectations on a small handful bands (like this one) which would be impossible to fill out year after year ad infinitum. RIITIIR is still a praiseworthy album, and better than most other music you'll hear this year. It's well worth its weight in any currency you could name, and I recommend that all progressive black metal afficionados, or anyone into intelligent and well scripted aural explorations with rock instrumentation and an undercurrent of extremity pick this up. It's snug enough next to its older siblings, or the works of peers Arcturus, Borknagar, Ulver, Solefald and the like. Ultimately though, despite a solid case for greatness, Enslaved didn't quite hit their legendary stride here, instead stopping to dust off the fossils and footsteps of previous outings and display them in a new museum.
Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (all is broken for a reason)
http://www.enslaved.no/
Monday, December 19, 2011
Enslaved - Ruun (2006)
There's not a lot to separate this from Isa in terms of its production values and the writing style. Enslaved are still incorporating a lot of similar melodic textures as the last few albums, only hear they seem to ever so slightly age, and not necessarily like a fine wine. Definitely some of the same post-rock or post-punk appeal as you heard on the driving rhythms of Isa, with hints of jazzy warmth and a careful balance between consonant and dissonant note sequences. One thing I can say is that, on the whole, Ruun feels 'colder' and more emotionally distant than its direct predecessor. Not because the band are writing lyrics that are any more tortured or painful, but just in the way the songs are set up, and the choice of Grutle Kjellson to use a more open, grating snarl than Isa or Below the Lights, which doesn't feel as contrasted due to the wintrier feeling of the guitars. I should also mention, though, that the clean vocals here feel mildly less dweeby than they were won to do on Isa, but this comes at the price that they're often less catchy.
Certainly, the first three tracks are exciting here. "Entroper" opens with some layered strings and surges into a space rock riff somewhere beneath Hawkwind and the Foo Fighters. The song really picks up during its bridge sequence, where the choppy, punctuated guitars provide a foundation for the scintillating, background ambiance, rasps and the swerving, jazzy bass line. "Path to Vanir" has the best verse riffing of the album, at a mysterious and majestic pace which once again gives the impression that the band is reaching back into its colder myth-history. The chorus in that song is fucking immense, as Ivar and Ice start laying on the tremolo picking quite thick, while varied rasps and ominous growls stretch out over the canvas, vaguely concealing the organ tones. Probably the best singular moments on this album, but I also quite enjoyed the folksy calm half way through the song. "Fusion of Sense and Earth" is also a stormer, a faster paced tune with dissonant verse riffing not unlike Voivod in their prime, only more open.
After that, though, it becomes more difficult to pick out 'highlights' as songs and not just smaller segments of said songs. They attempt to create a curious, almost desert-like mystique with the guitars of the titular "Ruun", and focus in on cleaner picked melodies, but after about a minute the song never really throws anything interesting at the listener, not even when they start churning out the wall of sound they had become so adept with. "Api-Vat" has some nice, stringy muted note progressions, but never seems to hit a climax, while most of the music to "Essence" treks along predictably in support of the numbing, clean vocal harmonies. And while "Tides of Chaos" adds a great, majestic lurch to some of the proggier writing on the album, it too seems to lack that unforgettable 'money shot' that so many of the Isa tracks possessed. Even the doomy, melody-laden drive of the closer "Heir to the Cosmic Seed" fails to deliver on its early promise.
That said, all of these songs are still fairly pleasant to experience from time to time, and far be it for me to say that they're ever poorly written, or necessarily 'filler'. Ruun is durably consistent in tone and specialization, and the worst I can really say is that it's simply not their most fertile and resonant offering, easily forgiven when I take into consideration what they'd release next. I'd say that fans of Below the Lights or Isa would not be heavily disappointed with this. It often strays towards the former, other times to the latter, just not with the same incredible riffing payoff. In terms of lyrics and production, I can voice no complaints, and regardless of its status as a minor stagger, it's nowhere even near a fall.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (reach for them, see them turn away)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Enslaved - Isa (2004)
Isa is NOT the strongest, mind you, but it's a pretty irresistible aesthetic stride into a sunnier space than its predecessor. Once more, the band is making great use of thick, streaming textures in their guitars, but this time out the warmth is magnified. For some, this will undoubtedly seem a turn-off just like any non-predatory elements in metal, but the band has not at all abandoned their parent genre, even if they are clearly moving into a more accessible terrain here. There is also a liberal use of guest musicians on this album, some playing rather important roles. For instance, Are Mundal performs the synthesizer intros and outros, both haunting ambient pieces that prove compelling book-ends to the Enslaved material. Abbath (Immortal), Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone) and numerous others contribute guest vocals, so if you were listening through and wondering where Grutle came up with these new 'tricks', well...he didn't. But none of these 'features' in any way provides an obstacle to the consistently attractive music.
Favorites for me include "Isa" itself, which canters along with a swaggering black & roll groove that would not sound out of place on one of the more modern Satyricon albums, then explodes into this textured, warm chorus which is almost impossible to forget. Similarly, the dense and melodic breaks woven through "Violet Dawning" cling to the memory like tarred angel feathers. "Neogenesis" stands out for the crisp, speed/thrash threads that somewhat reminded me of the later 80s material from Canadians Voivod, and though it's about 12 minutes long, with a bit of obvious excess fat, there is for the most part a good reason to stick with it, especially to hear all the little Floyd-like blues leads. I also found myself enamored of "Return to Yggradsil", with its writhing, warlike roots, and instrumental "Secrets of the Flesh", which is deceptively simplistic and savage, but succeeds due to the harsher ambient sounds affixed to the pummeling chord patterns.
Not all the songs are equally amazing, and I occasionally felt a sluggish reaction to pieces like "Lunar Force" and "Bounded by Allegiance", but even these are still superior to most of what I was hearing on a week to week basis in new music, and the entire 51 minute experience here proves admittedly consistent, if not so utterly absorbing as Below the Lights. I really like that they've brought Larsen on, as his pads seem quite tasteful in extracting a lot of those 70s and 80s prog aesthetics that Enslaved strive for. Conversely, I felt like some of the dual clean folk vocals bordered on cheesiness. Where in the past, they've always been used sparsely and to a great, brooding effect, there are some points on Isa where they grow a little too 'campfire', if you know what I mean. In all, though, these are small complaints in the grand scheme of the album, and even though some might balk at the 'happiness' here, Isa is nonetheless another winner for this tireless wonder of a band. Maybe not the Grand Prize, but close.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (a time to burn, a time to build)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Enslaved - Below the Lights (2003)
This is pretty much a template for how to incorporate varied stylistic influence into a cohesive fusion and vision so seamlessly gelled that I simply cannot imagine it ever fragmented into its scattered roots. Progressive rock of the 70s and 80s, psychedelic overtones, historical and folk cognizance, 'wall of sound' or 'shoegazing' guitar passages, and lying deep at its heart, the same polished and potent black metal rasping and riffing the band introduced in the early 90s. It's not Enslaved's first dance with self-production and engineering, as they had been locked in the DIY mentality for several prior albums, but Below the Lights was clearly the very best the band had managed to its day. An earthen authenticity enriches the dynamic guitars, and much of the disc feels as if it could translate directly into the live setting. And yet, there is nothing 'pop' about it. Just a cloying sadness and darkness to the album worthy of those underground recordings that continue to thrill the core, devoted black metal audience.
The use of subtle orchestration and ambiance is but one of many weapons in play here, and a solemn synthesizer piece is used to inaugurate the opener, "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth". Immediately one can glean a sense for the warmer, jazzier textures being incorporated to the guitar chords, and the swerving complexity of the bass, and yet there are brazen tremolo lines and Grutle rasps so isolated and defiant that they could condense the clouds to darken the sky and induce a steady, cold precipitation. Cleaner vocals and guitars are threaded through the verses, while warbling whammy effects and sprinkles of sporadic lead melodies create an even denser palette of experience. But, as excellent as this piece is, it can't even begin to cover the myriad pleasures that await the listener throughout the album's duration...
I can only point out a few of the highlights, otherwise this would turn into a 10,000 propaganda polemic. "Queen of Night" wins enormous marks for its transition from eerie, Jethro Tull flutes and acoustics to leaden, winding prog-metal grooves, bottom feeding bass ruptures and then it even explodes into this frenetic speed/thrashing sequence around the 4 minute mark. "Ridicula Swarm" begins with another engrossing, layered synthesizer sequence that transforms into a slew of violent riffing redolent of the band's earlier albums, and back again. "The Crossing" opens with a tranquil sensibility, tiny organs in the distance beyond its acoustics; but then flattens you with a massive wall of resilient electric melodies over an almost tribal foundation, Dirge Rep yet again proving that he's more than just a blaster on his swan song (with this band).
In fact, I think this is the best single album that guy has ever performed on, and not just for his technical ability, but contribution to the lyrics and writing. He even joins the band's internal choir for the intro to "Havenless", which is as swaggering, manly and memorable as you're going to get from anything even tangentially related to the Viking/folk metal scene. The musicianship of all parties involved is never less than stunning, but not just for its technical merits, but the impact of each individual sound. Like the kick drum and bass guitar in "A Darker Place" which create an uncanny, pounding sensation, or the constant contrast of Grutle's grisly bark with the cleaner, more refined melodies that surround it. Or the seemingly random electronic tangents fused into various tracks, which once again reflect the band's proggish influences. It should also be noted that the new guitarist here, Ice Dale is perhaps the perfect match for Ivar's playing.
Overall, Below the Lights represents a balance of brilliant ideas and meticulous execution, which I would deem utterly flawless were it not for the final track ("A Darker Place") slightly lagging behind its forebears in eloquence and compulsion. And by slightly, I mean that it's still superior to most of the other tracks in the band's backlog, it just feels like it's marginally shier in ideas and distinction than those leading up to it. But otherwise, this is mandatory material, less jarringly developed than Mardraum and more thematically consistent than Monumension. It looks good, it sounds superb, and it even reads wonderfully! Simple, searing imagery rooted in folklore is well integrated to the emotional shifts in the music. Once more, Enslaved proves that growth need not come at the expense of credibility, and this record remains a hallmark for 'progressive black metal' or whatever sonic niche you deem to place it.
Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10] (in each step an abyss is built)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Enslaved - Monumension (2001)
So then, why the hostility if Enslaved should draw upon some influence from a legendary band whose star shone highest 20-30 years in the past? And not just legendary because they sat around with thumbs up their ass, but because they wrote important, thoughtful, original and conceptual music which tackled their own ids and the social construct at large. Monumension certainly channels the 60s and 70s into numerous dramatic pauses through its runtime, but any assertion that this music suffers due to some imaginary 'lack of metal' is downright false. A large chunk of this record is still quite heavy, and the remainder, in which Enslaved lets their collective imagination out to breathe, is almost without exception a captivating experience. I'm not claiming that Monumension is the band's masterwork, nor even one of the band's most coherent and consistent efforts, but it certainly should not be written off due to some delusional misrepresentation of its content. It's not as if Enslaved cornered the market on incorporating a Floyd-like dreamstate into metal music (listen to Tiamat's excellent 1997 effort A Deeper Kind of Slumber), but I think they've done quite well with such elements here.
Monumension is nowhere near so spastic and jarring as Mardraum, but once again we have a band here which has never had any real intention of aping itself too closely. I found that the mix of the album was pretty close, with a lot of grime attached to the heavier guitars, but there are some notable differences despite the consistent lineup. For one, Grutle's vocals have a more phlegm-choked sound during the rasped sequences, though they also integrate the death growls of the previous album ("Convoys to Nothingness"), and some psychedelic cleans as in "Hollow Inside". In addition, there's this wavering, creepy cleaner voice used almost like some decrepit narrative (again, "Hollow Inside"). The guitar lines feel far more focused than Mardraum, more intent on oppression than acrobatics, so the layered, slower tremolo picked lines in "Convoys..." or the Sabbath-born drudging doom of "The Cromlech Gate" and its excellent gutturals seem perfectly intense.
Judging from what I've already written, one can no doubt surmise that this is quite an eclectic piece of work, and in truth, it visits a great number of climes. No two songs here feel truly alike, yet as a whole it seems to flow effortlessly, not unlike The Sham Mirrors (Arcturus) or Sigh's wacked out Imaginary Sonicscape, both of which combine a wide breadth of sonic ingredients. Monumension ranges from dissonant psychedelic sludge ("Outro: Self-Zero") to old school black and death ("Enemy I", "Vision: Sphere of the Elements") to even a manly, percussive tribal gathering in their native tongue alongside Norse punk legend Trygve Mathiesen on the final track, "Sigmundskvadet". There are some straight blasted sequences in "Smirr" which should not alienate the band's black metal base, but I found that my favorite tracks here were those which traveled in broader strokes. In particular I love "The Voices", a pretty stolid blackened thrash piece with lots of wailing, ghostly melodies and an incredibly interesting, psychedelic death bridge.
Strangely enough, despite its staggering variation, Monumension never comes unglued at the seams. I don't enjoy every riff on the record ("The Sleep: Floating Diversity" is partially boring, for example), but regardless it was the most compelling Enslaved record to its day, second only to the mighty Frost, and well worth breaking out if you've got your copy around and never gave it the chance it deserved. Part of the sonic exploration here would be carried forth to the brilliant Below the Lights, but in general this was a one-time offering. The lyrics are further removed from the band's mythological foundations, but they are excellent nonetheless, and it's even got the first great cover art of their career (the others were too glaringly obvious or cheap). Really worth checking out, just approach it with open expectations, if not open arms.
Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (clearly existence is wrong)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Enslaved - Mardraum: Beyond the Within (2000)
Of course, this album probably arrived at the expense of a segment of their fan base, who mourn the passing of the band's more familiar, Viking/black albums in the mid 90s, but what can we really expect? Enslaved is an intelligent band which seeks stimulation in molding their sound into new patterns, and that's never going to change. They're not likely to write Vikingligr Veldi Parts II through VI, unless they become overburdened with nostalgia, so it's time to get used to the idea, or pack up and move back into the cave. Personally, I am rather happy to have been along for this ride. There have been few bumps in the road, but most of their modern records are nothing short of brilliant. What's startling is that Mardraum features the same personnel as Blodhemn, yet the production feels much more grisly and organic, the songwriting hectic to the point that it feels nearly improvisational in some spots. The proficiency of musicians like Dirge Rep and Ivar Bjornson is put to the test here, not in technicality, but in their ability to fluidly expand themselves.
Mardraum can be jarring, and can be a little difficult to follow along when not in the proper head space. Nonetheless, what I've always enjoyed so much about this is just sticking to a particular guitar line and engaging in the sonic adventure, like the turbulent, arching guitars that penetrate the heart of the broad opener "Større enn Tid - Tyngre enn Natt". This is a 10 minute stretch in which the band throw out all manner of contrasts, from the airy, clean guitar intro, to the more savage, chug-based riffing to the enormous, melodic mid-paced bridge. They've even got some sequences of noisy guitars where the beat drops out completely. In addition to Grutle's familiar rasp, the band incorporates death metal growls throughout this piece for variation, and the final result is a beautiful mess. More disjointed than anything else on the album, but quite intriguing despite itself.
Like it's predecessor, Blodhemn, I found myself attracted to some of the shorter pieces on the album, where a smaller handful of ideas were explored to great effect. Among these are the thrashing, intense volley of "Dandnigekvida (Deadhymn)" with its wild lead, or the warlike churn of the title instrumental "Mardraum (Nightmare)" which involves all manner of raunchy, almost funked out guitars and textured melodies and vocals. Other highlights include "Krigaren eg Ikkje Kjende (Warrior Unknown)" for the soaring bridge vocals, or the harrowing "Stjerneheimen (Starhome)" which features some of the most psychotic and forceful riffing I've ever heard from this band. Any fears that the band might steer too far away from their parent genre are assuaged here, for Mardraum is primarily a pastiche of extreme metal genres, but this is very certainly NOT the more straightforward, structured entity of years flown by.
If there's a complaint here, it's that the explosive level of rhythmic chops and ideas on the album are often too much meat for its skeletal framework. I mentioned before that it's a beautiful mess, but I was partially lying: this is ugly as sin. Most of the catchier moments come strictly through the clean vocals, as many of the constantly mutating, colliding riffs are dissonant and unfriendly. This is not an album like Below the Lights or Vertebrae in which you can soothe yourself, but more a whirlwind of primordial chaos which spawns ideas. We've all heard crazier, I'm sure, but not from Enslaved. The lyrics rule, and I really liked the choice of raw production, the crashing bass tones and the intense drumming. It really fits the aimless anxiety of the composition, and ensures that once again, these Norwegians have produced a rather unique product that they themselves would not even be repeating, a thriving if dizzying monument to strength and entropy.
Verdict: Win [8/10] (there's no comfort where you are)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Enslaved - Blodhemn (1998)
Some fraction of this impetus might stem from the fact that Enslaved hired on a few new faces for this album, in Dirge Rep and Roy Kronheim. Rep is an extremely hard hitter, a fact he made clear on the great Gehenna album Malice, and it would almost seem a waste if Grutle and Ivar were to use him at less than full potential. Naturally, this means a blast-fest, and a number of the songs here thunder forth like a sea storm on fast-forward, though never mindless or excessively repetitious, to their credit. Another change here is in the guitar tone. These are louder, and far more full-bodied riffs than any of the previous albums, and what little synthesizer is used is relegated to the backdrop. Blodhemn is all about Ivar and Roy's blazing aggression, and yet there is often a particular lightness and dynamic strength to the fixation of notes which was clearly not present on any of the earlier full-lengths. The leads were probably the most accessible and hard rock influenced to date, listen in particular to the bridge of "Brsinghamen" for a firm example.
A few of these are definitely among my favorite Enslaved tracks, at least when it comes to their more volatile material outside of Frost. "Urtical Gods" is fucking lethal, alternating corpulent and punk-ish chords with intricate, lightning grooves in the verse that give it a hyper, blackened thrash atmosphere which is enough to peel the paint off any enemy vessel. And then there is the aforementioned "Brsinghamen", with these dense and melodic chord progressions that create a truly, epic momentum. Both of these are quite short, to their credit, and in fact most of the songs are (similar to Frost), so it's essentially an antithesis to Vikingligr Veldi or "793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)". Not a problem for me, since this selection of songs seems utterly trimmed of any unwelcome fat that would no-doubt prove a hollow attempt at bloated grandeur.
In general, though, there are a few here which are simply catchier than others. For instance, "Urtical Gods" is more savage and memorable than "I Lenker Til Ragnarok" or "Blodhemn" itself, even if those are both still consistent within themselves. Perhaps the most eclectic piece comes in the form of the closer "Suttungs Mjod (Suttung's Mead)", which features a lot of Grutle's clean vocals layered in a yawning, remorseful and engaging sludge towards the finale. The production is frankly monolithic, especially in the vocals and guitars, the former had never before seemed quite this loud, and even the rasps take on an additional boldness over the tidal surge of the axe patterns. In fact, it's probably the most massive studio sound the band would inhabit until Axioma Ethica Odini, 12 years later. Those who favor the band's more progressive leanings in the 21st century will probably find Blodhemn to be one of the least interesting Enslaved efforts overall, and I can't deny that there is a lot less range to the writing, but that doesn't hold it back from some occasional ass kicking, and in this it almost feels unique among its studio siblings.
Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (you saw my destiny as mockery)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Enslaved - Eld (1997)
That's not to imply that there is a complete dearth of highlights located deeper in the track list, but most of its more poignant composition and technique seems fully extrapolated and front loaded within the massive 16 minute opener, "793 (Slaget Om Lindisfarne)". A memorable and hypnotic synthesizer pattern is subtly layered with choir-like keys and plunky electronic percussion to a ghostly effect, gradually panning into textures both martial and sorrowful before the wave samples and acoustics herald the metallic floe. While Enslaved were no aliens to melody on the first two albums, here you will note the increased use of Grutle's clean tones becoming a prevalent factor on the album, and the riffing exhibits a blissful escape like what we'll grow to expect from most of their 21st century output. Though the patterns are simple, and his range is rather limited, Kjelsson still proves himself a worthwhile crooner, never straying from his own boundaries, and yet nothing can really save "793" from an inevitable feeling of excess repetition in the largely instrumental passages at its tail end...
Of course, this is not Enslaved's first waltz with metallic superstructures, but this time the girth dwarfs even that of "Slaget I Skogen Bortenfor" from the Hordanes Land EP. The guitars are among the more attractive on this album, but I'm not sure it fully justifies its vastness, and it is telling that the extended keyboard is one of its real highlights. Other strong songs here include "Hordalendingen (The Man from Hordaland)", which has some exciting and interesting tremolo riffing, and some resonant, atmospheric rasps in conjunction with the more soothing clean vocals; and "Alfablot", which has a dreamy bridge section driven by a copious distorted bass-line. If I had to choose a victor from the latter half of Eld, it'd be "Glemt (Forgotten)", which seems a very well balanced piece with a few streaming guitar lines that really capture the imagination. Aside from this though, I've never been all that enamored of "For Lenge Siden (A Long Time Ago)", "Kvasirs Blod" or the titular closer.
Strong drumming, reasonably thought out note progressions, solid technique, but most of these remind why I found huge swaths of Vikingligr Veldi to be less engrossing than I might have hoped. There is a comparable streak of savagery running through this album to its conceptual sibling Frost, and yet that album was incontrovertibly more rapid, ripping and unforgiving in its delivery, all part of why it remains my favorite of the band's works in the 90s. Eld is unarguably more diverse and accessible, with a stronger overall production, but it lacks the charm, hostility and wintry depth, all of which I might overlook if the actual songs were better. Atop of that, I just don't feel all the 'Fire' about this album. Sure there is some war, some burning, and the title track features the element strongly in its lyrics, but I never felt in the slightest bit singed. Eld is adventurous, and its authors talented, but it's not nearly their best work.
Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (a hate older than both men and gods)
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Satyricon/Enslaved - The Forest is My Throne/Yggdrasil (1995)
Basically, each band has offered up a demo, to which they had tacked on a new track just for this release. The Forest is My Throne was originally released in 1993 as Satyricon's second demo, after All Evil the year before. Of the four tracks, only "Min Hyllest Til Vinterland" would be redundant with Dark Medieval Times. "Black Winds" opens with an opaque zephyr of noise before erupting into a measured riff-fest, with some mid paced, raw guitars reminiscent of Bathory and Darkthrone. There are brief explosions into faster material, and Satyr's vocals are pretty intense, especially at that point right before the 6 minute mark where he opens up enormous growling over the slicing, blast sequence. "The Forest is My Throne", however, is my favorite of the demo, with razor riffs that march along with all the glory of Bathory circa Blood, Fire, Death, under some great atmosphere and effects. I do feel that the drumming is mildly uneven in volume, but otherwise it's excellent. Their last bit is "The Night of the Triumphator", which begins with a sample of fornication below some evil synths, and then explodes into some crude, primal black metal which sounds like early Immortal. I dug the growled vocals and the Celtic Frost undertow to some of the slower guitars, and it's fairly consistent with The Forest demo material.
Yggdrasil is a slightly earlier demo (1992), and features Enslaved at some of their crudest, which I find every bit as enjoyable as their acclaimed full-length debut Vikingligr Veldi (1994). Again, there is very little overlap to worry about. "Heimdallr" appears on that album in a more
In all, this split is a tremendous value, and I certainly can't fault these bands for making the demos available in such a form, while at the same time expanding their audience. Which, when you think of it, is the entire point of the format: you scratch my back, and I scratch yours. Along with Emperor/Hordanes Land, this was very likely the first exposure many had to these acts, in fact I know people who owned the pair of splits and had never even heard Vikingligr Veldi or Dark Medieval Times. Not every individual track is great, and some are available elsewhere, but there is a particular authenticity to this release which makes it worth a purchase, despite the demo level production of most of the content.
Verdict: Win [8/10] (through centuries of weakness)
http://www.satyricon.no/
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Monday, November 14, 2011
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi (1994)
Enslaved - Hordanes Land EP (1993)
There are three compositions here, one which seems excessively long (over 13 minutes) and the other two not exactly qualifying as 'slim', for a total of over 30 minutes of content. Like their following full-length works Vikingligr Veldi and Frost, this is savage and frenetic Viking black metal with lyrics based in Norse mythology, but the forceful, thundering metallic ingredients are also saturated through keyboard orchestration. The keys are somewhat cheesier sounding than on the ensuing works: for example, the epilog to "Slaget I Skogen Bortenfor" feels like you are slumming around some sacred temple in a 16-bit video game, but this isn't really a problem for me, since the guitars are so vibrant, and Trym's drumming so damned consistent and punishing. What I also really like about this EP, even more than Vikingligr Veldi in fact, are the vocals, which seem much closer upon the scent of carrion as they knife through the stormy atmosphere.
Also, strangely enough, I feel like despite it's massive size, "Slaget..." is a more emotional stirring track than any of its 10-11 successors on the full-length debut. The guitars are more barbaric, even if part of that is that they feel like a carnal substrate to the dorky keys. The bleeding fingers of tremolo melody at the finale are excellent, and I also like the slower paced breakdowns with the escalating chord pattern. Next to this, "Allfadr Odinn" seems more influenced by epic heavy metal, with a straight shot of predictable melody alongside the louder, pumping bass. It too becomes rather cheesy in the bridge with the layering of the synthesizers, but it's not a bad piece, and neither is the closer "Balfadr", which has a few curious traces of the band's future progressive intentions through the mixture of piano, acoustic guitars, and bass that surround the pumping black/heavy metal of the verse riffing. Grutle here sounds far bloodier and more effective than anything on Vikingligr Veldi...
Hordanes Land is a pretty charming release, from the snowy mythic battle on the cover to the tendrils of variation found throughout the music, and if we WERE to place this in the spectrum of its split release with Emperor, I'd certainly favor it, at least over the reworked demo material that Ihsahn and Samoth included. Ultimately, you'll want the split, but even by its lonesome, the Enslaved material is adequate. The guitars are not always the most memorable, and the contrast of the amateur synth tones might turn out some potential listeners, but it was a solid introduction to a band that has never ceased to grow its sound and thrill its audience.
Verdict: Win [7.75/10]
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Enslaved - Thorn EP (2011)
Essentially we are faced with a similar coupling of drifting, dreamy melodic tremolo guitar lines and abrupt, carnal snarls that the band have been flirting about if not outright engaging since about 200 with their Isa album. But unlike Vertebrae, you don't hear so much of that leaden Pink Floyd psychedelia; and unlike Axioma, there are no earth-shattering tectonic maneuvers being performed through the rhythm section. Instead, the guitars here drift on warm currents of bass while synthesizers scintillate off in the background, in shining patterns that illicit both a somber, sapping strength and poignant array of subtlety. "Striker" is perhaps the more 'striking' of the pair of tunes, with the synth intro and the descending aesthetics in the sheen of the prime verse guitar sequences, and the dissonant, noisy bridge region, but "Disintegrator" has a fraction more velocity and might applied to the guitars.
Regardless, both are extremely consistent in tone and style with one another, and written at nearly the same length (about 5 minutes 20 seconds each). Like most Enslaved recordings of the past decade or so, I felt myself increasingly drawn to the radiant gloom with each repeated experience of the material, even if there is less variation than you'd hear on a full-length, and the production ably contrasts the carnivorous snarls of Grutle Kjellson with the streaming emotional eloquence of the guitars. Perhaps these two would not be counted among the more impressive material the band have issued in the past decade, but surely Thorn is a delight for those fans who have reveled in their recent direction, and worth the acquisition if you were fortunate enough to grab one of the 1,000 copies. For myself, this remains one of the most fascinating evolutions in its genre, even if their extremity has consistently abated.
Verdict: Win [8.75/10]
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)