The ENSLAVED thread

[illidurit]

I listen to hordanes land more than some of their middle era albums

 

[Nomansvally]

I think Blodhemn is their overall worst album , I like some songs on Frost very much, and Monumension is also good, but only has two prima tracks; Convoys to Nothingness and The Voices. Eld is very good and my second favorite Enslaved album after Below The Lights. :Smug:

 

[derbeder]

blodhemn's first two songs (2. i lenker til ragnarok / in chains until ragnarok
3. urtical gods) are excellent tracks. the rest of the album (especially the end) is pretty good, too.
the enslaved album i listen to the least is frost. it just hasn't clicked with me so far. despite its similarity vikinglegr veldi seems so much better for some reason.

 

[saut]

I've really been liking Tides of Chaos a lot lately, but my real favorites are the title track and Heir To The Cosmic Seed.

yeah thats a pretty cool song and no one ever seems to bring it up when talking about ruun. i really like how they did the vocals on that track for some reason

 

[Towedwart]

yeah thats a pretty cool song and no one ever seems to bring it up when talking about ruun. i really like how they did the vocals on that track for some reason

It's a good track tbqh. I cna't get enouh of the title track and Api-Vat though when listening to that album.

 

[Hubster]

I think Blodhemn is their overall worst album , I like some songs on Frost very much, and Monumension is also good, but only has two prima tracks; Convoys to Nothingness and The Voices. Eld is very good and my second favorite Enslaved album after Below The Lights. :Smug:

blodhemn's first two songs (2. i lenker til ragnarok / in chains until ragnarok
3. urtical gods) are excellent tracks. the rest of the album (especially the end) is pretty good, too.
the enslaved album i listen to the least is frost. it just hasn't clicked with me so far. despite its similarity vikinglegr veldi seems so much better for some reason.

Interesting observations guys

Funnily enough, the band themselves hate Blodhemn as well, although I think this could largely be attributed to Dirge Rep being difficult to work with as their interviews attest to.

I find Blodhemn to be a somewhat "accidental" album of brilliance. The music works perfectly with Tagtgren's production style, and every song on the album is solid (Suttungs Mjød [Suttungs Mead] is packed with Norse ethnicity in the same way the whole of Eld was and is a genius combination of Black Metal and old culture in my opinion).

If anything, I find Monumension to the the album of transition for the band, and Mardraum as the most experimental and psychedelic of the entire discography so far.

Frost is another interesting one. I love it, but the production on its grates at times. Its a little "too clear" in some ways. I also view this album as a transition of sorts too (mind you, Enslaved are constantly on the move musically, no album is too similar to another imo).

 

[Ikil]

I find Blodhemn to be a somewhat "accidental" album of brilliance.

Admit it dude, you think the light shines out of Enslaved's arse, don't you?

For me, I find Blodhemn to be their weakest album. Not saying its bad, its a pretty good album, but comparing it to Eld before it which had its prog elements and such, Blodhemn just appears to be disappointing in that regard. As a black metal album, it is fantastic though.

Mardraum appears to be the album that has the prog elements that Blodhemn didn't have. Still, as much as I enjoy this album, I found that it lacked something. It was like Enslaved knew what they wanted to do but couldn't get it perfect, more or less, it was a blue print for things to come.

With Monumension, they got it perfect. BINGO! For me, their best album and one of the best albums of all time for my mind. Just brilliant, the skill, the atmosphere, the variation, the epicness, every track is gold.

I enjoy Enslaved as much as I do Opeth because of not only the diversity of both bands, but the consistency. Name another band who has been able to keep writing good material up to their 8 or 9th album? Especially with the variation and diversity both these bands display. No one else really comes to mind.

 

[NFU]

im glad the barrier of "enslaved will never be better than Opeth, because Opeth is Opeth, and Opeth will always be better than everyone" mentality is starting to get broken down. not that it makes any difference to me who is actually better between the two, but i think enslaved is doing a considerably amazing job lately, and for people to pretend that theyre not a force to go toe to toe with ANY other progressive metal band just because theyre not Opeth would be a shame, and frankly just unfair.

edit: although i think the next album by both bands will probably be their most important releases imaginable as far as making or breaking themselves. they both kicked it up a notch with their most recent albums, and to push the envelope of creativity even further is no doubt going to be a feat. early congrats to whoever succeeds and/or comes out on top.

 

[Hubster]

Ikil - you *know* that I think the sun shines out of Enslaved's asses. Come on man, you know me. Note: I'm not comparing Blodhemn to Eld (read my mention on it again), I'm just saying that Blodhemn harks back to Eld in a spot here and there. ie "echoes" of Eld's style pops up now and then in Blodhemn.

NineFeetUnderground: Great post, I agree with you, but on the of exception of Opeth. I'll get flamed for this, but I think Opeth's peak release has come and gone, unless something miraculous happens. I wont go into detail my opinion on Ghost Reveries.

Otherwise, I totally agree.

 

[Nomansvally]

The Hubster, you are not alone on that one, I completetly agree with you about Ghost Reveries.

Good post NineFeetUnderground, I can just look forward to it. It's going to be thrilling and chilling to find out the results.

speaking of Mardraum, I think that record is Enslaved's puberty to what they are now. I argree with what you posted about this record, Ikil.

 

[Korlich]

im glad the barrier of "enslaved will never be better than Opeth, because Opeth is Opeth, and Opeth will always be better than everyone" mentality is starting to get broken down. not that it makes any difference to me who is actually better between the two, but i think enslaved is doing a considerably amazing job lately, and for people to pretend that theyre not a force to go toe to toe with ANY other progressive metal band just because theyre not Opeth would be a shame, and frankly just unfair.

edit: although i think the next album by both bands will probably be their most important releases imaginable as far as making or breaking themselves. they both kicked it up a notch with their most recent albums, and to push the envelope of creativity even further is no doubt going to be a feat. early congrats to whoever succeeds and/or comes out on top.

i completely agree. Very exciting indeed.

 

[Hubster]

The Hubster, you are not alone on that one, I completetly agree with you about Ghost Reveries.

Good post NineFeetUnderground, I can just look forward to it. It's going to be thrilling and chilling to find out the results.

speaking of Mardraum, I think that record is Enslaved's puberty to what they are now. I argree with what you posted about this record, Ikil.

I would like to see Enslaved go harder to the psychedelics like they did on Mardraum in future works. I find Mardraum to be the most psychedelic album they've done. I've never found it immature though... I found that to happen with Monumension.

What I love about Mardraum is that while Enslaved are a subtle band, Mardraum throws the distorted soundscapes right in your face, theres no doubting whats going on with that record.

//shrugs.

At the end of the day, I just cant think of anything negative with Enslaved. Beause the band themselves are so humble and dont have a chip on their shoulders, I think this enables them to continue their consistency of excellence. Yeah, I do sound like a fanboi But I'm not afraid to say I think a band like them deserves devotion!

 

[Ikil]

I would like to see Enslaved go harder to the psychedelics like they did on Mardraum in future works. I find Mardraum to be the most psychedelic album they've done. I've never found it immature though... I found that to happen with Monumension.

WHA!!!!???

Man, on Monumension, they nailed it! It was perfect! Not a bad thing about. I can never give an album a 10/10, but that album is about a 9.9 for me! No way was it immature.

Mardraum was more of an immature effort, it had ideas, some executed well, others not so well. It had the potential to be amazing, but it only ended up being pretty good/awesome. They don't need to do another Mardraum, nor do they need to make another Monumension or Blodhemn, just make another album that sets it apart and defines it from the rest of their works like they have done with every album.

On the note of Opeth and Enslaved next albums being their most important, I agree with NFU. It will be heaps interesting to see what happens to Opeth with the RR influence (I don't think we have anything to worry about, but who knows). With Enslaved, well, they are getting more popular now and their tour in the US coming up will only do more wonders for them, so it will be interesting to see how they hold up in the spot light. At the end of the day, for me they are the 2 most consistent and 2 of the most diverse bands out there, whatever they do, it probably wont suck, but some people will hate it and others will like it. Its always happened with these bands.

For me, Opeth is just above Enslaved as I feel Opeth has been more consistent, just slightly. Blodhemn is probably the main factor in that one, along with a couple of other things. But anyways.

 

[narcoleptic haze]

Grutle Kjellson did guest vocals on a V:28 song, if anyone's interested.

Tbh I like Eddie Risdal's voice better.

 

[NFU]

NineFeetUnderground: Great post, I agree with you, but on the of exception of Opeth. I'll get flamed for this, but I think Opeth's peak release has come and gone, unless something miraculous happens. I wont go into detail my opinion on Ghost Reveries.

well, i thought Opeth had climaxed after being let down a bit with damnation and deliverence overall. but i think ghost reveries was definitely a solid step up, so i cant pass judgement just yet on what Mike has left in him.

 

[Jon Snow]

Ghost Reveries is an amazing album if you like more genres than just metal and if you don't need to cry when you listen to Opeth.

 

[Hubster]

WHA!!!!???

Man, on Monumension, they nailed it! It was perfect! Not a bad thing about. I can never give an album a 10/10, but that album is about a 9.9 for me! No way was it immature.

Mardraum was more of an immature effort, it had ideas, some executed well, others not so well. It had the potential to be amazing, but it only ended up being pretty good/awesome. They don't need to do another Mardraum, nor do they need to make another Monumension or Blodhemn, just make another album that sets it apart and defines it from the rest of their works like they have done with every album.

Ikil youve not read what I wrote properly.

I didnt suggest that they should do another Mardraum, I said it would be nice for them to up the psychedia like they did on Mardraum in future works. I'm not saying in ANY WAY that another Mardraum should be done. That would be a step backwards.

As for Monumension, well, each to our own.

 

[Ikil]

BAH! YA MUG!

 

[Hubster]

I *know* you love Monumension man, and you've always known how much I love Mardraum. "Distorted spacials" and Enslaved gives me goose bumps, it's a great combo.

At the end of the day, I just don't think a band like Enslaved can be fought over, they're too fucking cool.

Infact, I might chuck on Blodhemn right now (and freak out anyone on my floor here at work).

Sidenote: what a shame Dirge Rep is a goon. His drumming on Blodhemn is great.

 

[Ikil]

I had Blodhemn playing in the car on the way to work on Friday. What a way to fire you up in the morning!