Interesting concept indeed. I'm expecting a strong folk undercurrent, it would fit really well in those themes

Always a band worth a listen. I've never been totally sold on Enslaved though, I think they have quite a few dead spots and filler material on most of their albums. I did really enjoy Verterbrae though. Really powerful release. I'll check this one out for sure

I'm a huge, huge fan of Vertebrae, sometimes i feel i'm the only one It's like the ultimate fusion between their sound and Pompei-era Pink Floyd, wich i worship.
Few bands have this level of imagination, not even the subpar harsh vocals can bring it down

By the way, i like the cover art. Very bare-bone, but looks better than In Times.

I think it's an album that's considerably held back by the forced metal trappings, especially the harsh vocals. I'd like it better if they had recorded it entirely as a progressive rock album, with 100% clean vocals, and a more spacious, open production.

Agreed on the cover art, it's perfectly fine.

I can agree, songs like Ground really call for clean vocals in the verse.. but yet at the same time i'm not sure if the chorus/pre-solo buildup would be as effective: it would lose the bit of contrast that makes that part so dreamy compared to the rest of the song...

i'm torn

That's why I thought it would have benefited from a production and mastering that allowed for more dynamic range between passages, so they could've played more with a quiet/loud dynamic, and even add crescendos for even better build-ups.

But then, one can only assume that they did the best they could.

They were unhappy with the production if i remember well, you are very probably right!

It's strange for me: it's an album that has some very evident flaws when i think rationally, but every single time i put it on i get completely caught in its hazy atmosphere and totally forget them

It would be really interesting to hear it re-recorded

Honestly, it makes me happy to hear that there are fans of that album as well, even though I don't like it much myself.

As for production flaws and such, sometimes it just works out like that. One of my all-time favourite albums is Anathema's A Natural Disaster, and that's partly because of the production, and especially the way the guitars sound. Go ask Danny Cavanagh what he thinks about the production, and he'll tell you that it's more or less worthy of the album title.

emphasis on 'half-assed.' If the band doesn't make you care about their themes, they're probably not done too interestingly.

I don't know if I'd agree with that. If a band puts a ton of effort into non-musical aspects, is it "half-assed" if I just happen not to care? narsilianshard has made it pretty clear that he's not a fan of their current aesthetic and lyrical direction, and that's fine, but then claiming the band isn't putting enough effort into them because they couldn't "make him care" seems like a bit of a stretch to me. Some people will care about the themes and others won't regardless of the band's level of effort.

(For the record, I generally enjoy their cover art and lyrics even if I don't think they're anything really profound - nothing worse than most metal bands I like, really.)

I think my problem is that I hold them to a ridiculously high standard. Maybe half-assed isn't the right word since you're right, they could be giving it their all and they think it's all masterful but it's just not to my liking. I'm just frustrated that my favorite band of all time don't have aesthetics that appeal to me. Just check out their official merch:
https://enslaved.aisamerch.com/c/clothing
That Yggdrasill shirt is the only thing that appeals to me in the slightest, and that really bums me out. I won't even be buying the vinyl of the new album because the cover art gives me no intrinsic pleasure whatsoever.

See I love all the new merch since its minimalist and abstract, which is what I tend to go for in band shirts. Maybe I'm just boring.

I also like the merch for the new album, but the stuff they were rolling out for the 25th anniversary celebrations was on the whole pretty bad.

Interesting track. I have a feeling this is going to be very polarizing since it sounds like a mix between Vertebrae and In Times. Grutle's voice is about the same (I've never had a problem with it) and the new clean singer is inoffensive and not that different from Herbrand. Production is fucking gorgeous, really fits the more proggy style with all that breathing room. It does kind of feel like two songs mashed together, though. Seems like the first six minutes would have been a good intro to the album, and the second part its own straightforward aggressive song, but I guess they don't split things up like that anymore. Enjoying the mix of their modern styles, but it's definitely not going to win over any new fans.

Agree with everything.. but i'm a lot more enthusiastic because i really dig this Vertebrae-like feeling. Amazing.

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with you, not sure how the other poster got the impression that he was just winging it. Seems like it was pretty fleshed out, and I'd expect nothing less from Ivar.

I was nodding my head along the whole song. Definitely hearing the Vertebrae style in there with the tight, progressive riffing. When the new vocalist cropped up, I thought, okay, we're staying on the rails here, no change in direction. His voice in the chorus is very layered, not as defined or full and emotive as Herbrand's choruses tended to be, but after all, I'm still humming "storm son." I'm wondering if they'll dial the clean choruses back and make them less explosive throughout the album; more Vertebrae than In Times, I guess. Anyway, the new vocalist was fitting here and the song is nearly flawless upon first impression. And yes, amazing production. And fitting music video as well!

I really like the new track. Sounds like Enslaved.

Pretty good song. Stoked for the album. I'm seeing them in late September in Quebec City too, 2 sets!

Storm Son sounds great! I'm very happy about the more streamlined style and less progressive tonality.

as been mentioned, the production is really, really good on this

Enslaved are fucking geniuses. That was superb.

The song is around 5 minutes longer than it should be. The first 5 minutes were boring as fuck but the second half was quite good, sounds a bit like the Isa material. The final bit was a kind of forced way to link both sections.

I vastly prefer these clean vocals than Herbrand's. Sounds closer to Grutle's own cleans.

Yeah, editing is my biggest complaint with newer Enslaved. I would much prefer if this track were cut in half and we had 10 five-minute songs like they used to do instead of just six long ones. They still clearly write killer music (and I'm super stoked on this song and the album), but I don't see why they constantly force together different ideas into something that's much harder to digest; the lazy way of being prog.

I love songs that start in some quiet point and develop an idea until it reaches a climax, but modern prog is just soft intro+ epic pseudochorus + proggy break+ clean full stop break + heavier section + either repeating intro/chorus/proggy break.

They could have made this: slow atmospheric song as a separate track that goes into the climax "heavier" track as 1 piece.

The new track is pretty awesome and has me curious to hear the rest.

Really gorgeous intro but I didn't find the song incredibly memorable. Will definitely give it more listens though. Really hoping Enslaved have another Axioma or Below the Lights in them, but they haven't really ever outright disappointed me. This is a lot better than the Satyricon track that was also released today

Sounds lush as hell. I like how unhurried and relaxed it is. I'm a big fan of later Enslaved because they come up with such gorgeous melodies and chord sequences, for both the quieter/lead moments and the riffs. It's great to hear more focus on the melodiousness and slow build rather than aggression and changeups. At least for this tune.
Sounds promising.

.

oh well, this was actually an ambivalent remark. first I think it's the plain truth; frost is a great record, and imo they did start sucking after it. blodhemn is kind of a mixed bag to me, but I basically never return to it, so meh. I thought this statement was still missing here. second, it was also meant as a (self-)ironic remark aimed at the "no post-frost enslaved" faction (to which I very much count myself).

regarding the new song: does nothing for me, typical modern soulless enslaved material. it's just not meant for me, but I still hail them gratefully for the early stuff they gave us.

Oh well, not a full-length Thorn, but I did enjoy the Storm Son song.

The intro makes sense as it is the first song on the album. Some parts are just a wee bit overlong, and if those were a shaved off, it is one intense heavy section away from being awesome. But still, a good effort. no big changes for Enslaved.

Thanks!


I did feel the same.

Anyway, the song is strange.

New song. Sounds great.

http://www.metalinjection.net/video/ens ... usic-video

Looks like they have a new video up. Can't check it out now but will later!

[nevermind, didn't read the latest few posts. sorry]

oh good another avant-garde masterpiece from enslaved

Edit: Ok I just listened to Storm Son and... what was the point of this song? It went nowhere, had nothing holding it together, it was just a collection of chord progressions that don't really work and annoying time signatures that leave you hanging. What's to like about this shit? Yet again more "weird for the sake of being weird" Enslaved. Go jump in the bin and take Ihsahn with you.

I thought Storm Son was formulaic Enslaved that dragged on for too long; with the new song, I found myself trying to ignore the croak in order to get into this psychedelic rock, and then the song ended.
Not a fan of their new clean vocals either... Never been a big "clean era" Opeth fan, but what this does, is make me want to discover them. Or for Enslaved, listen to Isa and Ruun.

Yeah, this...this doesn't go anywhere. I love modern Enslaved - Rittir was great and In Times was great even though it lost steam at the end a bit - but this may be where I finally jump ship.

The River's Mouth is pretty great, wasn't a huge fan of Storm Son though. Neat video too.