Interesting track, seems like they've gone back to their 90's style somewhat. Really looking forward to the whole album.

If this is a real track, then consider me pumped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AIo-Pys3dg

There's a heavy KAMPFAR feeling in the slower parts.

I like it too.

It's definitely real but it's only the first half of it. Such an awesome start to the album, I love it when they kick off tracks with Grutle's screams.

Well, it's for sure real as NB have taken the video down...

This got posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a640Wu6PQbs#t=46

I'm assuming it's the leak you guys were all talking about. It sounds awesome and is giving me high hopes for the remainder of the album.

Yep, that's it. Silly they posted an edit and not the full song. There's only 3 more minutes and there's not a whole lot different in the part they cut.

New song sounds pretty awesome! Definitely seems similar to what we saw on RIITIIR, but that's not a bad thing. I have a feeling that well isn't completely dried up yet. I'd like to see an ambient track on here in the vein of Axiom. Grutle is sounding better than his usual throaty scream on here in certain parts.

I had a look at Spotify, and my assumption was correct. The full track is up over there, not sure if it's Premium only.

The new track sounds great! It's a bit more savage and wall noise-esque than anything on any of their recent albums, but that's not really a bad thing. Typically odd lyrics.

If anyone's curious, the song at the end is Building With Fire.

Very excited for this.

The new album artwork is terrible.
I hope that just starts and ends there, with the terrible. Good grief.

I listened to that track posted above and didn't really get that excited either to be honest.
The clean vocals appear dry.

The only thing I don't like about the art is the weird rune/glyph thing, otherwise I love the colours and texture. Kind of a disappointment, though. Enslaved has a history of absolutely fantastic cover art from Isa onward.

Maybe it's one of those cases where the band was given an art budget, but spent it all on booze, bitches, and blow... and at the last moment one of the band members whipped out a jiffy marker and scribbled on some old band stock photo and changed the over all color red and they were set... art bought and paid for and none the wiser...

Really looking forward to seeing them next month. I like how energetic their shows are without feeling "pushed," if you know what I mean. Just a really good time all around.

This. Also I'm really looking forward to buying the CD on tour. I almost never buy CD's from merch stands but I'm sure they'll have copies a plenty so I can get one after the show. Who knows hopefully they'll even have some special editions of the new album for the tour.

Here's hoping. I'm definitely more likely to buy albums at shows (maybe it's good I don't go to record stores drunk). I wasn't swooning over their shirts last time, so hopefully this time shirts will happen.

Yeah, their shirts on the last tour were embarrassing. Hopefully they have more 90s album cover shirts like they did a couple years ago.

Dare I ask what these terribad shirts looked like?

Easily googled for the RIITIIR tour. Definitely wouldn't call them embarrassing. Just not for me.

I can see why some people wouldn't like them as they are kinda cheesy, at least the one I got, but I still like it. It has some charm to it.

The new single sounds OK, the first half is just brutal and a nice surprise, the second half sounds a little more formulatic and boring, repetitive i would say.

I guess I am officially over Enslaved. I tried listening to the new song, and it was sounding alright, but as soon as the clean singing kicked in I found myself turning it off. Which is a shame, because they used to be one of my favourite bands. It was by Ruun that I started to get bored by their music, and have barely been able to listen to anything since.

The new song sounded like a step in the right direction as far as my personal taste towards Enslaved goes. I will try and give it another listen, but I get the feeling I'm done with this band.

Did you try Axioma Ethica Odini?, its a great album, darker, more brutal and more straightforward than the other prog oriented albums.

Yeah. I didn't like it at first either. I'm thinking it might look better in person though, holding the actual LP.

The other thing is that they released a new video for the song "Thurisaz Dreaming." I find the idea of lyric videos pretty stupid to begin with, but whatever. Then I'm listening to the track and it's not even the full song! Why would they make a lyric video for only half the song?

Man, Blodhemn was brutal. AEO was just a bit heavier than Vertebrae but never felt like a 'proper' black metal album or a heavy album at all.

I think that new song is in fact a step in the right direction but it's too soon to say the album as a whole will be good or not. I almost hate Herbrand's clean vocals and those have been getting more used each time.

I thought AEO definitely felt "heavy;" it was Vertebrae in my mind that was just kind of this amorphous genre-ball that never really coalesced into a coherent sound. The only album where the prog elements didn't mesh well with the sound IMO (save New Dawn, which is great); I know a lot of people feel that way about Ruun too but I always thought that was a great album.

Regarding Enslaved's shirt design: it's always been sorta shitty. I remember the design for the Isa and Ruun era shirts and they were just horrible. I have one from the AEO tour and it's not horrible, but it's still kinda tacky. It's brown, which I though was kind of interesting, because at the time I was mostly trying to get out of wearing black only band shirts. I think the RIITIIR shirt was really good, though. All white with a black line art tree rune thingy. I'm kind of over band shirts, these days, though. I still wear them from time to time, but I find they are mostly tacky. Enjoying album art on the album itself is enough for me, thank you!

And sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who loved Vertebrae. It was pretty fluffy and light, but it was catchy and memorable and very psychedelic.

Vertebrae is fantastic. I don't get the hate.

Joining in on the Vertebrae love. Amazing album. It's the perfect progressive metal/progressive rock marriage.

I would say that AEO was MUCH heavier than Vertebrae which was too soft and pro-oriented in my eyes. Anyway The Watcher was an awesome track which was a perfect indication of what was comming at that time.

I was not talking about Blodhemn, which is much older and the first prog influenced albm but still with many influences from the past.

Regarding AEO. It was MUCH heavier live. In fact, some of the songs that sort of fell flat on the album (Giants, for example) sounded really badass live.

New song from NB up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O7GhZB ... e=youtu.be

Fuck. It's just an edit. Why can't they put up one whole fucking song??

Noooooooo.

I got that one too, for the same reason (had way too many black band shirts). I normally don't like overly simplistic designs on a shirt but since is was a white shirt, I guess I had no issue with it (not a huge fan of the black shirt with simplistic white art on it).

Full album stream. Finally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwvcXnD ... e=youtu.be

Almost done with the first listen, in my opinion it's their most experimental. Definitely requires a few more listens to settle in......

Well, my first impression after listening is ... whoa, started off heavy and fast... now it has worked it's way into leaving the impression that it is an Enslaved album, and they are really good at what they do, but it also feels like they are playing it safe, an album of exactly who they are and what they do... which is all fine and what not, I do not see the album disappointing anyone, and at the same time I do not think any particular part of it is something really new being tried by the band either. They have AC/DC'd, thankfully they are not Iron Maidening though.

Decent listen. I will buy the CD. Skipping vinyl and it's added expenses with shipping etc etc for this decent, but safe album... with absolute garbage art cover.

Hmm, also seems this could be less radio friendly if such a term were to be used, the song : thoughts like hammers totally sounded written in that very easily accessible sound, cannot say any particular song off this new one has a song like that. Seems harsh vocals had a moment in every song.

Thanks! Let's see...

I'm almost done with the second spin of the new album and it's just incredible. It is the perfect fit for the direction this band has been going. These guys just keep getting better.