For those of us into extreme metal who also have creative aspirations within the genre, Enslaved can be a deeply irksome band. Irksome only in as much that they have a habit of regularly and swiftly releasing records of a relentlessly high standard. Since their Vikingligr Veldi debut back in 1993, the Norwegians have unleashed no less then eleven albums (including this) and not one of approaches even mediocrity. An album every one-and-half years? A career that has evolved seamlessly from cavernous, Viking-tinged norsecore to elegiac, sweeping, prog-influenced extreme metal whilst fully retaining their artistic integrity? Staggeringly consistent, effortlessly balanced and endlessly creative songwriting? It’s enough to make any wannabe artist gnash their teeth with envy and awe.
‘Axioma Ethica Odini’ follows on much where the Bergen 5-piece left off with 2008’s ‘Vertebrae’ album. With this line-up now fully cemented, Enslaved have been gradually honing and refining their sound over the last five years as opposed to engaging in any radical reinvention. Those familiar with the last handful of releases will feel immediately at home – shimmering walls of distorted guitars and icy synths do battle with Cato Bekkevold’s punishing percussion and frontman Grutle Kjellson’s trademark snarl. Epic choruses unfurl from the densely layered maelstrom, keyboardist Herbrand Larsson’s plaintive vocal tones strident and affecting. Multiple listens reveal that ‘Axioma Ethica Odini’ injects a touch more meat and urgency into the proceedings than its deeply laid-back predecessor – there are some wickedly powerful riffs lurking within the Nordic sheen. ‘The Beacon’ is a distinct highlight, kicking off with some frantic blastbeats before casually switching to a black ‘n’ roll-esque riff attack that cannot fail to get the head banging. ‘Waruun’ and ‘Giants’ meanwhile sport colossal, doom-laden riffs of Sabbathian proportions. For all of their progressive ambiences, Enslaved are still a METAL band at heart and this is more than evident here.
That’s not to say the atmospherics have been neglected – far from it – instead, they are more deftly applied, the dynamics between light and shade more adeptly considered. The aforementioned ‘Giants’ for example blends gargantuan primitivism and eerie clean vocals before exploding into the kind of cascading epic finale that only Enslaved can muster whilst ‘Lightening’ is a soul-searing exercise in escalating progressive melodic layering. A brief nod to the Seventies is also inevitable with the Kings Crimson styled opening strains of ‘Night Sight’ raising a wry smile.
Seventeen years, eleven albums and with their main men barely into their early thirties, Enslaved have now surely cemented their position at the very apex of the Scandinavian metal mountain. Whilst their contemporaries flounder and posture, Enslaved quietly get on with the business of forging genuinely captivating music, shot through with conviction and integrity. Indeed, it’s long overdue that guitarist, main songwriter and founder member Ivar Bjornson deserves acknowledgment as a true creative genius. A rather over-polished production aside, it’s hard to find fault of any substance with this latest record. They’ve done it again. Bastards.
http://www.myspace.com/enslaved
