ENSLAVED

Ruun

Candlelight
rating icon 9 / 10

Track listing:

01. Entroper
02. Path to Vanir
03. Fusion of Sense and Earth
04. Ruun
05. Tides of Chaos
06. Essence
07. Api-Vat
08. Heir To the Cosmic Seed


On a career arc as impressive as OPETH's, minus most of the record sales, Norway's psychedelic prog-metal Vikings continue their journey into accessible dissonance, soaring chords, desolate atmospheres and swirling, ambient aural journeys on this, their eight proper studio album. Moving ever further from their black metal roots, while retaining the timeless primal electricity of that style at its best, ENSLAVED manage to be grandiose with the simplest of tools, seeking progression through ambient minimalism and a simple, grave majesty.

The chords in opener "Entroper" could just as easily propel, say, a STEREOLAB song (though the vocals remain blessedly black, for the most part). It's a strange, catchy song with a driving midtempo beat and an almost pop feel to it (though that bass line that comes in just after the chorus does add a nice sinister touch). What to make of this odd hybrid? I mean, it rocks, but its coldness is more KRAFTWERK than KHOLD — built on a skeletal framework of repetitive riffs that somehow remain compelling, with a feel that's still true to the black metal aesthetic, despite sonically being about 900 miles away from their forebears.

Less is more in the ENSLAVED camp — the organ in "Path to Vanir" is just a couple notes, but it wonderfully accents the riffing. And when the song breaks down at around the 2:30 mark into a simply strummed acoustic part and trippy David Gilmour vocals, it sets a perfect atmosphere with very basic building blocks.

Similarities in vibe (not sound) to OPETH can be argued, though ENSLAVED keep things much more simple and streamlined. The title track is a pretty varied affair, with arguably the most "black metal" parts on the album, but it also contains some multitracked clean vocals and plenty of space-rock wispiness to set off the heavier sections. And here and there, the vocals take on the dark, brooding gloom of KATATONIA, spiked with a trademark guitar sting that reminds the listener that ENSLAVED isn't giving up on their blackened heritage any time soon.

"Ruun" is a deceptively simple album, one of those growers that is well more than the sum of its parts. It reveals itself upon multiple listens, a travelogue to lands not touched upon by most prog, or black metal, or extreme music in general. This is the kind of snowblind psychedelia best experienced from start to finish, in headphones, with full attention given. The metal world needs more bands this willing to throw out the rule book and go wherever their mad Muse takes them.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).