Do you remember when an album release was a big deal, an event, something to look forward to, something that would have you queueing outside your local record shop waiting for it to open? Perhaps I’m showing my age, but it seems that the digital age and easy access to music have diluted the excitement of new releases with only a few exceptions, and for me this latest Enslaved album is one of those exceptions. I pre-ordered it months ago and could not wait to hear how the Norwegians would have continued their evolution.
I’m sure anyone reading this review will be familiar with Enslaved’s history and will likely have followed them as they evolved from the icy black Viking metal origins of ‘Vikingligr Veldi’, through the majestic ‘Frost’ and ‘Eld’ morphing into the wonderful ‘Isa’ and ‘Ruun’ that saw the style really begin to open up incorporating new dynamics leading to the more recent gems ‘In TImes’ and ‘E’ which have cemented the inclusion of more obvious progressive rock ingredients alongside some of the more traditional Viking and black metal elements. Of course I’ve skipped several albums but you get the idea – Enslaved are not a band to stand still! So where would Utgard take us……?
The album title itself is perhaps gives a clue as to the direction it would take. Utgard is sometimes, rather simplistically, regarded as another name for Jotunheim, one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology and home of the giants or it is sometimes considered to be a stronghold within Jotunheim. However, I think it goes deeper than this and relates to the balance within society and indeed within an individual with Utgard representing chaos, hardship and lack of order and perhaps things outside the perceived and accepted “norms” of society. This is a gross simplification of these concepts, and is only my interpretation, but hopefully sets the scene. So, what about the music?
The album opens with ‘Fires in the Dark’ and a chant which leads into an acoustic guitar intro before building into the more familiar modern day Enslaved with clean and growled vocals working symbiotically nestling amongst pulsating rhythms, harmonies and riffs. ‘Jettegryta’ kicks in and from the outset is more aggressive with blastbeats, harsh riffing and caustic vocals. About a third of the way in, the pace lets up as clean vocals take the lead, but the aggression soon builds once more and this pattern cycles before the track eases itself into a more progressive, almost psychedelic style. This is exactly what we have come to expect from Enslaved but is done with such finesse that it is hard to not be completely swept away.
The galloping rhythms continue on ‘Sequence’ which still firmly sits with black metal territory but, as we have grown to expect, clean vocal and progressive melodies soon join augmenting and adding additional layers and texture. The melodies are sublime, juxtaposing elegantly with the harsher elements of the music.
The atmosphere changes on ‘Homebound’, sounding more epic and almost upbeat. It is more majestic and perhaps even knocks on the door of post rock at one or two points as it unfolds. This leads onto ‘Utgardr’ that is a short-spoken word piece over electronic white noise, creating a sinister atmosphere, breaking up the album, to good effect, almost clearing the decks leading into ‘Urjotun’. This track sees a big step away from previous sounds and for large chunks this track has more in common with 80s synth or Krautrock than extreme metal. While this may have traditionalists baulking it works extremely well adding another dimension to the Enslaved portfolio.
‘Flight of Thought and Memory’ takes us firmly back into more familiar Enslaved territory with harsh and clean vocals jostling atop mid paced riffing and melodies, and as the track develops there are some great vocal dynamics. There is a similar theme on ‘Storms of Utgard’ with rasping and clean vocals, haunting rhythms ebbing and flowing as the track builds. The album is brought to a close with ‘Distant Seasons’ which sees a gentle intro building into a prog rock track before it fades out with the gentle strumming of a guitar.
This is undoubtedly Enslaved and all of the ‘classic’ features are there fusing extreme metal with progressive rock, but there are also ventures into new territory making this album fresh, vibrant and essential listening. This is perhaps Enslaved’s most complete album so far, managing to stay true to their roots and heritage while embracing new ideas and fusing them to make one of the albums of 2020.
(9.5/10 Andy Pountney)
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