After a four-year hiatus, Italians Enisum are back with their fifth full-length album, Forgotten Mountains. Its predecessor Moth’s Illusion was a very good and slightly out of the box take on atmospheric black metal. The subject was nature, of course, but with a focus on the interconnectedness of things, exemplified by moths’ deadly attraction to light, the implications of the same and consequences of the insects’ dwindling numbers. The music was quite diverse, raging black metal interlaced with folky passages, but also with grungy rock, the combination forming an eclectic listening experience. Will the band’s new effort match their last? Let’s find out.

Weak sunlight is trying to pierce thick clouds above a cold mountain landscape. Motif and cover design for Forgotten Mountains resemble that of old, painted postcards and at first glance cover and title appear somewhat less intriguing compared to the band’s previous long player. Mountain-themed black metal albums are not exactly a rarity, and neither is blackened metal from Alpine regions. Enisum themselves are one of the main representatives of this niche, but there are also Austrian and German bands who build their sound and their stories on the combination of breath-taking nature, seclusion and scarcity. Nevertheless, I’ve amassed enough years to understand the pull of nostalgia, and I’m pretty sure that nostalgia plays a major role in the concept that formed a basis for Forgotten Mountains. Since the mountains themselves can hardly be forgotten, the title might refer to memories involving them. The press info, in any case, strikes a similar note saying that “Forgotten Mountains is a journey through mountains and life, a path that leads Man to the highest peak, to face his own existence and its meaning.”

The album opens with Where You Live Again and a soundscape that fits the cover. Riffs played on an acoustic guitar ring through cold, empty space. Slowly and reluctantly, they are joined by the drums. Up to this point, nothing indicates the storm of sound that is awaiting the listener, but two minutes into the track, there it is, complete with visceral vocals. The combination of folky, mellow, melodious soundscapes and extreme ones, often in the same track, is a defining characteristic of atmospheric black metal and the album at hand offers numerous such surprises. What sets Enisum apart from bands playing similar music are the musicianship and the beautiful, yearning, melancholic melodies played out on guitar. That and the vocals. Ranging from clean to raspy to ghoulish, they provide variety and character. I especially like the folk-rock passages as heard for example on Night Forest or Woods of Sorrow and would be very happy to listen to whole tracks of that kind.

Like all of black metal, its atmospheric subgenre follows a template, and there isn’t much wiggle room if you want your music to fit the genre specifics. On Forgotten Mountains the band is staying true to themselves and to their niche. While I understand the limitations, I would still have liked to hear more excursions into other realms. They simply make the listening experience more varied. Still, I enjoyed Forgotten Mountains and so will you, if you like atmospheric black metal.

(7.5/10 Slavica)

https://www.facebook.com/enisum

https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-mountains