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Rating: "Våre sjeler bindast i Frost og Eld" (Our Souls Will Be United in Frost and Fire)
These are the two natural elements that inspired the early Enslaved: formed in 1991, after the split with Emperor and their first full-length, the band released "Frost" in '95, followed two years later by the twin "Eld". The line-up on this album consists of Ivar Bjørnson: Guitar, Keyboard, Effects; Arve Isdal: Guitar; Grutle Kjellson: Vocals, Bass; Cato Bekkevold: Drums.
Compared to previous works, the sound evolves: the black and viking bursts blend more fluidly with each other, and there's a more pronounced progressive streak compared to the past, due both to certain passages and the extended length of the songs. A major strength of the album is the excellent recording, flawless from every angle: I have never heard a black metal CD with such perfect sound; the drums are played impeccably and somewhat differently from the typical frantic pounding of most black drummers. Lastly, the lyrics seriously address pagan themes (especially related to ancient Norwegian legends) with only brief mentions of hatred towards Christians.
The 16-minute suite "793 (Slaget Om Lindisfarne)" ("793 (The Battle of Lindisfarne)") opens the album, being the most representative track of the band's progressive turn in black/viking metal. After an atmospheric keyboard intro, it reveals itself as a beautiful piece alternating majestic folk/viking parts in clean vocals with brief black metal sections. The melancholic lyrics, which compare the glorious past of Viking ancestors to the mediocre present, deserve applause ("For a long time we ruled, we men of the north/ But, betrayed by our own brothers, we were forced to kneel"). Following is "Hordalendingen" (The Man from Hordaland), probably the most traditional track of the bunch, dominated by "buzzy" guitars and Grutle's icy scream dripping with hatred, although the keyboards and some melodic openings render the track very epic. In the third position is "Alfablot" (Sacrifice to the Elves), featuring a kind of chorus in clean vocals that, on a background enriched also by trumpets, represents the culmination of the sacrifice, exclaiming "Oh, wise Volva, when will I reach these fields of prosperity?/ When will I feel again the gentle touch of Freya's hands?".
"Kvasirs Blod", while adding nothing musically, has its strength in the lyrics, essentially a legend set to music, narrating the story of Kvasir and the mead made from his blood (the translation, I must admit, is not very clear). "For Lenge Siden" (A Long Time Ago), starts slowly and melodically but returns after a couple of minutes to the path laid out by the other tracks. Notable is a stunning guitar solo towards the end of the song; again, the lyrics touch on the contrast between the past and the present: Christianity is described as "The disease from the south". The CD concludes with the intense "Glemt" (Forgotten) and the title track: the song opens in typical black metal style before becoming an epic piece in the middle section, leading to the final violent ride through the lands where frost and fire reign.
RATING = 7 and a 1/2
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Alfablot (06:33)
[Sacrifice To The Elves]
[Lyrics by Grutle Kjellson 1993/96]
[Music by Ivar Bjornson 1996]
Bring forth your sacrifice
The winter can last for long
Show them honour
Servants of Frey
Let the blood flow
On his pride
Until they are pleased
To provide our magnificense and growth
Our king will show his wrath
If we do not honour our promise
Poor the harvest will be
Without seeds in earth
Don't spill the finest blood
Strong sons will not be born too often
"Oh, wise Volve when shall I get to see, fields of growth
When shall I once again feel the light touch from Freyas hands"
Death comes fast
If you do not honour
The people below
The friends of the Vanirs
Bring forth
The holy boar
Then the sun will still shine
And we can still breath
We didn't wish to die
We didn't wish to awake
The wrath of the elders
Bring forth the holy boar
05 For lenge siden (08:08)
[A Long Time Ago]
[Lyrics by Grutle Kjellson 1995]
[Music by Ivar Bjornson 1995]
Hymns were sung
In the times when our people still were proud
In the long gone past
A long time ago
Then came the disease
The disease from south
Deception and false knowledge
Infected our minds
Survival of the fittest was forgotten
But still it didn't disappear
Beneath the layers of a thousand years of deception
Burns the ancient northern thoughts
Fight! Don't let your powers disappear
Our sunset shall also be our dawn
They burned our temples
They killed our men
We shall take back
What once were ours
Fight! Deny not your mind
Our sunset shall also be our dawn
We shall once again sing
Hymns from ancient times
Like we did in those days
A long time ago
06 Glemt (08:04)
[Forgotten]
[Lyrics and Music by Ivar Bjornson]
The silence inside this place is screaming
Here, were the roses never wither, as they never bloomed
Here the sun never shone
Even the darkness never came in
No hope, no fear
An ocean of tears, that never fell
Tomorrow brings remembrance of opened wounds
The light invaded the endless darkness
A soul, which birth was denied
A soul that became forgotten
The darkness fades away even the brightest colour
The street is empty, and leads to nowhere
A shrilling scream, that no one heard
Who cares? We can all be free
"Tomorrow is a new day
But today was new as well...
... For only thing is fear fealt
The fear of life"
Fallen asleep, wrapped in a blood red blanket
Two dead eyes are staring into emptiness
From a soul, which birth was denied
Death greets the one life forgot
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