Enslaved
Monumension

THE REVIEW

It is not easy at all to talk about a chameleonic band like Enslaved, champions of the most brutal "viking metal" and at the same time capable of opening to "death-oriented" and psychedelic elements as seen in this CD.

"Monumension" is characterized as a multifaceted work capable of surprising the listener with each track, with references inspired by certain works of Pink Floyd(!), and without ever denying or forgetting their original sound. They show a tendency to surprise, even at the risk of scandalizing the most "traditionalist". It starts with a pale, dark and aggressive viking-metal to reach a very essential and beautifully produced death. Be clear, don't think of epic rides alternated obviously with double bass drum outbursts: we are faced with an album too versatile to be classified in any way. Enslaved dared, they knew how to present the genre’s styles in a perhaps not very original way, but naturally.

In the track "Vision: Sphere of The Elements - A Monument Part II", for example, ambient moments alternate with sound combinations dominated by Bekkevold's drum beats and Isdal's violent riffing: result, spine-tingling. A monumental piece that immediately imprints itself in our minds from the first listening. Reminiscences of the past are found in the splendid "Hollow Inside" characterized by an obsessive riff (a bit monotone) and the usual dark singing of Kjellson. Enslaved sympathizes with new “heavy” trends, including some works by Dimmu Borgir, and in tracks like the aforementioned it is more than evident. I find this stylistic change appreciable, even though I find it absurd that they themselves gave birth to albums like the chilly "Eld", very different from what is proposed here. It is precisely this departure from traditional black metal that met with skepticism from critics and fans, who couldn’t believe that the fierce Vikings had turned into a sophisticated and ultra-intellectual group – something far from despicable. And, even more crazily, Enslaved were attacked for having been denatured, for the ideas of the album only apparently innovative, for a banal riffing, even for the excellent production(!). All fairly unfounded criticisms, in my opinion.

These are the kinds of things that I struggle to understand in the mentality of the average metalhead: the total lack of flexibility, the refusal of evolution, only to equally criticize those who make 15 monolithic albums in 14 years. Not to mention, just to emphasize, those who bluntly criticize albums like this without even listening to them, as happened to those who trashed Immortal and the last review I proposed some time ago. Returning to Monumension, I find it to be a great album, one of those to rediscover.

Note of demerit, a somewhat banal compositional phase, too little refined, too "already heard". Personally, they often reminded me of some passages from Dark Tranquillity’s "Projector": at least the darkness of the sound is very similar to theirs. And the evaluation becomes fully positive once the psychedelic references are grasped, never heavy and never casual: they make us reflect that, all in all, it was not really the case (given the potential shown here) to remain anchored to the past (certainly glorious), and become the miserable photocopy of themselves.