For anyone who likes intense, complex, and creative music
Andrew A. Deikun | 12/12/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Enslaved have finally moved from being a dark extreme metal band, -for the most part based upon classic heavy metal with the exception of longer, flowing songs and a strange sense of melody-, to a creative, progressive, genre-defying metal band with elements of jazz, progressive rock, psychadelia, and most kinds of extreme metal, as well as classic heavy metal. Everything about Enslaved's old is here, except they've changed
from being a simplistic, mood-oriented extreme metal band to an intense, brutal, emotional, complex, un-categorizable metal band with the most amount of creativity presented by Enslaved yet.If you like older Enslaved alot and you can spend the listening time and effort to decipher the more progressive song and riff structures, you will probably enjoy this album. If you never were a real big fan of older Enslaved (such as myself), due to lack of emotion, creativity, and complexity, you will probably enjoy this album. Listeners of progressive/technical extreme metal will love this album. And listeners of progressive/technical metal will love this album if they can get past the growling and the obscure, psychadelic moments."
Interesting new sound
Andrew A. Deikun | Stow, OH United States | 02/10/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Format: Full-length cd, 9 songs + 1 bonus viking song by HOV, 59:39 minutes
Style: Progressive Viking black metal
Rating: 94/100
Label:
Similar Artists: Primordial, Falkenbach, Amorphis
Background: This is Enslaved's latest opus. Enslaved started as a Nordic Black metal band, changed to a Viking metal band with progressive influences and has really now completely transformed to a progressive metal band with Viking and black metal influences. The line-up for this cd includes Dirge Rep (Percussion and effects), Ivar Bjornson (guitars, synths, Hammond, Piano & effects), R. Kronheim (rhythm & lead guitars, vocals and effects) and Grutle Kjellson (vocals and bass). Guest musicians include Tryge Mathiesen (lead vocals for one song), Dennis Reksten (MiniMoog, Vocoder, Synths/Fxs) and Trond Veland (backing vocals on one track).
The sounds blend together very well and the mix is just right for the progressive elements (Hammond organ). It does not have the "weak and tinny" sound of some of their earlier releases and "wall of sound" style of Blodhemn. It is probably most similar to Mardraum but with a "warmer" feeling.
What I really like about Enslaved is their progressive metal elements. They explore this on this recording even further while shortening the lengths of the songs. Weird, huh? This cd is definitely more midpaced, the guitars are downtuned substantially and they break into 70s grooviness at times. You can also really hear the bass on this recording."
A dark and complex progression
J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"things have gotten weird in the Enslaved world. granted, Enslaved were never your average run-of-the-mill metal band. (unless you would consider wearing iron viking helmets and brandishing swords and spears on your album covers as run-of-the-mill.) but their music has always taken a very solid and somewhat predictable approach. you usually know the kind of brilliantly composed and fiercely excellent calibur of metal that you're getting into when you buy a new Enslaved record. they have not really plunged deep into experimental territories on their previous releases, except for a few songs on the outstanding Mardraum -Beyond The Within- album.
well...brace yourself for Monumension. the album's cover artwork alone signals their is something new here. a very dark image with strange objects like a weird mask, some floating orbs, an arcane picture frame held by a creepy bald man, and another gentleman floating upside down. it combines the surrealism of Dali with the creepiness of David Lynch. it fits the strange scope of this newfound Enslaved sound really well.
basically, the elements that made this band so great are still firmly in place. the great vocals, excellent drumming, and tight bass and guitar work are all evident and in full force for Monumension. the songwriting is also great as before, but it's style has shifted, allowing more elements of progressive rock and psychadelic sounds to creep in amidst the carnage. this is no more obvious than on the fourth song "Hollow Inside" where a mellow voice sings along with a keyboard. even the drum sound on this song sounds like a throwback to the late 60's style of recording. it takes some time to get used to, but it works. there is alot of space utilized to let these new compositions flow and the results reveal a complex and dark musical vision.
there are quite a few great thrashier numbers like "The Voices" which contains one of the most infectious gitar riffs that Enslaved has ever written. i swear, sometimes it gets stuck in my head for days. excellent drumming on this song, as well. i have come to love Dirge Rep's skill behind the kit. he always throws out plenty of surprises and seems to be full of creative percussive ideas.
the sludgier doomier numbers work really well with the dark gloomy feel to this album. "The Cromlech Gate" combines a simple riffs with mostly clean singing and some tasty guitar noodling. another standout is the song "The Sleep - Floating Diversity - A Monument Part III" (what a title...i'm not sure what "floating diversity" is...but, wow!) with a plodding gloomy atmosphere and a repetitive riff that just sucks the listener in and grips tight until it's done. a very big prog rock kind of sound on this song, as well...almost as if Pink Floyd are performing from the depths of an underground cave. very haunting.
and closing off the album, in a fittingly off center style, is the enchanting tribal choir chant of "Sigmundskvadet." probably the closest thing to authentic viking music that Enslaved has ever recorded.
Monumension took me some time to get used to. but it stands as a solid testament to Enslaved's desire to push the boundaries of modern metal and take their music to places it's never been..both physical and metaphysical."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1