Search - Enslaved :: Vikingligr Veldi & Hordanes Land

"We behold the kingdom of the Hammer."

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 12/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Enslaved is (basically) one of the rare black metal band that has changed a lot without cheapening themselves. Everything I have heard by them has been great thus far. This set includes both _Hordanes Land_ and Enslaved's debut, the earliest of stuff.



Enslaved writes essentially kinetic black metal about Viking myth and lore, equally aggressive, savage, and glorious. The band dominated their split CD with Emperor (_Hordanes Land_ with _Wrath of the Tyrant_). Their epic, soaring "Viking metal" was brutally evocative and they improved on the essential template with their first full-length, _Vikingligr veldi_.



The songs are on average about 10 minutes in length, and Enslaved uses that length to orchestrate tension and release more richly. Musically, they are comparable to black metal, with thick, buzzsaw soundwalls, sometimes complemented by synths, and.with some fierce major key constructions. The songs are highly imaginative and well-suited to their subject matter (on some metaphysical level). My favorite is "Vetrarnot", because of its incredibly haunting, shimmering melodies amidst furious storms of blitzkrieg black metal. "Norvegr" is the magestic, climactic instrumental closer, and "Midgards Eldard" can only be described as the metal war march of a God.



I listen to _Vikingligr Veldi_ way more than _Hordanes Land_, but both are definitely worth having. This is an A-grade compilation."

Excellent Viking Metal

Avatar of Khaine | 03/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is amazing. There may be only five songs but they are all spectacular, epic masterpieces. Although this does get categorized as Black Metal, thematically it focuses more on true paganism than the satanic paganism that many Black Metal bands focus on. This is probably why the phrase "viking metal" was coined to desribe this.

The album is quite long for the number of songs (an average of 10 minutes per song) and the band's style is also quite repetitive. What makes this album work are the varying guitar and synth melodies that hide underneath the wall of guitars. This allows repeated passages to grow grander with each repetition.

My personal favourites are "Vetrarnott" and "Norvegr", the former because its wonderful vitality is so empowering and the latter because of its beautiful, sorrowful melodies.

I haven't gives Hordanes Land as much time and although it is good "Vikingligr Veldi" is the real star of this compilation.

Metalheads, buy this NOW!

"

Newcomer to the genre

Brian Baker | Fridley, MN United States | 05/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! I haven't really listened to metal since the days of Venom and Possessed but these guys are dragging me back in!! Yes, this is pretty much Viking, Black Metal but the "attack" is much more varied than most of the bands I've heard. Parts of this veer closer to prog rock. If you like Opeth (who doesn't) but want darker lyrics then you should check this out."