Enslaved - Ruun

Liu · 06-09-2006, 12:32 PM

Enslaved - Ruun
Candlelight/Tabu

Few names in metal capture the essence of the word "evolution" like Enslaved. Their journey has taken them across various aural landscapes, adding and subtracting styles to their sound but always maintaining their signature identity. No matter what, you know that its Enslaved before even looking at the cover. Bearing this in mind, an interesting development has gone down with the previous two albums, Below The Lights and Isa, that you don't get the full effect of until listening to the latest album, Ruun.

Once you listen to Below The Lights, Isa and Ruun back-to-back, you can feel a common thread between the three albums. Before, there was a noticable progression that went from album to album, but these three sound as close to each other as Enslaved albums can get. In a way, this can be considered a trilogy of sorts, a three part experiment. While you can digest Ruun on its own, it comes across much better when you have the other two albums as points of reference. In fact, the easiest way to describe Ruun is to say that it is a natural progression from Isa but still within the same framework, like the last third of an artist's painting.

What's more, I don't feel up to the task of describing Enslaved's music in great detail, but the following should suffice: Viking metal, long musical passages, Ivar's Voivodian styled riffs and harmonies, Grutle's devastating death roar. If you already own Below The Lights and Isa, you get the picture. If you don't, then you're doing a great disservice to yourself.

01. Entroper
02. Path To Vanir
03. Fusion Of Sense And Earth
04. Ruun
05. Tides Of Chaos
06. Essence
07. Api-Vat
08. Heir To The Cosmic Seed

Score: 8/10

06-09-2006, 12:32 PM	#1
Liu Global Galaxy Tyrant Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 196	Enslaved - Ruun Enslaved - Ruun Candlelight/Tabu Few names in metal capture the essence of the word "evolution" like Enslaved. Their journey has taken them across various aural landscapes, adding and subtracting styles to their sound but always maintaining their signature identity. No matter what, you know that its Enslaved before even looking at the cover. Bearing this in mind, an interesting development has gone down with the previous two albums, Below The Lights and Isa, that you don't get the full effect of until listening to the latest album, Ruun. Once you listen to Below The Lights, Isa and Ruun back-to-back, you can feel a common thread between the three albums. Before, there was a noticable progression that went from album to album, but these three sound as close to each other as Enslaved albums can get. In a way, this can be considered a trilogy of sorts, a three part experiment. While you can digest Ruun on its own, it comes across much better when you have the other two albums as points of reference. In fact, the easiest way to describe Ruun is to say that it is a natural progression from Isa but still within the same framework, like the last third of an artist's painting. What's more, I don't feel up to the task of describing Enslaved's music in great detail, but the following should suffice: Viking metal, long musical passages, Ivar's Voivodian styled riffs and harmonies, Grutle's devastating death roar. If you already own Below The Lights and Isa, you get the picture. If you don't, then you're doing a great disservice to yourself. 01. Entroper 02. Path To Vanir 03. Fusion Of Sense And Earth 04. Ruun 05. Tides Of Chaos 06. Essence 07. Api-Vat 08. Heir To The Cosmic Seed Score: 8/10 __________________ Lapland Metal