Enslaved - Utgard

[MacabreEternal]

Arguably one of the most developed and expansive acts in metal at this stage of their career, Enslaved have continued their penchant for delivering thought-provoking and intelligent metal into their fifteenth full-length release.  Utgard has a real assured sound to it, despite its title suggesting we may have expected otherwise (Utgard in Norse mythology is a landscape full of danger and chaos).  Yes it has all the progressive leanings you would expect with time-changes dropping in from out of nowhere and a near constant sense of build throughout the record, but its success is more subtle than that.

There's a freedom to the flow of the songwriting, never better exemplified than on catchy riffing tracks like Sequence , a solid chug with excellent stabs of atmospheric keys and strings to add depth behind the apparent simplicity of the main driving riff.  The lead work here flutters in like butterflies at first before becoming a maelstrom of hellish fire that scorches the middle section of the track for a few seconds before a calming ambience seeps into play.  It is rare for such an array of ideas and styles to all be so comfortable alongside each other, but they pull it off brilliantly and hold the listeners interest well throughout a varied and memorable experience.

On this record Ivar relinquished most of the work he normally tried to always get through himself and delegated the labour out across the band.  The outcome is an album that feels like it has had a high level of involvement.  Even in its busiest moments it sounds cohesive and unified, no matter where a track goes to it is obvious that all band members go with it.  The clarity of roles within the band has unlocked textures in the Enslaved sound that feel tightly woven together.  At the same time they also feel like they are covering new ground and exploring new territory and structures.

Checkout the 80's pop vibe to the opening of Urjoturn that presents a dark, new-romanticism to the ears.  As unexpected as it maybe, it works brilliantly structuring a haunting and yet catchy vibe that sits on the shoulder for long after the album is finished.  Grutle's blackened vocals combine with cleaner passages that add further to the depth of the track, maintaining the bm threat of years gone by but tempering this perfectly with a musical edge to challenge their presence at the same time.

After nearly two decades Enslaved maintain an innovative edge to their music that shows little sign of abating.  Utgard is bound to be a tough listen for some, but anyone who has been following the band's output over the last fifteen years will welcome the continued maturity and progression of their sound here.  It isn't boundary-pushing as such, but it is a fresh sounding record which continues to slowly expand the sound of one of metal's longest-serving bands.

4.5/5

[eternalcrypt]

lol and theres just me with my cringy review on FFDP and how the "accoustic bits sound nice"

[Sheol]

On 6/19/2021 at 5:54 PM, eternalcrypt said:

lol and theres just me with my cringy review on FFDP and how the "accoustic bits sound nice"

Hey, we all start somewhere 😀

I've tried my hand at almost all eras of Enslaved and come to the realization that I just don't like them. They're boring, just like Sólstafir, no matter what genre they try their hand on. Fascinating how we can hear the same music and take away radically different things. This goes for FFDP as well 😉

[markm]

I've spent hours with Enslaved and definitely in a list of favorite metal bands, but Utgard was jus aight to me....enjoyable but not one of their best IMO.

[Thatguy]

13 minutes ago, markm said:

I've spent hours with Enslaved and definitely in a list of favorite metal bands, but Utgard was jus aight to me....enjoyable but not one of their best IMO.

Yep.  Love the band, but Utgard is a bit bland.

[FatherAlabaster]

I think Utgard is great. It's up there with E as my favorite stuff they've done since Ruun. I found myself turned off by Herbrand Larsen's clean vocals more and more as time went on and I think at this point they're better with Håkon; I don't know if that's because of what he brings to the table or just different chemistry. I really miss Cato's drumming and tone but the new guy is a good fit. 

I don't think their more sprawling and expansive songwriting is always successful, but it works really well on this album. There's a lot of variety, each song has its own character, there's a sense of an overall "narrative" to the music, and the songs breathe a bit more than they did on E.

I guess setting is also important - I didn't really click with Utgard until I took it out for a walk in the woods, and I gotta say it's a fucking perfect soundtrack. They meander, I meander; they turn a corner, I turn a corner. Enslaved has always been best listened to when I'm in motion anyway. 

[markm]

For my money, Isa through Axioma witnessed Enslaved at the height of their progressive through BM shades of grey powers and those albums represent their classic era....love early effort Frost as well. Everything past Axioma has been overall uninspired to me. Worth a listen? Sure. Better than the majority of godzillan metal releases? Probably. Worth my money and time? Highly debatable. Haha! 

Just now, markm said:

For my money, Isa through Axioma witnessed Enslaved at the height of their progressive through BM shades of grey powers and those albums represent their classic era....love early effort Frost as well. Everything past Axioma has been overall uninspired to me. Worth a listen? Sure. Better than the majority of godzillan metal releases? Probably. Worth my money and time? Highly debatable. Haha! 

But the debate is always fun....ya know the chase is often better than the catch.

[Thatguy]

On 6/22/2021 at 6:22 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

I think Utgard is great. It's up there with E as my favorite stuff they've done since Ruun. I found myself turned off by Herbrand Larsen's clean vocals more and more as time went on and I think at this point they're better with Håkon; I don't know if that's because of what he brings to the table or just different chemistry. I really miss Cato's drumming and tone but the new guy is a good fit. 

I don't think their more sprawling and expansive songwriting is always successful, but it works really well on this album. There's a lot of variety, each song has its own character, there's a sense of an overall "narrative" to the music, and the songs breathe a bit more than they did on E.

I guess setting is also important - I didn't really click with Utgard until I took it out for a walk in the woods, and I gotta say it's a fucking perfect soundtrack. They meander, I meander; they turn a corner, I turn a corner. Enslaved has always been best listened to when I'm in motion anyway. 

It's true that I probably haven't given it enough time to grow on me but I just didn't feel excited by it so I haven't been inclined.  I will go again and I may change my mind, but, as ever, so much music so little time.

[Destructhor81]

Utgard was definitely a grower for me, but so were most Enslaved albums these last 10 years or so. I blame the proggy influences since normally i´m not a big fan of long, complex 10 minute epics songs. Just keep it and short and sweet is more my kind of motto.

But... for Enslaved i´ll gladly make an exception. Like i said their last five albums or so were all growers for me. With Utgard it took me about a week or three before it finally clicked. But most tracks really warrant multiple listenings to appreciate them. Just like with a tapestry there are all these little intricate details woven throughout the music then only reveal themselves upon repeated listenings and preferably with headphones. Tracks like "Sequence" and "Distant Seasons" really show the intricacy and skills involved in composing such tracks. Of course you have more straight forward bangers like "Jettegryta" and "Urjotun" which should even please the average metalhead.

If you had asked me a few years ago which era of Enslaved i´d prefer, i would have said the early stuff like most fans. But nowadays i find myself revisting their newer albums alot more. I think with "Utgard" Enslaved once again showed their diversity with all kind of influences (electronics, kraut rock, etc) and delivered one of their most well rounded album in years. I already loved the previous album "E" but this one is just as great or maybe even a notch better. Can´t wait to catch them live when the finally get around to touring for this album.

[NokturnalBoredom]

I know that Enslaved did a split with Emperor (Emperor/Hordane's Land) but I've never really listened to them aside from the album "Isa" and it didn't really sound like what I understood to be black metal at the time. It wasn't bad, it was just different.

I feel like I should get on Spotify and go through Enslaved's stuff and see if I can appreciate any of it more now that I am older.

[FatherAlabaster]

I think you might dig Vikingligr Veldi, Frost, and Blodhemn to start with. I love Isa and think it's one of their best albums, but they'd started incorporating a lot more prog rock influences by that time.

Vikingligr Veldi:

 

Frost:

 

Blodhemn: