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8 hours ago, Thatguy said:

To me the DARKHERl album sounds just like her previous ones. Nice enough, but...

Yes, she has a very nice voice. It's very pretty and makes me think of something like a new age artist if Lorena McKennit decided to make a doom adjacent album but there is actually surprisingly little doom involved....lots of hushed atmosphere and nice female vox.

'twood fit nicely on a metal album (or in this case, metalite) to fall to sleep to....not that that's nec a bad thing. Lots of artists in this category....thinking also of former gathering vocalist extraordinaire,  Anneke van Giersbergen or WITR collaborator, Yianna Bekris's project Vouna.

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14 minutes ago, navybsn said:

And I have been converted. I believe I have the whole discography now. Which would you say is your favorite? I think I would go with Monumension or Mardraum.

Fuck yes. Below The Lights is my longtime favorite, but it's pretty much never a bad time to listen to Ruun or Isa, and I've been strongly digging on Eld recently. E, Axioma, and Utgard are my top picks of their newer stuff.

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1 hour ago, navybsn said:

And I have been converted. I believe I have the whole discography now. Which would you say is your favorite? I think I would go with Monumension or Mardraum.

Should I be that guy and say that I saw them live with my son and Carlos M a couple of years ago? Well, I did. Fuck they were good. At the end of the encore all the singers -  the bass player, guitarist and keyboard player howled like wolves as the music stopped just to see us all off.

Then we all bought shirts, of course...those were the days.

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I'm an Enslaved fan but I certainly don't have their entire discog. Frost is the only old album I have and play it regularly. It's pretty frosty 😁

I fall into into the the Isa-Retiir period of fanboydom. Vertabrae, sort of a one one off, is one of my all time favorites in a similar way that I really like BAN's Mort-both outlier albums in those bands catalogs. Vertabrae is prolly the most obvious Floydian worship of the albums I have and has an almost late period Neurosis mellow weightiness . It's deeeep, man-haha.

But if I could only listen to two albums for the rest of my days, I'd have to go with Isa and Axioma-two epic albums in progressive extremity for sure.

I'll put a damper on the Enslaved party and say after Retiir, they started repeating themselves and have been pretty uninspiring-OK-I'm ready for the slings and arrows! Not to say they are bad albums. I mean, if they were a new band and the first album they produced was Utgard, I'd probably say, who the hell are these wiz kids-this shit is great, but IDK, the Beatles knew when to fold 'em after their late 60's psyche masterpieces for good reason. Even Beethoven stopped after 9 symphonies. OK, so he died, but you get my point.......lost that loving feeling after Retiir. The juju sauce wasn't poppin' so much. Just kind of 'aight for me since Retiir......

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1 hour ago, markm said:

I'm an Enslaved fan but I certainly don't have their entire discog. Frost is the only old album I have and play it regularly. It's pretty frosty 😁

I fall into into the the Isa-Retiir period of fanboydom. Vertabrae, sort of a one one off, is one of my all time favorites in a similar way that I really like BAN's Mort-both outlier albums in those bands catalogs. Vertabrae is prolly the most obvious Floydian worship of the albums I have and has an almost late period Neurosis mellow weightiness . It's deeeep, man-haha.

But if I could only listen to two albums for the rest of my days, I'd have to go with Isa and Axioma-two epic albums in progressive extremity for sure.

I'll put a damper on the Enslaved party and say after Retiir, they started repeating themselves and have been pretty uninspiring-OK-I'm ready for the slings and arrows! Not to say they are bad albums. I mean, if they were a new band and the first album they produced was Utgard, I'd probably say, who the hell are these wiz kids-this shit is great, but IDK, the Beatles knew when to fold 'em after their late 60's psyche masterpieces for good reason. Even Beethoven stopped after 9 symphonies. OK, so he died, but you get my point.......lost that loving feeling after Retiir. The juju sauce wasn't poppin' so much. Just kind of 'aight for me since Retiir......

Here's how it is for me. 

Vikingligr Veldi - a gem of early 90s Norwegian BM. Excellent debut. 

Frost - another gem of early 90s Norwegian BM. Neither of these were my favorites when I was getting into the scene, but they've grown on me since.

Eld - a true "grower". I've had this album for a long time but only started really appreciating it recently. Can honestly say it's become my favorite of their early stuff. More Vikingy, is that a word? Vikingy.

Blodhemn - the first one that really grabbed me when it came out. Intense and even vicious at times. Don't play it a ton these days.

Mardraum - dark, with weird psych rock influences. Solid album, lots of great parts, engaging as a whole when I'm in the right mood. 

Monumension - I struggle with this one. It's held me at arm's length since I first heard it. Maybe I'll get it one day... might be time for the Morbid Angel treatment. (That's where I take an album I can't seem to dig and listen to it every day for a week or two. An act of dedication? Desperation? Boredom?)

Below The Lights - one of my absolute favorites in their discography, and the one that made me a true believer. There's something magical about this album. Great atmosphere, great riffs, weird parts and awkward moments that somehow make it more memorable.

Isa - well, damn. All grown up. Cato's drumming took them to a new level of professionalism. Excellent songwriting, well-integrated and polished. One of their best and a beast in a live setting. 

Ruun - love this one. Tighter songwriting, a little more rock n' roll, great mid-paced energy. At the time I was a little let down compared to Isa by the less epic vibe and the feeling of a "collection of songs" as opposed to an overarching "concept album" structure; these days I kind of prefer it. Another one of their best. I can listen to this pretty much any time.

Vertebrae - my dislike for this album has remained unmoved through repeat listens. I don't get into it. Never say never, though.

Axioma - that's better, dammit. This album is really good. Long-winded, and I probably listen to it less than I should because there are several I like more, but it always winds up on the playlist when I'm on an Enslaved bender.

RIITIIR - pretty ok. I've gotta be in the mood; it's one of the last ones I reach for and it tends to go in one ear and out the other. This album forced me to confront my growing distaste for Herbrand's clean vocals. But still, pretty ok.

In Times - the only full length of theirs I don't own. Listened a couple times on YouTube, have yet to purchase. No comment.

E - they're back, baby. This one grabbed me almost immediately. The first since Ruun that I can just put on and enjoy. Maybe it doesn't hit as hard as some of their earlier albums, but to paraphrase Bruce Lee, it hits hard enough. Distinctive songs, good vibe, some really cool moments. Håkon > Herbrand. 

Utgard - they're back, baby, pt. 2. I miss Cato's drumming, but the variety of sounds and attention to detail make it all work. Another one where some amount of awkwardness ends up helping. Initially unsure of it, I can see how it wouldn't click for someone, but for me it's the perfect companion to forest paths in late autumn. 

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