Boasting a seventeen studio album discography to their ever prolific name, Norway’s Enslaved is an extreme music institution. Whilst the outfit’s present incantation is far removed from the frost sheeted and harsher Black Metal of their earliest releases, their art has always maintained a very admirable level of substance. Having tackled countless forms of progressive songwriting and frequent indulgences ranging from Nordic Folk music to seventies-tinged progressive Rock, these detours have also never strayed too far from the trail of an ambitious blackened DNA. The simple fact that Enslaved has maintained this integrity to their core identity over their thirty-five years of evolution has resulted in catalogue featuring a typical quality level that is not just seldom seen within Extreme Metal, but within popular music as a whole.
The predecessor to Mið was 2023’s ‘Hemidal’, wherein Enslaved embodied plenty of dreamy and spiritual energy. That album also featured a generous helping of abstract progressive riffing and a lush layer of pleasant production, it was a well-crafted release, but among the band’s other records it stands (to me) as one of their more laid-back and less memorable offerings. ‘Mið’, on the other hand, exists within a territory of higher vitality and overall volume. This is by no means a stylistic continuation of the record that came before it, as par for the course, Enslaved is continuing to evolve.
I would actually say that relative to the band’s catalogue, ‘Mið’’s sound palette shares the most in common with the loud anthemic liveliness of 2012’s fantastic ‘Riitiir’ album. This new record sees the band frequently exploring righteously themed songs that are drenched with massive, expansive and shimmering guitars. Typifying this approach is the lead single ‘Solar Will’, where the ethereal and otherworldly structure of the song is given even more breadth thanks in part to its huge percussive element and Grutle Kjellson’s enveloping screams… and does his voice sound good! Upon initial listening, I wasn’t particularly smitten with the basic riff that bookends the song, as well as the belted cleaner vocal performance, but among the context of the full album, I think the song is great.
The heft of the doomy guitars on ‘Mountain’ do feel suitably huge and I also enjoy the level of presence to the distorted bass within the mix. As is the case with nearly every Enslaved album, the production is excellent. For such a loud listening experience, there is a lot of texture and dynamic detail on show and the instrumentation feels nicely balanced across the board. The solo vocal performance on ‘Spirit Helper’ is stunning and I love the band’s instrumental progression alongside it. This is a truly infectious and stand-out cut. This song then transitions into the very elegant keys that open ‘Parting’, this is an eight-minute track that transitions between still sections adorned with acoustic strings and glistening heavier moments that seem to echo the motif of the song’s opening melody.
Thematically ‘Mið’ is taken from an Old Norse word meaning ‘centre’ and Enslaved has stated that the record is meant to represent ‘the centre of ourselves’ and ‘a journey in all directions’. These comments do seem to fit in with the meditative and cerebral atmosphere of much of the record. The band has also mentioned that in preparation for the album’s creation, they had originally intended to create a work that would serve as a more direct successor to ‘Hemidal’. When these ideas failed to come to final fruition, Enslaved entered the studio with virtually no material ready for the creation of ‘Mið’. This makes the record ever more fascinating, as what they have produced here is not only a very fresh manifestation of their music, but one that is exciting and conceptually well realised.
‘Mið’ is a great album that is awash with well-executed production, replay value and stunning performances. There may be a small handful of moments wherein the band’s cleaner and more upbeat approach sacrifices some general intensity, but they do little to detract from this being a high-quality Progressive Black Metal album. All fans of any of the band’s output beyond ‘Blodhemn’ will most likely enjoy ‘Mið’ and I could see the record’s shimmering guitars also being a draw for Winterfylleth fans. (Huw)
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Out of Bergen, Norway, come Viking and Black Metal veterans Enslaved with their new album, ‘Mið’. Originally from Haugesund, the band eventually moved their operations to the larger and more practical city of Bergen. Both cities certainly understand winter and what it means to live along the northern reaches of the North Sea. The Viking Sea, perhaps: an ocean where Vikings not only thrived but understood its movements and swells, day or night, using them to their advantage against their opposition. Each year, the bitterly cold and dark winters bring bone-chilling gusts across Vestlandet, adding another layer of icy hell for the people who call this region home. This is where the musicians of Enslaved seem to bring that emotion into their music, almost like a group of Vikings aboard their snekkja, battling enemy ships among the swells of the North Sea, with the internal support of Tyr. Originally drawing from bands like Celtic Frost, Darkthrone and Slayer, while incorporating interesting influences from bands such as Master’s Hammer and Rotting Christ, Enslaved began blending these sounds into something different, almost like an alternative identity within Black Metal itself. Starting with their first album, ‘Vikingligr Veldi’, as a three-piece, they later added another guitarist for their fourth album, ‘Blodhemn’, thickening their sound. The result was stronger songwriting, better lyrics and a more developed identity, creating additional space within the music that enhanced its darkness and impact. Later, with their eighth album, ‘Isa’, the addition of a keyboardist immensely widened the sound, embedding more emotion and dynamics into the songs, much like the swells of the ocean that have always been part of their heritage. Enslaved became an incredibly dynamic band, experimenting with a wider range of musical ideas without completely losing their identity or teeth. They also recognized that the 1990s had happened, along with the hundreds of bands that helped change and shape music. Their natural evolution was underway.
On first listen, ‘Mið’ brings the listener into a dark, cold, icy and stormy coastline, where they know they must leave the tavern or cave to fight an invading fleet among the bitter and relentless ocean. The first proper song, ‘I Am Ice’, reminds the listener that Enslaved is here to stay. Whether fighting across the ocean or on land, the band comes at full force, just as they know how to do. But the dynamics within ‘I Am Ice’ also make the listener realize that this band has something incredibly deep and emotional to bring to the album. A dark undercurrent begins to reveal itself within the music. Throughout the record, that undercurrent is sometimes incredibly noticeable and at other times much more subtle, making the album a beautiful journey for the listener. The guitars blend the dirty, murky, gravelly sounds of the late 1990s and early 2000s with a sharper modern attack, giving them a multidimensional character filled with emotion and impact. The sound is rounded out by a huge bass presence, well mixed and balanced against the guitars. Much like the oars of a ship, the bass and drums hold down the rhythm, while the bass occasionally finds a voice of its own. The guitars create a feeling of murky permafrost, an icy core executed with such precision that Enslaved demonstrates just how effectively music can communicate feeling and emotion. Moments of dissonance introduce tension and intensity before releasing at just the right moments. The drums bring the roar of ships, a snekkja crashing against the waves in the middle of a battle beneath a relentless storm. These Vikings are in their element.
One particularly attractive quality of this record is the space within the music. Enslaved knows when to go full blast and when to slow down, clean things up and let the music pulsate like a varǫlokkur in the mountains of the fjords. ‘Spirit Helper’, perfectly placed in the middle of the album, gives the listener a moment to breathe, almost as if the Vikings have finally reached land and are walking straight to the pub (for some Vikingblod?) to enjoy a night of drinking and singing. The chants grow louder, the Vikingblod begins flowing through the bloodstream and the intensity rises. Only for the celebration to be interrupted later by another enemy invasion upon the town. Toward the end of the album, ‘I Miðju’ delivers one final, brutal, sludgy thrashing through the fog and stormy ocean swells. With its eerie, almost calming guitar line, the listener is reminded that Enslaved has evolved and grown into a band that, after playing together for so long, understands how to use dynamics to its advantage and create remarkable music. This album feels purposeful, as though it has been created by the very souls of the five members of the band.
Young musicians can learn a lot from ‘Mið’ in several meaningful ways. There is a great deal to appreciate in how this album avoids becoming overly dependent on overdubs. In fact, it relies on the way the chords and riffs are played, with so much feel and character already embedded within the songs that it almost sounds as though the band performed much of the material together, live in the studio. Of course, subtle overdubs and moody, almost theatrical synth parts help complete the atmosphere. With ‘Mið’, Enslaved brings its own kind of story and feeling to the listener. There is an authenticity and genuineness here that I feel is missing from a lot of music today. Always be real. Always keep working and practicing your music. The art never stops. (Michael Luzaich)
