And this project kills, and certainly I’d immediately recommend it for fans of another progressive black metal-ish band with a killer vocalist named Chelsea (Murphy), Dawn of Ouroboros, and maybe Oubliette, also fronted by a killer female screecher, Emily Low, and the disbanded Minnesota black metal act False (fronted by Rachel Niehorster).

This is really good stuff, and certainly not just because Anthony Lusk-Simone delivers some subtle but very well-used keyboards here and there, making this a quasi-symphonic black metal release. Not sweeping, bombastic Dimmu Borgir-type theatrics, but some well-sprinkled ivories and strings adding some subtle but still dramatic majesty to tracks like opener “Unworldly”, “Starless”, “Fodder”, and “Envy’s Lament”.

Like Murphy in Dawn of Ouroborus, Marrow delivers an array of vocal styles such as fierce screams, growls, howls, and a few somber croons;  all are on display for the second track “Briars”, and the superb closer “Envy’s Lament”, my favorite track on the album, along with the opener.

“Moon Bathe” ends the album with a short Arab-esque instrumental. I would have preferred another full, longer song as the album is fairly short (barely 30 minutes or so), so it feels a little like an EP with only 6 songs, but it’s worth it for those 6, and certainly a band I will be keeping a close eye on.

But I do try to open as many emails as I can, and it’s pretty random as to how and why I open any of them and check out the music contained within. Sometimes, it’s my mood, sometimes it’s whatever the tagline email is, and if it’s in the style I’m currently immersed in, etc. But I can’t tell why I opened the email from ‘J’, the vocalist/guitarist from a very obscure (to most, I’m sure) Slovakian black metal act Obšar, while in bed checking the promotional emails, as I often do.

But boy am I glad I did! Even though the email was short and polite, it didn’t tell me anything about the music, just a Bandcamp link, which I, again, for reasons unknown – (fate, destiny, the way of wryd?) opened and listened to.

I’m rarely surprised by any music I get nowadays; very little is truly unique or different anymore, either re-runs, retreads, established genres, and copy cats, which is fine, I like what I like. But this 4-song 22-minute EP is more of the more unique and blissfully delightful pieces of music I’ve heard recently.

Loosely residing in the symphonic/folk black metal realm, the internet tells me these guys were a more traditional folk/symphonic black metal act for three prior albums since 2018. However, on this EP, there appears to have been a bit of a shift.

When I pressed play and “Sucha rokyta” started, I was greeted with a sort of bouncy, catchy, new wave, synth pop black metal. Still harsh and residing in black metal’s atmospheric/melodic realms, especially vocally, but with these 80s sci-fi movie sort of cyber-y synths, rather than epic or sweeping orchestral arrangements. I think if you took Poland’s Furia mixed it with bands like Australia’s Metharsim or Ukraine’s Labyrinthus Stellarum, and even get hints of Covenant’s Nexus Polaris, you might get sort of close to this uniquely fun sound.

Second track “Sľipa vira” is a more mid-paced industrial stomper, cheesy 80s sci-fi, ‘hero walking through the rain in a neon-lit dystopian underground city’ vibes (Blade Runner/Deus Ex games, anyone?). The female ‘ahhhhhhh aahhhhh’ croons, cements the Nexis Polaris vibe too.

My personal favorite is the third track, “Falošnŷj prorok” a wondrously cosmic, airy. galloping track, before the EP ends with a tense, instrumental number that could be a chase scene in the aforementioned sci-fi movie/game.

I know this is a lot of words for a mere 22 minutes of music, but man, am I enamoured with these guys, especially this newer, neon-lit, cyber/sci-fi direction (I have checked out the band’s back catalog).

A large part of this is their ambition when it comes to blending several genres. Take for instance the laid-back, lounge sounds inspired by the story of Ron Burgundy and a banana peel (J/K), “Slipping Burgundy.” Vocalist Chelsea Murphy’s soulful clean vocals are accompanied by clean guitars with a build lasting up to nearly 3 minutes into the track where everything gets heavy, and Chelsea’s vocals become appropriately harsh. Then you’re treated to double bass and a dreamscape not dissimilar to Fallujah. The bottom drops out with around two minutes left, slipping into the sounds permeating the opening of the track, but only for a moment.

The Fallujah sounds also begin the album, with the title track, “Bioluminescence.” However, it’s basically the sound of that band mixing with furious black metal. It’s clear why it’s the title track because if Dawn of Ouroboros were to have a sound, this would be it. It’s quite a feat to make the title of the album and the track an earworm, so hats off.

Despite the band painting with a large palette, of course, the heavier or more brutal songs stand out. One of the finest examples of this is “Static Repetition.” At this moment I understand why they say they make music for themselves, as it’s very difficult not to be enthralled with this. The track is unrelenting, yet of course, still brimming with beauty. It’s certainly what the band specializes in.

From the heavy and unrelenting, “Mournful Ambience” journeys back into quiet beauty. It’s just Chelsea and a piano to close the album, and it works well. For many other bands, this would be seen as a change on which to expand for further releases. However, this is not something out of left field for the talented musicians in Dawn of Ouroboros.

While I will shy away from calling this their masterpiece, it’s tantalizingly close. I struggled with the review because I didn’t grasp the growth contained. Yes, it does still sound like a great band on the verge of something spectacular, but they’re even closer than before. Dawn of Ouroboros continues to improve with each album, and I’m happy to have been along for most of the ride.

The second song, “Reverie” reminds me of groups like Agalloch and Borknagar. “Sense Amplified” opens with some beautiful clean acoustic and bass parts before a nice orchestral string section is added to provide additional melody. The tempo picks up and the grim vocals kick in.

“Sun and Moon” is up next and is one of the longer tracks on the album. Opening again with gorgeous guitar and bass work accompanied by strings which transitions into an almost ethereal trance-like vocal pattern.  This musicianship through the album is top-notch and is incredibly impressive. “A Consciousness Throughout Time” is another beautiful, spacey track. The songs on the album go anywhere from five to eight minutes. “Vermillion Fog of War” is has a bit of folk metal vibe to it before a cool guitar break before going into the verse.

“Spoken Into Will” opens with a solo guitar line with a string accompaniment. For not being familiar with their material Amiensus does a wonderful job maintaining atmosphere throughout the album. “Transcendence Through Grief’ finishes the album and starts with some nice bluesy-sounding guitar leads with acoustic guitar underneath. The whole track is a nice instrumental to finish up the album.

At a run time of around an hour, this is an ambitious listen. I look forward to what these guys do in the future. If you are looking for meticulous melodic black metal with a bit of a post-metal feel, give it a spin.

The band’s transition from Equilibrium rip-off ( albeit a really good one), into a more stirring and epic style of pagan black metal akin to latter Moonsorrow and Viking era Bathory has been a welcome transition and this EP (on a new label, AOP Records) certainly hammers those influences home with rousing, sweeping grandiosity.

Jenseits (‘Beyond’) is one 40-minute song broken up into 4 parts, ans was recorded in 3D (whatever that means), but what you get is an absolutely stunning, immersive 4o minutes that’s a joy to absorb in one sitting on good headphones.

Once again, the massive Hans Zimmer-esque Brass orchestration dominates the sprawling mid-paced black metal vistas along with choirs, keyboards, duduk and flutes making the EP the band’s most cinematic, bombastic and grandiose release to date. Guitarist/vocalist/composer Simon Schillinger should look into scoring movies and video games.

Right out of the gate, we get the rousing clean vocals and choirs that start “Kapitel I: Freiheit” and lead into a stern, mid-paced stomp which continues for “Kapitel II: Dualität”, but with a sterner militant gait and a super rousing, brass filled climax to finish the track.  The third track, “Kapitel III – Reflexionen” is a reflective 5-minute number that’s all acoustic and mellow before the EPs 15-minute closing track highlights what Finsterforst has been perfecting over the last few years; a sprawling epic with a stirring choral bridge and even some blast beats at the 10 and a half minute mark, that’s truly magnificent.

The track ends with a reprise from the choral introduction of the first track, tying everything together into one lengthy EP that’s well worth your money (longer than some albums) and shows Finsterforst, whatever label they are on, is a force to be reckoned with in the genre.

The albums to follow continued to show their progression; Frost, Eld and Blodhemn; the split with Satyricon in ’95 was another meeting between two Norwegian Black Metal heavyweights.

A change in sound and approach echoed in the 2000’s with Mardraum (Beyond the Within). The instruments got beefier; the clean vocals became more pronounced. Throughout the 2000’s they continued to grow this sound with powerful, enormous as a fucking frost giant choruses and Progressive ingredients started showing up more and more until they just started using a fucking Hammond organ around the time of Ruun and Vertebrae.

It’s been 3 years since the fantastic Utgard was unleashed and here I sit with this blistering, assault on the senses called Heimdal. The opener “Behind the Mirror” washes ashore with the soothing sounds of water hitting the earth. The track expands with the sound of a Gjallarhorn and the song kicks into a galloping stride, the vocals soaring like a raven over the mountains. This 6.25-minute track introduces Heimdal so well, this is the Viking Black Metal, album of the year.

“Congelia” comes ripping in with a twisting riff over the harsh as-hell, but completely understandable vocals. Around the three-minute mark, it goes fucking insane, the keys bouncing around the guitars like Valkyries in Valhalla. “Congelia” strides like a giant across a battlefield and when the final solo and push to the end happens it’s in such a triumphant way that you can picture it (probably not the way I did, but I’m the guy with a keyboard), it’s easily my first favorite song on Heimdal.

“Forest Dweller” starts off with stunning harmonies and an acoustic guitar before this massive organ solo and it rages from there till almost the song’s end when the raw guitar does this awesome riff and the clean vocals from the beginning come back. The single track “Kingdom” starts off right proper with a bombastic intro. Jesus fucking Christ, Enslaved knows how to write a song. Around two minutes in it hits this striding beat with this Black ‘n’ Roll riff that marches with the drums. The production on Heimdal is impressive, everything is clear as a bell and I cannot enjoy this record enough.

“The Eternal Sea”, the instruments mirror the crashing waves of the North Sea. They rise to the soaring vocals which mix within to create a magical track that I find myself typing in rhythm to it. “The Eternal Sea” is my second favorite, it’s like a York Peppermint Patty because five minutes into the song you get the sensation of snow on your face, and the blisteringly cold wind embraces you in its icy grasp.

“Caravans to the Outer Worlds” starts with a longing solo bass, reminiscing the awesome In Times album, and it’s at the three-fifty mark that the first blast beats rear their head, it’s brief but then it goes this whole other direction and, I wouldn’t say slow down; but Enslaved do this funky beat at the six-minute that is utterly uplifting to hear and it is what makes Enslaved the titans they are, because each song has it’s own identity while fitting perfectly with each other, like the cracks in the Arctic ice. At the end of it all is the incredible title track. “Heimdal” takes your ass on an eight-minute journey, changing time before hitting a beastly pace, at the six-minute mark that continues to crack skulls until the marvelous outro.

Heimdal is enormous. It’s synonymous with a boat ride across the vast, frozen seas to unknown lands; an album filled with sorrow, rage, revenge and the indomitable spirit of humanity. If you’ve never heard Enslaved, maybe you’re one of those “y’know, I’ve always heard of them but never really listened to them” sort of person… you need to hear this record, and then go back and listen to their discography and smack yourself for not doing this sooner. This is a pure, Norwegian Black Metal Viking Metal album that bristles with mighty riffs and pounding drums, goddamn, the time change at the five-six-minute mark in “Heimdal” is colossal which is why this is such an exciting album, it’s like an aural battery pack to fill the soul with courage and honor.

Obviously, I cannot recommend Heimdal enough. It rises like a dragon from the endless sea, trapping ships in its thrashing jaws. So, for fans of… let’s see; Satyricon, Emperor, and Amon Amarth (only by the Viking aspect though). At this point in their stellar career, they have nothing to prove, every album is an exploration into what Black Metal can be. Expanding on the spirit of the 90s, while cracking into 2023 with an album this phenominal.

In case you missed it, the band has just recently released a four song EP entitled Caravans to the Outer World, and if you did miss it I could undertsand why, as the band has also just recently released four smatterings of live releases. I get not resting on your laurels, but that kind of prolificness is more than a damn bit impressive. If you liked what was going on with the sounds of Utgard then you will definitely be satisfied with Caravans…Yeah, there’s only four tracks, two of which are instrumentals, so your’e not getting a massive amount of jams, but what you do get is extremely worth it.

A little wind and bass start things out on the EP’s title track, mixing quietly with synths and some “light” guitar before the track explodes out into a nice ripping form of 21^st century Enslaved. While the track is a bit more straightforward and aggressive, there are still ample amounts of what makes Enslaved well, Enslaved. Familiar riffing melds with Grutle’s blackened rasp nicely, as the song’s main riff gets stuck in your head. Throw in some great soloing and some well placed blasts behind some clean crooning and “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” really takes on a life of its own.

Fading right into “Intermezzo I – Lӧnnlig. Gudlig”, we get some trippy/proggy key-work paired with a simple accent riff and a halftime rolling snare fill before the track finds itself in proper full on band form half way in. Becoming guitar dominant, the drums and bass move along with the guitars in a simple mid-tempo half jam, half exorcism relief. While not an intense track by any means, it still manages to crush in that relieving feeling it provides. Up next we get a bonafide sequel track with “Ruun II – The Epitaph” and if truth be told, I may just like this track better than its orginal namesake. Progressive strumming and synths combine in a build up of Melechesh flavored proportions while some terrific clean vocals help in the feeling of something ready to explode forth at any moment. The song finally “breaks” around the 4:00 minute mark, but in a massively subdued way, becoming laid back and almost meditative in its presentation.

Closing out this brief affair is “Intermezzo II – The Navigator”, beginning with a prog infused awesomeness, the song breaks into a simple driving little riff about a minute in, while some psychedelic-isms of keyes and frets begin to swirl the ears and the mind’s eye as well, before fading out all too early leaving just a twinge of not being fully satisfied, and while that kind of irks me a bit, it also leaves me anticipating their next ventures even that much more. All in all, this four song EP doesn’t really help or hurt the namesake that is Enslaved. The fact is if you dig the band, then you’ll enjoy this. If you don’t, you won’t. But lets be honest, how can someone not like this band?

Side note; While I already picked up this one to review, I stumbled upon their EP, He Who Rides Immolated Horses on CD at a local record store. It’s self-released as well, so what are the odds?

The first track, which is called “One Whisper,” begins with some clean guitars, some cowbell usage, and clean vocals, definitely making this track sound a lot like some good, old fashioned 70s prog… until it doesn’t. Then, those previously mentioned Ulcerate/early Gojira vibes come in. The yelled vocals are not deep growls like one would expect over this sort of musical backdrop. While they do take a few listens to appreciate, appreciate them you shall.

The second track “Whence Shall I,” is one of the rare ones on this album that does not stand out. It’s decent, but definitely sounds a lot of like Gojira and simply makes me miss them and long for their upcoming return. It’s not that I’s bad, but I just expected more after that incredible first track.

The letdown doesn’t last long, though. Track 3, “Surrender” may make you do exactly that to Stone Healer. With a faster intro, one could be thinking this will be a shorter track, but it’s over 11 minutes. The shouted vocals fit well again and the way songwriter/musician/vocalist/mastermind Dave Kominsky switches between those vocals, singing, and some deeper growls is a treasure to behold, along with the faster parts, clean guitars, and leads… all within the first few minutes! Yes, it does transition into a slower passage with clean vocals 3 minutes in and stays there for a couple, but not so long to bog down the track. The transitions in this one are the best on the album as there’s build to each one. In an album absolutely full of standouts, this is the top.

The last track I’ll mention is the closer, which is called “Into the Spoke of Night,” and it’s one of the shorter songs on display here. It’s a fast track with some vocals reminiscent of the one band you may have previously heard that I mentioned earlier, Gojira. Much like the rest of the album, there is a strong bass presence, and the vocals carry it. You get used to them very easily. The last two minutes here may be the heaviest on the record with some sections of the aforementioned band as well as some which sound like earlier Mastodon.

Look. This is fucking great. It took a while for it to click with me. I spent more time with it than I do a number of my reviews because I kept feeling like I was missing something and I needed to be patient. Yes, it’s 7 tracks in 51 minutes. Yes, all of the tracks besides a short interlude exceed 6 minutes. A lot of the transitions at first are a bit jarring, especially when going from prog or grandpas’ guitars into brutal sections. After a while, trust me, it makes sense. I’ll stop short of calling this a masterpiece, but damn if it isn’t close. Dave Kominsky and his brother Matt who plays drums, is well deserving of your hard-earned dollars. I’m buying this on CD… and a shirt. Check this out!

Having never heard, or even heard of, Brotthogg prior to picking The Die is Cast for review, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. If I’m being totally honest, and for whatever reason, I really didn’t anticipate anything original and /or groundbreaking. Funny thing though, while I definitely did not get anything remotely original or groundbreaking, I did get one hell of a fantastic album of deathly blackened, thrashing extremity. Built around the meshing of the influential offerings of Old Mans Child, Dimmu Borgir, Susperia, and Darkane, Brotthogg, whose name roughly translates to “the unpleasant one who gets the job done”, rips through seven tracks of dynamic and catchy, melodious and riff heavy , drum driven, synth-laden excellence. While yes, every track does indeed lie within the creative framework spectrum of said influences, and yes, those said influences can be easily spotted and called out, it’s all done so in a highly effective manner as opposed to simple copy-cat plagiarism.

Especially when Brotthogg throws out other fantastic influential styles that work so well and ring so true to the material. Like the Emperor and Dissection meets Astarte smatherings in “Forlis”, or the Dragonlord/Testament like fortitude found within “Icta Alea Est”. Of course one could hardly go wrong with “Draugen” and the tracks slower,  moodier and eerie melodic based dark lamentations that bring to mind a Behemoth-ian like nature. Or with the mighty “Liberation” and its abounding melodic licks, turn of the century-era Cradle of Filth/Dimmu Borgir keywork/synths, driving SteveAsheim(Deicide)-like footwork, and the flatout fantastic guitar solos of Stephen Carlson (an album highlight in itself) that all comes together somehow like a Scandinavian Dethklok in overall vibe and feeling. “Ressurection” dominates with strong blackened thrash of the Susperia kind, as does every track on The Die is Cast, though the stylings of old Megadeth, Dissection, and In Flames pop up unexpectedly, as does a tad of Symphony-X in the guitar happenings. Good Stuff!

Overall, Brotthogg more than pleasantly surprised me. The Die is Cast is more than a competent display of blasty, aggressive, deathly blackened thrash of the second generation Scandinavian kind. Catchy speedy, alluring at times and pretty much dynamic throughout. The album is full of terrific vocals via deathly growls, blackened rasps, and thrashing gruffs, driving rhythms and some stellar ass lead guitar work that provides many moments for headbanging and air guitar theatrics. Most of all, The Die is Cast provides good songwriting, plain and simple. With each track having its own identity and the album continously shifting, twisting, turning, pummeling, and bludgeoning in its precision and sophistication, the whole of it all hits with epic and zestful qualities galore.

Why Brotthogg has yet to be signed to a label proper is one more bogus ass thing about last year; hopefully better things loom ahead for the band, as well as humanity as a whole, in 2021. Based on the strength of The Dies is Cast alone, I doubt the band will stay on the independent side of things for too much longer.

This deep into a career, one could be forgiven for wondering out loud what could Enslaved possibly offer different on full length number 15 (!). If you don’t believe the answer to that is “a lot,” then why are you here? So, you know, fuck around and find out, as the kids say.

Let’s start with the first track, “Fires in the Dark.” It begins with some chanting, which is probably just the beginning of some weird Democratic blood orgy (by “weird,” I mean “sexy”). Look, if you’re not into blood orgies, why are you even listening to metal? After the chanting, which lasts about 30 seconds, there’s a quick clean guitar part before the track really gets going. The chanting comes back briefly, too. Before the second minute, those familiar black metal rasps take over with an epic backdrop. Not too long after that, the familiar, almost gothic cleans make an appearance. It’s no surprise they switch off frequently with the black metal rasps. If you couldn’t tell by the long paragraph here, the opening track has multiple changes, but is well written as seemingly each one makes a repeat appearance. A great opening track from these guys. I do not apologize for the lengthy opining.

The next I wish to mention is track 4, “Homebound,” which was the first single released for the album and it’s easy to see why. Beginning with a bit of a bouncy, progressive riff, it quickly transitions into the black metal rasps. Of course, there’s a tasty chorus section and a fantastic, melodic guitar lead after the chorus. After the lead, there’s a clean section, back into the rasps, then the chorus. Small adjustments to your typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula such as this are why Enslaved are so revered in metal circles.

Directly afterwards is “Utgardr,” which has some strange spoken word, too. I say “strange” because it’s in Norwegian and I don’t speak the language. It sounds like an invocation, but it’s probably an ancient spell and you’re now all pregnant for having heard it. However, it’s a short interlude and does lead well into the next track, which is called “Urjotun.”

“Urjotun,” starts out sounding a lot like some video game fight music and borderline surf rock. Those surf rock vibes go away quickly, though. For the remainder of the track, the black metal vocals and cleans switch off harmoniously. In a track like this, though, those black metal rasps hit hard and sound positively feral. The juxtaposition is enthralling. When I mentioned above that Enslaved can do whatever they want, I meant it… and they take advantage of it.

Onward to “Storms of Utgard,” which is not the closer but it is the title track, so I believe it bares mentioning. It’s a quick little track very light on the vocals side. Both the cleans and black metal rasps are there, but in short supply as the music carries it. Specifically, the progressive side of Enslaved’s black metal hippy side carries it.

This can also be said for the closer, which is called “Distant Seasons.” It’s short, uses clean vocals exclusively, and is definitely more of a progressive rock track, maybe even gothic, as opposed to their typical progressive black metal. The vocals are predictably stellar, but as mentioned before, they’re all clean. There’s nothing wrong with that when the execution is masterful.

So, let’s quit screwin’ around and get to the verdict. One factor which had me a little lukewarm on Enslaved’s previous few albums was the length (insert dick joke here). That has been addressed this time. Instead of eclipsing an hour, this one sits around 45 minutes. So, that’s positive. It’s also well written, well produced, well executed, catchy, and fun. There are very few negatives, but they exist. Mostly, at the end of the day, if you’ve heard Enslaved since they predominately dropped the black metal, then you’ve heard this style and this album. Admittedly, as mentioned before, because of the replay ability which can be attributed to the shortened runtime, it has a little more staying power for me. However, if you don’t like modern Enslaved (and you’re probably not reading this if you don’t), then you’ll pass on this one. However, if you’re into it (and you damn well should be), then this album is for you and you’ll enjoy the ever-loving shit out of it.

Here we are a year on and we have their latest album. Just kidding. It’s a reissue of their first ep, entitled Hive. It’s remastered and also includes a bonus track called “Arctopus.” We couldn’t be that fortunate to have a new full length this soon.

The first track is called “Apparition,” which includes a very brief intro, then right into a sludgy groove. The death metal roar kicks in shortly after that and we’re off and running. The underlying guitar verse sounds a lot like death metal by Mastodon. “Mastodeath,” if you will (but you don’t have to). About halfway through, there’s a clean guitar break, which doesn’t last long before going back into the blasting. When “Give in to the dark one” is screamed, I think it’s in your best interest to listen.

“Apparition” segues well into track 2, “Replicated,” which sounds more like a straight-ahead death metal song after that introductory “UGH!” It doesn’t take long to transition into another solid groove, which still maintains a Mastodon quality with an old school death metal vibe. That is, of course before going into the flamenco-like (ish) section a little less than 3 minutes in. This section turns into a strong sense of foreboding before another “UGH” gets us back into the death metal.

To end it all, we have two tracks which could be known as the “closer.” However, the original closer would have been “Hive,” which is a steady banger with a repeatable hook. It’s clear with about a minute left, as the rest of the music fades out, the guitar is left, then it fades into a short piano burst, this was definitely the correct choice to close it out. The last track is the bonus track, “Arctopus.” I must say, this would have been a pretty good closer, too, which, in this case, it is.

Overall, having not heard the original, I can say the master on this pops from the speakers. “Arctopus” is a little bit louder, which is noticeable, but it otherwise fits in with the rest of the EP. Personally, I agree with the band and am glad this is being released in a physical format. If you’re into their LP, I would recommend strongly picking this up. I know I will be doing the same.

Dawn of Ouroboros are a new entity formed by Botanist guitarist Tony Thomas and vocalist Chelsea Murphy (who, according to promotional materials, has done session work for the recent Doom Eternal  video game). In 2018, bassist David Scanlon was added, as well as Ron Bertrand, also of Botanist.

We begin with track 1 (where else would we begin, track 5?), titled “Revivified Spirits,” is an intro/first track hybrid. There’s a significant build for nearly 3 minutes, which includes some buried spoken word and a small weeping lead before the vocals begin with blasting in tow. Chelsea’s growls are full, throaty, and a highlight. The production is clean, although a little flat, but a good intro track we have.

The next track of note is, well, the next one, “Pinnacle Induced Vertigo.” Chelsea shows off her significant clean vocal chops. In fact, she sounds strikingly like Vicky Psarakis from The Agonist. I wondered if she had a guest appearance, saw nothing of it, then realized those vocals appear multiple times throughout the album. The appearance of them in this track is how a band can do clean vocals well. They’re frequently most effective when used sparingly, depending on the sub-genre of metal, and they nail it here.

Moving forward, track 4, “Lunar Cathexis,” brings back the clean vocals. This track has a wonderful tremolo picked melody throughout and the clean vocals really add to it, bringing some variety to the affair. I thought the track was very short, but the keyboard outro took it to over 5 minutes. The immediately following track 5, “Spiral of Hypnotism,” begins its 7-minute runtime with some piano left over from the previous track. It’s not always great when tracks seem to bleed into on another, but it’s pulled off well here, and adds to the cohesiveness so far. A melodic, but not flashy lead follows the clean vocals about 3 minutes in. I’m liking what I hear so far, but a longer track with no real chorus doesn’t especially do it for me.

“Sorrow’s Eclipse,” which is track 7 of 8, is the longest track on the album, which, for some reason, even though I have a poor attention span, these longer songs tend to be my favorites. This song is carried by superb instrumentation, specifically multiple guitar leads, which lead back into the searing vocals. The last two minutes or so of this track is where Dawn of Ouroboros truly shine. There’s a melodic keyboard section, which transitions into the searing vocals, into a guitar lead, then into somber melodic vocals with a keyboard backing to end the track. The last track is entirely instrumental, and pretty well sticks with the established sound on the album.

So, what’s the verdict? I dig it. I went into this completely blind, having never heard or heard of the band. I think this is one hell of a debut. The songs are well played, well executed, and they sound like a veteran band. I don’t mean that negatively. There’s a lot of songwriting and instrumental prowess, as well as incredible energy. It’s not album of the year material, and with a lack of strong hooks, I’m not sure I will continue to come back to it, but it’s a purchase for me, and I will greatly be looking forward to future output from these guys (and girl).

“The Listless World” starts out atmospheric and quite with the soft instrumentation before the powerful guitar comes forth and again with extraordinary melodies and more fiendish black metal vocals.  Definitely a lot going on with the drumming.  This fella has some serious talent.  More blasting with a nice growl over the blast.  The brutality slows down, for the listener to catch their breath.  The mid-paced elements take center stage with deeper vocals and then some guitar riffing that has quite a bit of traditional metal influence, which is a huge bonus for me.  The song picks up pace with the alternating range of vocal ranges.  Guitar soloing and picking is pretty fast and also methodical in the melodies.  Extremely well though out.  In the middle of the album is a track titled “Interlude”.  Again-I find this pointless.  Therefore along with the intro the album is 6 real songs.  I would have preferred either the scrapping of these 2 interludes with either one full song or a real instrumental with instruments and some atmosphere.

“Useless Is the Song of Man, from Throats Calloused by Name” is over 8 minutes and you could not have asked for a longer song title.  This song is brutal and ferocious, but again Izthmi incorporate some serious melody over the pounding drums and this again, quite emotive and the varied vocal attack is incredible.  This prevents monotony and halfway through the song, some more atmospheric moments with the vocals over the soft part-really adding some extra depth.  Yet again, another excellent song and the rest of the songs follow along the same path.

Izthmi are a very talented act and The Arrows of Our Ways is going to make my year end list, for sure.  I do encourage them to wipe out the pointless intros and interludes.  They just take up space.  The actual songs, on the other hand, are the polar opposite.  They are amazing.  I would say the description of progressive, atmospheric black metal is right on point.  A little death metal influence with the vocals during certain parts of the album add an additional element to Izthmi, which also adds to originality.  The song structures, melodies, instrumentation and production values are not something one would expect from a very new act.  I would expect this quality maybe on a second album, for sure, therefore Izthmi are surprisingly fresh and ahead of the extreme metal game, if you will.

This act has a bright future ahead of them.   The album cover appears to have a water color aspect to it and flows like a Monet.  I would imagine the figure in the middle, was traipsing a little too much and fell down and is taking an eternal nap.  I love the cover.  The use of light and colors kind of go along with the musical landscape Izthmi have conjured with The Arrows of Our Ways.  A stunning and killer debut album!

First off, a bit of context. Axioma Ethica Odini brought back the feral aggression and power that was somewhat absent from the ‘Floyd-ian and softer (relatively speaking) progressive wanderings of Vertebrae, but rather than stay put, RIITIIR proves to be an even more protean and shape-changing beast – as Axioma‘s closing moments in “Night Sight” and “Lightening” (plus the very exploratory Sleeping Gods EP) already suggested. This is the most aggressively daring collection of songs the band has put out since Monumension and Mardraum, but it also pulls in the dynamics, masterful clean singing, soaring melodies and yes, ’70s swagger that the band fine-tuned on Isa and Ruun. So there’s a lot of potential here to blend all of those elements into exciting and progressive compositions, and with “Death in the Eyes of Dawn,” and the epic album centerpiece, “Roots of the Mountain,” Enslaved succeeds magnificently.

“Death in the Eyes of Dawn” is the best-written, most cohesive track on the album (and not surprisingly, the one that reminded me most of Opeth, although even Akerfeldt’s work is sometimes more restless). The song seems to reach back through the ages, as if the band sliced into their veins and dripped their Viking heritage into a progressive metal paean that just oozes with grandeur. After opening with a rangy, mid-paced riff over stately keyboards, it crawls through a haze of progressive murk and snarled spoken-word. Then it crests into a gorgeous, ringing chorus that trades off between Larsen’s rich, supple vocals and Grutle’s subterranean croak – an approach which is repeated often throughout the album. Ivar’s guitar solo following the second chorus rises to an even more impressive summit – I can’t recall ever hearing something quite so fluid or rhapsodic from him.

That is, of course, until you get to the absolutely triumphant melodies shot through almost all of “Roots of the Mountain.” The rippling dual guitar lead at the 3:45 alone is worth the entire song – it’s godly and unrestrained, and you wish it would go on forever, but then there’s the heart-rending and glorious final two minutes to look forward to, and those are even better. Even given its batshit blackened berserker opening and bizarre, proggy mid-song lurch, “Roots of the Mountain” is just a tremendous and joyful peak in Enslaved‘s career – the sound of a band confidently and exuberantly embracing their unique dual identity. It’s so confident, in fact, that even Larsen’s soprano vocals throughout the song don’t sound out of place so much as they just feel honest and from the heart.

After such stirring and cathartic heights, the sedate and pensive pace of the rest of RIITIIR can’t be anything but frustrating, and although it has rarely lost my interest during my many listens – there’s just so much to take in on every track – it also never gets the blood pumping or sets the spirit on fire. Previously, the band’s progressive wanderings have rarely taken them far from their black metal beginnings – as speedy, jagged discography favorites like “The Dead Stare,” “Fusion of Sense and Earth” or “Violet Dawning” capture – but much of RIITIIR seems weighed down by sludgy mid-tempo riffs and equally sleepy clean croons.

“Veilburner” is a perfect example of this. It starts with an admittedly cool stomp, but then wanders off into a sing-songy melody and a dull chorus which is only made more interesting by the layered vocal approach of Larsen’s cleans over Grutle’s guttural growls. Almost 7 minutes long and I didn’t feel like I was taken anywhere really special in all of that time (the fact that it’s sandwiched between the album’s two most dynamic and exciting tracks doesn’t help either). “Materal” starts like like a droning Alice in Chains number, but then twists into something more blackened and insidious – an improvement –  and also features another rhapsodic guitar solo halfway through. Still not something I’m dying to skip to, though.

The title track has a bit more life as well- it kicks off with a swaggering Mastodon riff and features a briefly thrashy bit towards the end – but it too is weighed down by overly dreamy clean melodies. In fact, Mastodon popped in my head more than a few times during RIITIIR, but not the cool, sledgehammer-toting, shaggy-stoner-riff, crazy-octopus-drumming Mastodon – instead it was the overwrought noodling of Blood Mountain or the more dull and amelodic parts of The Hunter.

I’m also torn on the opener, “Thoughts Like Hammers,” which features the same amount of twists and turns as “Death in the Eyes of Dawn” or “Roots of the Mountain,” and starts the album with a monstrous lurch, yet its melodies aren’t as grand, and the sing-songy cleans don’t soar as high, and so it just feels like a summit barely glimpsed. Oddly enough, the one noodly segment on the album that has seemed to annoy everyone else – the very proggy keyboard odyssey in the middle of album closer “Forsaken” – sounded really cool to me, so much so that I wish there were more of it.

If this sounds unfair, perhaps it’s because I’ve been spoiled by some fantastic peaks elsewhere on the record, and also much tighter and compelling songwriting on albums like Isa and Ruun. I just went back and listened to Monumension again recently in preparation for this review, and it’s a lot closer to RIITIIR than I originally thought. It too has plenty of long, drawn-out and exploratory songs with slower, doomier riffs, but it also had a bizarre and outlandish energy all its own, which I don’t really get from this one.

Once again, I always look forward to a new Enslaved album as I am always assured of a unique and immersive journey, but I just couldn’t get swept away this time. If all of RIITIIR were composed of triumphs like “Death in the Eyes of Dawn” or “Roots of the Mountain,” or featured more of the satisfying melodies and groove that continues to keep Ruun at the top of my list, then this wouldn’t just be my pick for the year and my favorite album in Enslaved‘s discography, but likely one of the crowning achievements of progressive metal’s last decade. Oh well, at least that cover art is amazing.