Enslaved
OH MY GOD!!! I can tell you now that I love this album. Best Album of this year and straight into my top 5 albums off all time! I have absolutely no idea where to begin with “Vertebrae”. Enslaved masterfully mix Black metal with dreamy soundscapes not dissimilar to Isis or even Pink Floyd. Progressive, heavy, melodic and pushing the boundaries of a whole number of heavy music scenes.
Previous albums 'ISA' and 'RUUN' hinted at the level that Enslaved could reach. 'Vertebrae' reaches beyond them and further. Tracks seamlessly mix between moments of tranquillity and sheer beauty and rise to the most splendid grandjour and the most spiteful black metal. I wasn’t 100% on the clean vocals before, but it all makes perfect sense on this section, undeniably Pink Floyd-esque. All 8 tracks are standout tracks for me, but if you really pushed my to pick out my favourite, opener 'Clouds' for its odd use of keyboard/synth and driven guitars swell before giving way to hypnotic rhythms and majestic vocals not a million miles away from Aaron Turner of Isis. Nevertheless, straight after this you are then handed nasty black metal vocals and vicious guitars. The change between them is seamless, how? The track continues to flick between the completely divine and downright dirty.
After constantly listening to this album night and day, I haven’t grown tired of 'Vertebrae' yet. Your opinion may vary from mine; you may say I went over the top with this review with praise. Nevertheless, I urge you to listen to 'Vertebrae' and form your opinions, but that does not mean I want to hear them or care, because I will still be listening to 'Vertebrae' until Enslaved’s next release. I do not know how they can ever surpass 'Vertebrae' but I am sure they will give it a go. To sum this review up, I would like to say that listening to this record has change my perceptions about what can be done with music, especially black metal.