ALBUM REVIEW: Mið – Enslaved

ENSLAVED return triumphantly with Mið. Amazingly, their seventeenth full length album in an expansive career that has seen them growing from their black metal origins and expanding into possibly the most progressive act in the history of extreme music. Thus, continuing the journey the Norwegian extreme metal behemoths started all the way back in the early nineties with albums like Vikingligr Veldi and Frost.

Fast forward thirty two years later from when their debut album came out and Mið sees ENSLAVED burrowing even further into their progressive and forward thinking realms and exploring even more examples of the limitless potential of metal music. That is not to say they have abandoned their heaviness as that is still in the bands DNA in spades, along with a sense of harmony that makes this such a compelling album.

Mið, which is named after an Old Norse word for ‘centre’, or ‘middle’ kicks off with Non-Being and from then on over the next seven tracks you are taken on another vast journey with ENSLAVED at the helm. The powerful music that the band creates sounds as fresh and forward thinking as it ever has, while at the same time sounding as uncompromising as it gets. The band never forget their roots in the slightest and this combination is what has always, and continues to make, ENSLAVED such a special band.

Continuing on, the album progresses in its journeyed state with the formidable and anthemic I Am Ice, with this song being a collaboration with Norwegian Sami musician JOHAN SARA JR and sees his musical expertise coexisting with the world of ENSLAVED in a sublime fashion. Meanwhile, the crushing Solar Will keeps things heavy with its black metal/classic heavy metal hybrid and some crucial melodic elements and some choice riffs in there for good measure. The sublime Mountain initially marks a change of pace for the album and shows ENSLAVED at their most harmonious before erupting into a mammoth groove on a track that would absolutely kill in a live scenario, especially as it reaches its conclusion.

Spirit Helper is another track that really encapsulates the scope of the music of ENSLAVED and is a hypnotic track that features Native American educator KEVIN KICKING WOMAN from the Blackfeet Nation. It has a chant like vibe throughout that creates an atmosphere unlike anything the band have done in the past. It works so well before the epic snarl of Parting amps up the heaviness again with an vast display of terror.

The album concludes with the pulverising but majestic Tales Of Trees and the monolithic anthem I Miðju, the latter of which ends the whole album in a sombre but beautiful note, pleasingly wrapping up such an eclectic album. Mið is a gloriously atmospheric and harmonious record while remaining totally unpromising from beginning to end. This has to be the highest compliment that you can both this album and for ENSLAVED as a band, and cements the bands reputation as kings of progressive metal.

Rating: 8/10

Mið is set for release on October 30th via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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