Somewhat more than a year after their mighty Mardraum album Enslaved return to the scene with a brand new record. This time the band concentrated on creating a complete concept album. On Monumension both music and lyrics as well as layout and (cover-)artwork all fulfill a specific role in the central concept of ‘the outer , inner and transcendental prelude to Ragnarock’. (For more details on the conceptual aspect watch out for the upcoming interview with Grutle Kjellson .) But this is not the only element that distinguishes Monumension from its predecessors. This new album is in some ways a logical continuation of Mardraum, for instance the urge to experiment is still a important factor in Enslaved’s music. However this urge has only grown stronger and as a consequence the music on Monumension is certainly more experimental (much more psychedelic & characteristic 70’s influences) than on it’s predecessor. It’s clear that Enslaved didn’t attempt to restrain their creativity, they did just the opposite which at times results in the songs almost breathing the atmosphere of a jamming session. This very aspect makes the new album probably less accessible to a large mainstream audience.

Moreover the complex character of the songs enforced by the raw production and estranged sound-effects might constitute a barrier for the unsuspecting listener.

The music on this record that cannot be grasped at once and it takes more than a few turns to discover it’s diversity. The real Enslaved fans and those in search for more experimental blackmetal stuff will definitely find much to fulfill their musical hunger on Monemension. The track ‘Vision’ pretty much incomporates the band’s various musical influences. It starts out rather thrashy including over-the-top solo but quickly a very black metallish passage takes over, followed by furious blastsbeats with yet another very freaky solo and a surprising break.. etc etc. In other words it is not easy to describe Enslaved’s style on only a few words and the synergy of the many elements create that very unique and typical Enslaved sound, only on Monumenension it has all been taken a bit further. I guess it is, like it has always been, a case of either you love it or it leaves you completely indifferent. Check it out with an open mind and you’ll find out that there’s much to discover.