Moonsorrow - Verisakeet

Y'know those bands that you upload to your iPod and only give two or three listens to before losing interest only to re-discover them a year later when nothing else is quite appealing? That's just how I rediscovered Moonsorrow's Verisakeet (Bloodverses) the other day, boredom.

For those that don't know Moonsorrow is similar to Finntroll but serious. Both hammer out epic Viking Metal ballads in a somewhat similar manner but whereas Finntroll create their music tongue-in-cheek (influenced by alcoholic debauchery), Moonsorrow are dead serious, creating grandiose, drawn-out opus' (opi?). Lead singer, Ville Sorvali yelps in an impressive Black Metal shrill while his orchestral-like band belt out swooning anthems. Bathory is clearly a huge influence here as most Moonsorrow songs start off with or lead up to somber (post or pre-Great Viking battle) Lute licks.

I'm not sure if I like Moonsorrow, think they're alright or if they need improvement. Either way I find their approach annoying but interesting. Moonsorrow are not the kinds of artists the dance around the point or head right to it. On the contrary, they beat the point into you. These sprawling 10+ minute songs (which is a great deal for only $10 at Generation Records), can become quite an ordeal. Not to say that noisy, speedy songs of no longer than three minutes, with respect to utility and convenience are more appealing to me; I'm all for pondering beyond boxy confines. However, if you're going to compose songs approximately three to four times larger than modern day conventional songs, you better have a good reason to do so, not to mention a good way to keep your listeners interested. Moonsorrow both tumble and succeed in this area. While the band forgo the bridge-chorus structure, melodies are repeated between one to three minutes before shifting gears again. While some parts will reach intense climaxes and surges, you might be slapping yourself on the head due to the redundancy of their formula. While Verisakeet is an interesting and mostly fun album, these sort of give and takes, teases and highs and lows marshaled by anthemic folk metal can become repetitive and a little tiring. Furthermore, Finntroll's success is largely due to their casual take on the mostly straight-faced, bombastic Viking genre. Perhaps Moonsorrow could loosen up a little and shake off some of their pompousness; image-wise they're not cutting a unique niche from other Viking bands. Still, a good Viking metal album best listened to when combating rude New York City subway pedestrians during rush hour.

June Round-Up

I want to apologize to those few good people that read this blog. The blogger has been in the throes of post-college job hunting lately which has consumed much of the bloggers free time. Things are settling down now; blogger hopes there will be more posts.

1) The Loft - On A Tuesday - Magpie Eyes 1982 -1985

I bought this album on a spurt due to the fact that it was in the "insanely-cheap-used-aisle" of Kim's Videos near Columbia University. Although listed as Jangle-Pop by Allmusic.com, The Loft's sound is spiced through the use of layered angular noise and great drumming. The Loft remind me of The Embarrassment but more consistent (at least this compilation is) and a band with a tighter grip on their sound. A great buy for only $6.

2) A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum - Peoples Instinctive Travels
Bonita Applebum is perhaps ATCQ's best known song and for good reason. A perverse yet slyly delivered rap sonnet. The perfect summer song, best played when noticing more scantily clad females in NYC during this weeks heat wave.

3)Watain - The Serpents Chalice - Sworn to the Dark

With their third LP, Watain has garnered a lot of press as of late. Perhaps this is easy to see why. Gone are the old putting-a-pigs-head-on-a-pole days of Satanic Metal when Mayhem, Emperor and Immortal (among others) struck fear into the hearts of Norways religious minority (The statistic for regular Norwegian church goers is around 2%) . The older bands (for example the post-Vikernes and Euronymous days of Mayhem) can no longer be deemed purist Black Metal, opting to explore the infinite sub genres such as symphonic, melodic, progressive and so on. Well produced and adorned with angst-y melodic furnishes, if Sworn to the Dark is not a hark back to Black Metals early days in aesthetics, it is in spirit.

4)Klute - Hell Hath No Fury - The Emperors New Clothes

For a newbie the world of Drum n' Bass is quite dizzying. Where as other dance sub genres have a more clear cut evolution and its own trailblazers, DnB history is an intimidating tornado. True, the movement matured from the Hardcore techno days of the early 90's however judging by my research there is no definite start date or originator of the scene. Instead you have an army of DJ's who all contributed to the scene in its infancy. Maybe I'm psychologically name dropping Klute here on the June Round-Up but even though he may not be a good start, he's a damn good DJ.

5) Ciccone Youth - Get Into the Groovey - The Whitey Album
Shortly after their 1988 revolutionary masterpiece, Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth professed their love for Madonna and recruited Minute Men bassist, Mike Watt to composed tongue-in-cheek covers of famous pop songs. Ciccone Youth is Sonic + 1 at their funniest and most casual. Furthermore its somewhat a throwback to their more aggressive days like Evol and Bad Moon Rising as CY casually dish out raw slices of noise, trimmed with pop shining.

6)Eternal Grey - War of Chaos - Kindless

Sure, due to my background I have an instant liking towards any music from Israel. Even so, Eternal Greys not too bad. Generally speaking they are a talented, genre blending band (Black and Death) with a preference to Metallica.

7)The Dramatics - Get Up and Get Down - Whatcha See is Whatcha Get
Before the dance complexities of Grinding, one could just get up and move their feet.



8)Jesu - Conqueror - Conqueror

Jesu is the post-Godflesh, post-nervous breakdown project of Justin Broadrick. Almost a My Bloody Valentine meets Doom Metal.

9)Shadows of Knight - Someone Like Me - Gloria

Shadows took the British Invasion formula of the 60's and spiced it with a grittier edge. Despite most of their work being covers of other bands, Shadows stripped down their sound and played it faster.

10)The Dictators - Two Tub Man - Go Girl Crazy
Although counted as a prime shaker of the Glam/Proto-punk scene, The Dictators' legacy often takes a backseat compared to the likes of New York Dolls, The MC5 or Iggy and the Stooges. Yet its undeniable how influential they were, perhaps more than any other band of their time. Some songs like Master Race Rock could pass for a hardcore punk song if only played faster. Clearly, The Ramones took notes. (note: listen carefully for a Lou Reed dis)

Machine Gun Analysis

Machine Gun Etiquette was equally a triumphant return for The Damned after their 78 break-up and a sort of last hurrah for the original British Punk Rock sound. Post-Sex Pistols break up proved to be a very chaotic time for Punk in both sides of the Atlantic sporing Post-Punk, Oi and Hardcore, among others. New approaches to the minimalist three-chord formula were being birthed constantly by the late 70's and early 80's. After reforming in 1978, The Damned didn't join the burgeoning hardcore scene or pursue a more "intellectual" punk road like The Pop Group or Joy Division. After their disastrous sophomore release, Music For Pleasure (a main catalyst for Brian James' departing and subsequent break up) MGE found a Damned in peak form. Finally, MGE is a defiant stand during a sort of tumultuous gray void that occupied Punk Rock history in the wake of the Sex Pistols death. This 1979 album subtly screamed (at the time) the now obscenely cliched phrase, "Punks not dead!"

MGE is one of the most furious punk albums in existence and certainly The Damned's best, by far exceeding their freshman (and sophomore) output. Sure, Damned Damned Damned is the first British Punk LP, however it sounds dated and more like a band still working on their sound (at least in the authors opinion). Plus, it really doesn't stand in comparison to the Punk output that would arrive soon after, like X-Ray Spex or The Sex Pistols plain steamrolling (British) music in 1977. With the exit of Brian James, and Captain Sensible taking over much of the writing, The Damned not only sounded much more refreshed but more confident and in some ways more menacing. And I don't mean menacing in the scary (Death/Black) Metal sense, but menacing in the cheeky, juvenile sense that Brit Punk is so infamous for. Love Song kicks the album off with a sleazy psychedelia-like intro before Sensible makes some hilarious analogies about love, "I'll be the rubbish if you'll be the bin". The album titles song, is their fastest and most furious, as The Damned dabble with the blooming Hardcore sound of the time. Noise Noise Noise, as the song title implies is wonderfully crafted with chaotic chorus guitar work and lyrics that the author fully agrees with, "Noise is for hero's, leave the music for zero's!" Anti-Pope is a hilariously cheeky song as Sensible takes potshots at the church:

There’s gonna be some fun tonight

Spreading news around the town

That the vicars are transvestites

With a fetish for robes and gowns

MGE reaches an apex by Smash It Up with a sensational intro in part 1, leading up to a juvenile frenzied epic in part 2.
In the authors opinion, most of The Damned's material has been mostly hit or miss (no pun intended). MGE's successors like The Black Album, Strawberries or Phantasmagoria hardly compared to their 1979 monstrosity unfortunately. And while one can applaud The Damned for constantly experimenting with their pop sound, their successes were a mixed bag half the time. However, MGE was not only The Damned's most thrilling work but most consistent too. Perhaps the only low point of the album was These Hands, which feels like a failed attempt at the bands staple oddball, black humor. The Damned were fearless however, treading a barrage of complex solos and chords; an area that many of their contemporaries would shy away from. Furthermore, its easy to pick up on the Psychedelia and Blues influence within this album (other than the White Rabbit cover) such as the sleazy Love Song intro, a beautiful climax on Plan 9 Channel 7 and even conga's on Anti-Pope (of course I'm just grouping in the odd use use of congas into the Psychedelic field...but hey, it's my blog). Personally, I can't listen to the album too much as the more I do listen to MGE the more I find myself falling in love with this masterpiece.

MAY ROUND-UP

Mixes are usually viewed as a cheap and effective way to get into the opposite sexes pants. That's partly correct. It's a convenient way to convey an image or reveal emotions or thoughts in a 700 megabyte piece of plastic. Its cost effectiveness means no financial or otherwise material harm will be done (aside from emotional) if the Mix does not produce the intended reaction from the receiver and there is also the bonus of a possibility of mass production(again, no harm done). Mixes aren't merely cheap alternatives to flowers, chocolates or conversation, they serve many non-sexual functions as well. Mixes are made for friends, family, exercise, clubs, parties and many other things. A Mix either on CD form, Ipod, vinyl (if possible?) or tape can be divided into four categories. The first being an Identity Mix, conveying the mixers thoughts, ideas or to portray a certain image of the mixer in music form. The Identity mix can be intended for someone else or oneself. The second being, the Pro-active Mix, usually intended for clubs or parties or gyms or even more relaxed areas such as cafe's or stores or ones home. The purpose of such a mix is generally not a keen interest in the artists but rather to improve the ambiance of a certain space--either by relaxation or stimulation--, help produce an intended physical reaction from the audience or act as a catalyst for the occupants of some place. The third mix is the Promotional Mix. This includes commercial compilations, both of a specific band/artist or of various bands. Generally speaking, Promotional Mixes seek to promote a specific band/artist, a music scene/genre/location or a record label(and its roster). Finally the fourth is a Personal Mix, which might go hand-in-hand with the Proactive Mix. Basically, a mix only intended for the mixers own ears.

After that long, run-on paragraph however, I'm not posting a mix here. Instead, this is a Round-Up. It's anything or anyone that I have been listening to in May. Newly discovered and recently re-discovered. Obscure and popular. They're all what I consider the most intriguing of audio adventures I had this month. Songs are in accordance with the Collector to the right.

MAY ROUND-UP
Painkiller - Death - The Sound of Perseverence
You've got to be an awesome Death Metal band if your lead singer untimely does what the bands name conveys. Though tradic, this would be Death's last album and definitely their best. Painkiller sounds like a parody of the 80's Thrash days as much as it is a homage to the scene. Regardless, an amazing song.

Front Page - Teengenerate - Get Action!
Americans think Japan is weird! When it comes to imported music, Japan is home to the utterly bizarre (see Boredoms or Sigh) or the utterly hyperactive (or both). Teengenerate is what I like to call a "What-If" band. Like what if the Ramones were crack-heads. Its a shame they're not as famous as Eastern Psychobilly contemporaries such as Guitar Wolf or post-Kill Bill 5,6,7,8's.

Snow Driver Engine - Vampire Mooose - Serenade the Samurai
Vampire Mooose proves Chord Palming is really really fun. Although Samurai isn't exactly amazingly mind blowing, it does deliver blow to the mind. I have a feeling that they're just stretching their muscles for what's to come on their next LP.

Gypsy - Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
All this jabber about Watain has made me want to look into my Black Metal history again. Anyway, whats not to love about a Mercyful Fate cover.

Toxica - Plastic Peoples of the Universe - Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned
Should I be surprised or indifferent to the fact that the Soviet Union produced one of the weirdest art rock bands of the 70's? Whatever, look out for those violins throughout the song; surreal.

Beneath the Mire - Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Ghost Reveries astonished the hell outta me. The best song in my opinion is Beneath the Mire which has a sort of Gorguts-like, avant-death beginning. Look out for the killer dual solo's in 3:00.

Think Quick - Infiniti - The Infiniti Collection
Inifiniti is Juan Atkins' more mellow stuff. Lots of simple repetitive melodies accompanied by subtle dance beats. Great stuff.

Don't You Cross The Line - Boot Camp Clik - The Last Stand
BCC prove they're on to a good thing since The Chosen Few.

Surf Combat - Naked Raygun - Throb Throb
I've loved Naked Raygun since my facial-hairless days of yore. My only previous knowledge of them however, was the masterpiece, Jettison. Jeff Pezzati's yelp, "Muscle Beach is now Pork Chop Hill" is the crowning moment on Throb Throb.

Cause I'm a Playa (ft. Pimp C) - Project Pat - Crook By The Book (The Fed Story)
I love Pat. In the Three 6 Mafia reality show, Adventures in Hollyhood, Project Pat barely speaks a line each episode (his episodical appearances seem infrequent too), which I am thoroughly convinced is due to the fact that he is a complete psycho.

Of Darksome Origin - Edge of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow
I think that I've played this song at least once every month for at least three years already.

EverReady (The Religion) - Tech N9ne

Upon gazing on the relatively cheaply made album cover through the clear polythene wrapping, a feeling of deep remorse overwhelmed me for the Kansas City MC, Tech N9ne. For about 20 years give or take, Tecca Nina has suffered from various potholes and barriers on his way to rap dominance. Quite simply, the guy has no luck. Sure, his latest album titled Everready (The Religion) has had a few minor hits and has been featured in some video games, however he still has yet to conquer or even get a foot on mainstream establishment the way T.I. did it. That's really a shame because of the sheer talent and originality of Tech N9nes style.

Lyrically, whats great about Tech N9ne is how eloquent he is. Sure, he raps about drinking, sexual fantasies, partying and other carnal or criminal facets of gangster life, perhaps subjects devoid of eloquence, you say. Yet N9ne has this great lyrical wit about him and a smooth, almost lackadaisical delivery. Whereas, Yough Jeezy or Young Dro deliver with a deep, sometimes raspy voice as if to convey some deep down grittiness, Tech N9ne feels more natural, like some party guy in college that will freely talk about their hedonistic experiences of yore. Furthermore he has an amazing bottomless bag of slang, most of which are inside jokes that are not always privy to the listeners (some slang--like his word "Bianca", a name to describe a certain kind of woman that is more liberal in her sexual ethics--are mentioned in his previous albums so new listeners might be at a loss if they have not studied Tech's earlier "lectures"). I hate to recycle a phrase from the last post, but he's like a people's partier. He's not trying to look tough in a club, he's just trying to have a good time.
While this may not shock the rap world, Tech N9ne however is brutally honest, personal and ventures into territory that most other rappers, especially Southern ones would hesitate to touch. If you listen to any one of his Cd's you'll find an MC carrying tons of emotional baggage from every direction. I know what you're thinking too, being emotional is nothing new in Gangsta rap. Even the most brutal gangsters drop their guard at times to show sad little boy on the inside. Yet for the most part, many of these standard heartbreak songs usually involve some girl that meant much to the rapper yet things never materialized. Case in point, take Young Dro's, We Lied off of last years, Best Thang Smoking. Almost the whole album, albeit great, contains club or gangster related songs except for that small cliched concession. Yet even these sad heartbreak songs are cleverly disguised boastings about relationships with the opposite gender. Tech N9ne laments about almost every little thing, from fans to family to even his hardships in finding success after 20 years in the business. The Rain is actually a story most working parents could empathize with as Tech N9ne bemoans about how his work usually comes in the way of his family, especially his children. Few gangsta rappers have the testicular fortitude to mention their marital status, least of all their dependents.
In his music, Tech N9ne attributes a majority of his failures to a lack of understanding. For example, many view his unorthodox appearance (red hair, scary clown costumes) as possible deterrent to Black audiences and a reason for why he's had so much trouble establishing himself alongside contemporaries, T.I. or Jeezy(Yet studies show that Caucasians make up the bulk of Hip Hops listeners). While this blogger's skin color offers little help in N9ne's defence, many audiences (despite their racial background) are missing out on Kansas City, Missouri's best kept secret. Tech N9ne's failure could be attributed to a possible lack of understanding about the music industry itself. Perhaps N9ne has little interest in the subject, yet he fails to discuss issues in music business on the same level as established rappers. While the aforementioned, T.I. will boast its importance (and his business savvy-ness) in the field of achieving dominance, Tech N9ne seems to have many bruises and much contempt for this political/corporate (and unavoidable) face of the music industry. N9ne isn't the first great musician that faltered in the murky waters of business. Whatever the case is, Everready, is a display of N9ne's sheer genius and strength to tread on despite his industry scars and scraps. Everready is really his tightest album (ok ok, its actually a "Collectors Item" officially) yet. Also, there are few (Southern) artists that can seriously compare with his sheer skill and originality as shown in this album. Few are so unique as Tech's approach to club music as displayed in Night and Day or Caribou Lou. I don't know any other rappers that actually have a duet with their own child as listened to in The Rain. Few artists such a perverted wit as in Flash, whereby Tech claims that the only solution to relieving the stress of touring is by asking his female audience to remove their tops during his concerts (also it may be a clever way of advertising his concerts to male audiences but who knows). Words seriously cannot do justice to Tech N9ne's abilities and I'm sure that you, fair reader, have better things to do than read on and on into oblivion about my thoughts about N9ne. Suffice to say, the Collector does a better job at giving you a taste of N9ne with this weeks samples. Enjoy.

My Blog Could Be Your Life

Man, I had this crazy dream yesterday. Basically, I joined the Marine Corps during the height of the Vietnam War. After basic training, I was stationed somewhere in Laos. Naturally, after trekking out of the army base, I got lost in some metropolis in Laos. Thankfully, I met some nice, young Americans who offered to drive me back to the base. The problem was, however, that I had no idea where the army base is located, what it's called or who my superior officers are because I slept through most of my Marine experience due to the vigor's of training. Somehow the American kids (about my age) had an idea of where I was stationed so we took a friends jeep and headed down a highway. As we neared the base however, the driver sped up and veered off of a cliff. Nearing certain death, I started to hear Shit From an Old Notebook by The Minutemen. And that's exactly how I'd like to go, hearing The Minutemen as I fall to my doom.


There is so much you could say about The Minutemen, San Pedro punk legends. They were like the peoples post-punk band; arty yet never pretentious. Perhaps the greatest thing about them was their quirky sense of humor. Few bands could really match them in sheer charm. Aesthetically they hit all sorts of funny-bones. Whilst their music was seriously and masterfully made, you could pick up a certain cheeky humor within their basic sound. George Hurley's spastic, jazzy, nimble drumming, Mike Watts pronounced bass, and D. Boons blues-y solos all contributed to a band that was Punk, but didn't take Punk too seriously. Perhaps The Minutemen's greatest formula were angular, Wire-like power chords being interrupted by nonchalant yet hyper-active blues-y solos.


Even their history had a quirky charm to it (although ending in tragedy with D.Boon's untimely death). Take the story behind their masterpiece, double-album, Double Nickles on the Dime (1984). Originally, the band intended their fourth full-length to be a normal LP. However, that all changed when word spread about Husker Du's upcoming double-album, Zen Arcade. Not to be outdone, The Minutemen regrouped, headed back to the studio and recorded more than 40 songs for the album. One has to feel a certain pity for the Du's who were often teased to and fro, such as the friendly diss found in the Double Nickles booklet which reads, "Take that Huskers!" The album title itself--a slang term for 55 mph--is a clever pun on Sammy Hagar's, I Can't Drive 55, off of 1984's VOA. While Hagar brags (or perhaps laments) about not obeying the speed limit (and a not-so-subtle reverence to the live fast rock ethic), the San Pedro trio claims that they're perfectly fine with going 55 miles per hour (as if to say that one can be a great rock band and break accepted rock ethics).



Recently, listening to Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat(1983) and What Makes a Man Start Fires?(1982) gave me a very different view about The Minutemen. Both albums display a band starting to hit their creative stride, blossoming and nearing their peak in Double Nickles. It's a odd thing for me to listen to both of these albums as Double Nickles was my only source of Minutemen material for quite some time. Although amazing and fun albums for what their worth, they seem somewhat trivial to the immensity of Double Nickles. Rather these albums show a band learning and gaining confidence in a time span of about 2 years. Man Start Fires? seems like the Minutemen finally discovered the formula for what would ultimately create Double Nickles. Buzz or Howl is more an expansion of that formula. Its really a great album, but being only 8 songs long, Buzz or Howl seems trite in comparison to the 43 track Double Nickles.

At first I found The Minutemen's older palate a bit more distasteful. It's a hard listen after having been acquainted with their 1984 Masterpiece for a long time. Yet, the albums are interesting if only because it displays growth and a blossoming confidence. Perhaps this is a gloomy outlook but would The Minutemen still be considered legends had they stopped in after Buzz or Howl? Perhaps so, Man Start Fires? and Buzz or Howl still are very unique albums and terrific works of art. If anyone like me has been acquainted with the Minutemen's Double Nickles only, here is a warning: brace yourselves, their previous albums are not on the same par as Doubles. If you don't know who The Minutemen are or where to start, I'd recommend listening at the beginning and seeing how they evolved in a short time. Go on, have a taste, click on The Selector.

UPDATE!

The Selector is now up and running. Locate it on the top right of Empathological Virulency and clicky-clicky. Currently featuring songs off of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank!

Album Review - Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

I received We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (the source will be kept a secret), Modest Mouse's latest production, recently. Initially I approached this album as a way to rebind ties with myself and indie rock (oxymoronically produced on the Sony BMG label). In the last two years I've lost much faith and attention with the rather vaguely named, all-encompassing field of Indie Rock. For the most part, I've just become interested in other music. Modest Mouse was a bad attempt at rekindling my interest in the genre. More so, I've never been particularly supportive of Modest Mouse, being unimpressed with The Moon & Antarctica.

While We Were Dead is a much more interesting album than The Moon & Antarctica, it doesn't really change my opinion about this band. Furthermore, I can actually tolerate the music on We Were Dead as a opposed to the former album. Maybe that's due to the addition of Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, but I doubt it. Likewise, I find the Smiths obscenely overrated, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Marr as the better quarter of the Manchester four-some.

I still can't tolerate Isaac Brooks' awful bellows on this album, however. Its like listening to a horrible, out of tune, drunken, over excited, microphone-hogger at a cheap karaoke bar. Furthermore, I really can't empathize with this general view that Modest Mouse keeps testing and pushing limits and musical boundaries (as stated by allmusic.com). A majority of the album seems like well done rehashes of sentimental, vulnerable acoustic guitar, typical three-chord Indie-Pop or Gang Of Four-inspired angular, dance-y riffs (Dashboard is an example). Its well done however, and quite catchy, but it feels as if Modest Mouse just wants to blend in with other Indie trends or they're too afraid to challenge their Caucasian, over dramatic, indie fans.

Lastly, I'll admit that I'm not a lyrics kind-a-guy. The aesthetics of songs appeal more to me and maybe, if it pricks my ears well enough, I'll listen to what a singer has to say. Modest Mouse has some of the worst lyrics ever, period. Between Isaac Brooks' drunken delivery and some awful attempts at lyrical abstraction and melodrama, I feel like burning my ear phones. Maybe its due to the fact that I do not read a book everyday or look up poetry for inspiration or am a resident of the East Coast but I really can't handle Modest Mouse's penmanship. Am I alone in thinking this is some stupid songwriting for the song, Spitting Venom?:

We were spitting venom at most everyone we know/
If the damned gave us a road map/
We'd know exactly where to go/
Let it all drop/

I know this is a harsh review but actually Modest Mouse's latest work was not so awful and quite tolerable which says a lot coming from a guy that loathes this band.

Pilot - Enslaved, Runn and whats going on in Metal?

I could be wrong, but the we're living in exciting times in regards to Death and Black Metal. For the most part, the future of the so-called Extreme Metal genre seems a tad uncertain. On Death's side, more bands seem to be shifting into more melodic/prog territory and new, vague genres (that do not do justice to most new metal band) like Metalcore or Nu-Metal seem to be popping up in order to put a label on recent trends.

Most of Black Metals old vanguards are dead (Quorthon, literally) and the sound has generally shifted in other directions. Sure, you can still find some Scandinavian/Norwegian Black Metal bands keeping the faith but for the most part the lo-fi, noisy, nigh-inaudible sound is old news. Immortal's last album, Sons of Northern Darkness, albeit amazing, was a far departure from their earlier, fiery, under produced output. Admittedly while I haven't listened to any of Mayhem's recent material, word is they've gone a more melodic/avant-garde route and I've heard that Emperor has come a long way from their debut, In The Nightside Eclipse, (which apparently, has disappeared from my iPod!). It seems like the Black Metal headlines are being dominated by Symphonic (the term makes me cringe for some reason) and Viking as of late

Anyway, without going too far into this theory of mine, I bought Enslaved's latest work Ruun a few weeks ago. Enslaved is by far one of my favorite bands and if I ever put time and effort into a Top Ten, they'd be somewhere in the mid-range. Although the band themselves claims that they are a Viking Metal band, their approach is much different from that of their peers. Other leaders of the Viking pack like, Finntroll employ a happy-go-lucky, Death-y, Humppa (a form of polka) influence and their more serious cousins, Moonsorrow specialize in grandiose folk-metal.

Despite claims, Enslaved do not even sound like a Viking Metal band. For the most part, the minimum requirement of earning your Viking Metal diploma is through talking about Vikings and folklore while having a strong Black Metal backbone (I'm sure that self-classification into the genre helps as well, as bands such as Immortal or Battlelore while fitting the criteria to some extent, aren't really considered part of the Viking genre). Mixing some European folk or having more intricate or anthemic songs help as well as seen by innovators, Bathory and the above mentioned Viking bands. Although Enslaved are included in the Viking catalogue they have a much different take on the aesthetics. Instead of folky, grandiose or anthemic riffs, they're sound feels much more dry and melodramatic. They're much more concerned with experimental melodies and sonic texture while retaining a Black Metal blue-print.

Ruun, is a great album and a great continuation of what magic Enslaved conjured on Below the Lights and Isa. Mood-wise, Ruun seems a bit more consistent and controlled than their earlier output. While songs like "Essence" test your patience as you wait for Enslaved to get to the point already, "Api-Vat" and "Entroper" are great displays of prog-punk inspired Black Metal. Even saying Enslaved are prog isn't an apt description. Progressive, implies that a band experiments melodically and while Enslaved are obviously classically trained they're equally concerned with noise and a certain amount of aesthetic depth in their work.

Anyway, Ruun is a great listen. You could probably group them more with bands such as Arcturus, but you still won't be able to get a good definition of what this quintet is really about. This album is a great listen because Enslaved really cut out a niche for themselves. They know when to make heavy, complex songs while at the same time can make simple rock-out tunes as well. The great thing is the bands bold penchant for experimentation while at the same time retaining a Black Metal backing. Ruun is complex, arty, relentless but never pretentious and a helluvalotta fun. Highly recommended.