Enslaved – The Sleeping Gods EP

I discovered the above EP through Facebook – grab it for yourself, for free, here

Any new Enslaved is to be welcomed – their last few albums have been superb, especially the masterwork that its Ethica Axioma Odini. Few bands these days have this level of musical wanderlust about them, a desire to go further, to explore new ideas, new vocal stylings, new song structure. Enslaved stand alone as bastions, nay, ambassadors for metal – there is no pretentiousness, no anger, no hate about them – just pure, lush music. In my mind, they are equal to, if not more important than Opeth for the development and future of metal – such is the weight and calibre of their ongoing contribution to the genre.

Anyway, I can go on in such quasi-poetic terms about Enslaved for some time, so let us move on to the EP itself. The production, as to be expected, is crisp, every instrument being precision balanced in the mix. There’s a right variety of songs on here – some relatively ‘straight ahead’ Enslaved black metal rockers, one that to me really rings of Rush, an absolutely beautiful airy electronic instrumental track, a la Pink Floyd, and to finish, a simply superb acoustic/piano driven Norwegian language Viking chant/traditional song. Oh, and Ice Dale has plenty of fine moments.

Short and sweet, but then, it is free. There is really no reason not to get this EP – it is a fine addition to their musical canon, and hopefully an indicator of even better to come.

5/5