Enslaved - Eld
Review: Some albums are popular not because they are of quality but because the way they are put together makes a concept digestible for those who cannot abstract it from subtler things; while these lead bands on to great "success" in the measurement of our modern society, it is questionable that they lead at all to greater understanding among the audience, in effect marooning said bands among people who are alienated from what they desire. "Eld" is grotesque carnival music; held together by rhythm, segments of vastly different aesthetics march across the ear in disjointed assembly, producing the effect of cycling through different exhibits or experiences with no relationship except their unctuous desire to please the elements held in common by a thoughtless crowd. Fortunately, on this album Enslaved attempt to hold on to the aesthetic of majestic and ancient power which distinguishes both Dead Can Dance and older blackmetal, but by removing what made it integral -- an outpouring of experience in life, a logical response and better way of living -- they turn it into the kind of mockery one expects when thinking about "Vikings" playing rock music. Moments of this show the kind of insight that graced "Frost," but none of it has the persistence of vision and emotion that distinguished "Vikinglgr Veldi" above most of its contemporaries.
