_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _
___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___
| / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ |
| . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . |
| .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. |
_ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _
\\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | //
\ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | /
. | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | .
| | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | |
.... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | ....
| ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` |
|.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....|
. ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. .
_____________:_____________ _____________:_____________
_ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _
// __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\
_ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _
\\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/f3!///
- -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- -
- -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ -
: : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : :
___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___
_\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_
/_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\
/// . . : : . . \\\
/: :\
/:: Artist :: Enslaved ::\
:: Album :: RIITIIR ::
:: Year :: 2012 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Nuclear Blast R.date :: 29.09.2012 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: 27361 29320 Size :: 133,9 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 279kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.enslaved.no/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Thoughts Like Hammers 09:30 ::
:: 02. Death in the Eyes of Dawn 08:17 ::
:: 03. Veilburner 06:46 ::
:: 04. Roots of the Mountain 09:17 ::
:: 05. RIITIIR 05:26 ::
:: 06. Materal 07:48 ::
:: 07. Storm of Memories 08:58 ::
:: 08. Forsaken 11:15 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 67:17 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: The big problem with Enslaved is that they're such a pain ::
:: in the fucking ass to write about. I mean, don't get me ::
:: wrong - I love Enslaved and gladly listen to them intently ::
:: on any occasion and at any time of year. It's just that, as ::
:: a band, they've progressed so steadily and gracefully that ::
:: each of their albums is a unique beast, ultimately sounding ::
:: like something the band would release while also sounding ::
:: like nothing like anything they've put out before. So while ::
:: there's plenty to love about RIITIIR, it sounds just like ::
:: Enslaved, but doesn't remotely resemble the '70s-prog- ::
:: meets-00's black metal of Below the Lights or the shadow- ::
:: obscured RUUN or frost giant stag party that was ISA. It's ::
:: its own thing. Their maturity has made it hard to box them ::
:: into a narrative. And that's great for a doughy 30-year-old ::
:: who listens to way too much black metal but awful for a ::
:: writer. I have to start from scratch, and if there's one ::
:: thing writers aren't known for, it's having the will and ::
:: discipline to start from scratch, especially with the ::
:: regularity in which a new Enslaved album comes out. ::
:: ::
:: Though all this being said, I think I can say that this is ::
:: Enslaved's most ambitious album to date. ::
:: ::
:: For a band that went from a gnarly black metal band writing ::
:: songs about Vikings to a band writing black metal songs ::
:: about Vikings but really digging shoegaze and prog, they're ::
:: stretching out even more than usual. It's probably their ::
:: proggiest album in addition to being their least-metal in ::
:: spots. Then again, it's got some uncharacteristically raw ::
:: viciousness for brief stretches of time. RIITIIR segues so ::
:: efficiently from snarling and personal to ethereal and ::
:: all-encompassing that the record's scope seems full and ::
:: endless. There are few bands that sound as fully in control ::
:: of everything that exists than Enslaved, and how in the ::
:: fuck am I supposed to sum up Everything? ::
:: ::
:: Take the album's best song: "Roots of the Mountain," which ::
:: starts in quasi-familiar Enslaved territory, then shifts ::
:: into the clouds with one of the catchiest choruses the band ::
:: have written. Then the second time they hit the chorus, ::
:: djenty drums kick in, perhaps a sly hat tip to Periphery or ::
:: Animals as Leaders. Then comes one of Ivar Bj°rnson's most ::
:: evocative solos to date (and by to date, I mean up to that ::
:: point in the album, too). Just as the song reaches its ::
:: logical conclusion, some off-time accents bridge the song ::
:: to its muted coda then guide it to one more jaunt through ::
:: the chorus (much like King Crimson's "Court of the Crimson ::
:: King"). It's an epic unto itself and a contributing member ::
:: of the album. As the best song on the band's best album so ::
:: far, it may be Enslaved's finest hour. ::
:: ::
:: Except that's not the best song on RIITIIR: "Death in the ::
:: Eyes of Dawn" weaves the band's tours with Opeth into their ::
:: studio time, then extends into bliss with some '80s dream- ::
:: pop synths, somehow topping the album's terrific opener, ::
:: "Thoughts Like Hammers." Then again, there's a moment in ::
:: "Materal" where the Bjornson lays down a tunneling black ::
:: metal riff over some polyrhthmic drums, like if Neil Peart ::
:: played on one of the first Ulver albums. Except it's not ::
:: that obvious a graft: both parts interact with eachother, ::
:: starting a conversation of their own that's still in the ::
:: language of Enslaved. RIITIIR's ultimate flaw is that it ::
:: causes people to write sentences as hacky as the one prior ::
:: to this. ::
:: ::
:: The fact is, every song on the album is great. No, really, ::
:: EVERY SONG. They all stretch over 5 minutes, with only two ::
:: of them being under seven. RIITIIR works both in chunks and ::
:: as a whole, as the album is an epic journey made up of epic ::
:: journeys. It even closes with the final minutes of ::
:: "Forsaken" pretty shamelessly ripping off Neurosis, which ::
:: could be another winking reference to the state of metal ::
:: today: either ripping off Meshuggah or Neurosis. RIITIIR ::
:: works both as the best Enslaved album (until the next one) ::
:: and as a comment on the broader genre in which it exists. ::
:: How in the hell do you write about that without being ::
:: dwarfed by the enormity of the record's poise? Nuts to ::
:: this. I'm gonna go drink beer and watch Fringe in my ::
:: underwear. -- Metalsucks.net ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
\: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/
__\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2012 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__
\\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO///
\ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: /
:: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | ::
: :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: :
:: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | ::
:: | | \ :|: / | | ::
: : | . ` ::: ' . | : :
. . | : ::: : | . .
| :::....:::....::: |
: ::::::::::::::::: :
. :::''``:::''``::: .
: ::: :
. ::: .
.:.
: