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Review: Enslaved - Utgard
Enslaved
www.enslaved.no
Utgard

Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Year released: 2020
Duration: 44:43
Tracks: 9
Genre: Viking Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: May 18, 2021
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
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Rated 3.81/5 (76.25%) (16 Votes)
Review

For many years now, Enslaved have been hit or miss for me, basically I like every one out of two new albums. I liked E and I also like Utgard, so that's an improvement. ;) Unsurprisingly, the band continues in the more progressive path that they took some 20 years ago, leaving black/Viking metal sometimes a distant second in their sound. In the past two decades, they sometimes went a little too over the top with really trippy stuff, but just like on E, here they have kept things in check, so there are no cringe-worthy moments. There are a lot of weird songs that remind me a bit of... I don't know, maybe the bastard child of Pink Floyd and Rammstein if you were to take the progressive, trippy style of Pink Floyd and threw in the heaviness and industrial stylings of Rammstein and just blended all this with the "Enslaved sound", because, while Enslaved have a very varied output, you always know it's Enslaved. The vocals are a mix of clean and harsh vocals, which has become a given in their past several albums. Utgard packs a lot of weird progressive stuff, but there's also a lot of heavier metallic moments to keep you interested. One of their best albums in a while.

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