“It’s anyone’s guess to say whether or not Enslaved will fall into any of the non-extreme styles that are present here on future releases, and I could honestly care less since I know that the power and glory of Enslaved will be present no matter what, and I can say that without a problem given how well it’s all done here throughout all of “Utgard”.”
Besides having cool and distinctive reviews Metal Addicts do have reviewrs that are able to predict the future. Now the band releases an EP that follows the same path they did before. The heading direction to Atmospheric Black Metal gets more clear now with the four tracks delivered here. Not only, Enslave acquire a clear and direct Melodic Death Metal vibe and leaving away the Black Metal drive they once had. “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” is loyal to its tittle. The album tends to be the ethereal and magnetic as possible. There are even clean vocals passages – a thing that most extreme metallers don’t accept in any way. However, I don’t think all those changes are here because the band wants to get a wider audience. It’s not that. It’s possible to notice that all tose changes are because they want to head for different music directions. That is very clear to me while listening to each track the album. Moreover, after the Melodic Death Metal vibe of first and tittle track “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” the fan will notice that Enslaved decided to go more and more near a Progressive Rock direction. Not Prog Metal direction, but Prog Rock. Little by little Metal references are swept away in the name of progressive grip. Of course there are heavy passages as in the beginning of “Intermezzo I – Lonnlig. Gudlig.” whose name points out to that progressive grip I’ve been telling about. If the names of the tracks don’t change your mind, go right to the beginning of “Ruun II – The Epitaph” and listen to the keyboards. More Prog Rock than they are it’s impossible. If not, pay attention to the vocals.
If in “Utgard” Enslaved showed their will to head to different musical directions, here in “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” they absolutely opted for this musical direction and that is Progressive Rock, I have no doubt about it. I have to support and cherish the band’s decision which is never easy. It takes a lot of guts to head a different that so different from the original. It’s not easy, I know that. Well, to original Enslaved fans the only way is to conform to the new directions as I think they are for real and for good.
Enslaved “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” will be released on October 01st via Nuclear Blast Records.
Track Listing:
- Caravans to the Outer Worlds
- Intermezzo I – Lonnlig. Gudlig.
- Ruun II – The Epitaph
- Intermezzo II – The Navigator
Watch “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” official video here:
