"Below the lights" CD by Enslaved

by Markus Wosgien (04/03) Since their beginnings and cult albums, like "Vikingligr veldi" or "Frost", ì Enslaved are one of the leading bands in the Black Metal genre, their Viking ì attitude has always made them special. They experimented a lot, the last ì album, "Monumension" was not easy to swallow and needed some listening ì sessions before you had got into it and into what the band is up for today. ì On "Below the lights" they go a step back on the one hand, is rather ì concentrating on straighter songs again but incorporates a bunch of weird ì effects on the other hand. Consequently, "The dead star" seems almost spacey ì while often guitar sounds are used that reach Katatonia/Opeth-spheres. ì Still, you have this monumental gloominess but it's very pleasant and clear ì why the 7 tracks on "Below the lights" unusually fast have a hook in you. It ì is as if they took the best elements of their albums so far and lead them ì into new dimensions. A mystical album with heaviness and melancholy as equal ì shares, an album that surprises and definitely convinces, too. (Markus ì Wosgien - 04/03)