Review Summary: Growing forth a shadow heart/No less beautiful
To say that Enslaved have had a busy few years would be an understatement. After the massive stylistic shifts of
Below the Lights and
Isa, the band had begun to really gain recognition with the critically acclaimed
Axioma Ethica Odini and 2012’s
RIITIIR. By adding progressive elements into their music, Enslaved was viewed almost as a black metal version of Opeth, but with enough unique traits to prevent them from becoming a carbon copy. Having been on such a long streak, though, there’s a high risk of creative burnout for the band. After all, even Opeth’s last two albums were fairly subpar in comparison to those that preceded them. So, the anticipation for Enslaved’s newest album was higher than ever before. And while it may not be as good as
Axioma or even
RIITIIR,
In Times is still a solid album with plenty to offer for both new and old fans.
In Times starts off strong with opener “Thurisaz Dreaming”. The song features your standard Enslaved formula: Blast beats, fast-paced riffing, and guttural screams transitioning into more melodic, prog-influenced instrumentals and layered clean singing. Yet, it doesn’t feel dull or tired at all. Hell, it’s almost like a nice welcome-back present from the band. This is consistent for most of the album as a whole as well. It’s more of the same, but without sounding like
more of the same. However, there are also some small new additions. Firstly, the clean singing has improved marginally, particularly on songs such as “Building With Fire” and “One Thousand Years of Rain”. While it still sounds relatively dismal and lifeless, it does feel as though there is a little more passion behind them, especially on “Building With Fire”. “Nauthir Bleeding” is another big standout, mainly because of the acoustic intro in the beginning and the very proggy guitar solo about halfway through the song. Closer “Daylight” is also quite epic, featuring a choir in the background and intense, grinding guitars throughout the track.
But what really makes
In Times so memorable is the sheer variety behind the tracklist. The first few songs are remarkably different from the prog-influenced, experimental epics that come in later on. Despite being just six tracks long, there’s just so many interesting things going on that it feels as though the journey through all of it is much, much more spread out and extensive. Thirteen is usually considered to be an unlucky number, but
In Times shows that even after thirteen studio albums, Enslaved still have what it takes to make kickass black metal.
