Review Summary: Norwegian black metal's take on Opeth's style.
I have honestly never enjoyed black metal as much as I do death metal, and when after reading list after list of the top albums of 2008 with this album omnipresent in the top 5, I had my doubts. At first, Opeth’s Watershed seemed to win over Enslaved in my mind and on most lists, and eventually it came down to which one I was going to purchase. I am a masochistically indecisive person, so I texted my black-metal-loving friend for advice. After the inevitable answer, I walked away with Vertebrae in hand with serious doubts in head. I am so, so sorry for those doubts.
When I first snapped the disc (which is disappointingly adorned, sad to say) into my ancient CD player, my thoughts were immediately, “Oh god, this is going to be some massive symphonic mess…” It’s not. None of the songs are over 8 minutes long, and the album only runs about 45 minutes. Even with the relatively short songs, each one manages to seem epic. The album is much reminiscent of Pink Floyd, with slow and foggy melodies shrouding but not obscuring the rasping black metal of the heavier tracks like New Dawn or the title track The one solo (that is worth recalling, anyway, the short one in Reflection is forgettable) is on the third song Ground, and is so much a black metal interpretation of Comfortably Numb you can just see David Gilmour playing it. Just like the Floyd, the songs are listenable. They don’t drag and they don’t fade off into nothing. Every segment is vital to the structure of the song and perfectly mingles with the following one. The only noticeable gaps are between songs, and even those seem to tie in with the flow of the composition.
This is more than black metal, this is post-black metal. Vertebrae sounds like a journey through death, and Grutle Kjellson’s scratchy screams and smooth clean vocals match the style of misty yet heavier Ulver-esque musical nirvana. When you think about it, this isn't really that far of a jump from Opeth. Vertebrae is a black metal version of Watershed. For those worried that the metal’s been taken from black metal, never fear. There is always New Dawn, the fifth track and easily most distinguishable as true Norwegian black metal. The guitars are exponentially sped up and Cato Bekkevold beats a permanent hieroglyph into his high-hat. The title track sounds like old-school In Flames done right, Gothenburg riffs and more high-hat torture. There’s a cloudiness to Enslaved’s style on Vertebrae, as the opener Clouds suggests. It’s a mystic Lord of the Rings vibe that’s usually reserved for Celtic metal bands in lieu of Primordial or Eluveitie, and if Grutle’s screams don’t sound like an orc, I don’t know what does. Every song on the album could be a closer, with climactic, soaring interludes of black metal hymnage. If any negative remarks can be said of Vertebrae, they will all be of the lack of heaviness and speedy skeletal brutality that the old black metal like Emperor dished out in heaps. Despite Kjellson’s screaming verses, the guitar licks of Arve Isdal and Ivar Bjornson only offer subtle changes from their vaporous Dark Tranquillity-style techniques.
I listened to this album all the way through on the way home through a bitch of a snowstorm, and when two and two went together, I noted the definite wintery feel to the end of the title track and To the Coast. Vertebrae is a December album, made for climbing the mountains in deep snow with no apparent motive other than to stare at the sky churning above. There’s that distinctive icy sense that almost makes you shiver. Several times I had a chill go down my spine, notably on the catchy Clouds. It’s cheesy, but it’s true. That’s how good music should be defined: If there’s a certain lick, riff, chorus, or nuance that makes a chill go down your spine, you’ve got a damn good song on your hands.
How much you enjoy this album all boils down to your preference to either this new symphonic post-black or the old school screeching spectral black. If you’ve lived through the age of Emperor, you might want to dip your toes hesitatingly into Enslaved’s newer work before plunging in. If this is your first taste of true Norwegian black metal, then take a dive right into the Clouds of Enslaved.
