Customer Reviews

Below the Lights

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Enslaved "Below the Lights" is a marriage of noise and beauty. And I don't mean noise in the typical "blast beats and distortion" sense of the word. This is structured, layered, and progressive noise. Arve Isdal creates a landscape of dischordant riffage that seperates Enslaved from countless other 'black' or 'viking metal' band. "Below the Lights" is a polyphonic experience, in which a wall of odd riffs, viking-like and lightning fast drumming, classical influences, ambience, and electronics bombard the listener in a maelstorm of brutal sound. Enslaved have opted not to take the Opeth route where they would seperate these elements into their own sections of the song; rather they throw it all out at once, creating a pummeling sound that is both unrelenting and oddly atmospheric. For seven songs and roughly half an hour Enslaved never produce a dull moment on this album. 'The Crossing' has a great build up of mid-paced riffing and drum cadence only to be completely obliterated by soaring screams and lightning fast riffs the likes of which you have never heard. "Queen of the Night" throws in Nordic-folk and "Havenless" features an awesome Viking chant. This album also features and abundance of what I consider to be very David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) like guitar solos in that they are high pitched, drawn out, and wail with a certain blues element to them.

This album is flawlessy produced and very original; most bands would kill to sound this good on their seventh album. Enslaved have captured the throne which was abandoned by Emperor a few years prior. Bow down Dimmu Borgir, you have been Enslaved.

ENSLAVED - Below the Lights

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[*This is my first introduction to the band*]

From the opening seconds of As `Fire Swept Clean the Earth' I was very attentive. When the Guitar, Bass and Drums came thundering in I was in instantly captivated and by the end of the 6:30 opening track I can safely say this is probably the finest Black Metal I've ever heard. (Granted my BM Experience is limited to say the least.)

I definitely love the Progressive influence... It is heard throughout the entire CD: Seven beautifully dark songs filled with some of the finest song writing I've heard since Opeth.

I'd like to consider myself a big Metal Head... But Black-Metal is genre I've usually steered away from... And I generally viewed it as too One-Dimensional. (With the Exception `Old Man's Child' newest album: Vermin - That album is amazing.) I read one of the reviews saying Enslaved is the Black-Metal `Opeth' and to a certain degree I would have to agree... They are both clearly leading their respective Genre with Talent, Creative, and Progression. Both also blend the use of traditional Metal vocals with actually singing. Sound wise, Enslaved are definitely black metal but blend in lots of other influences. At times I hear hints of the fore mentioned `Opeth' (mainly on the closer: A Darker Place during the slower parts.) I also hear some `Amorphis'. (Specially, on the track Havenless.) or even `Agalloch' (Who also blend Black Metal w/ Prog and Folk influences.) Also I hear many guitar parts that actually sound like they came off a, `King Crimson' or a `Porcupine Tree' CD.

No matter what type of Heavy Progressive you like, I can say with certainty that I am confident you will like Enslaved's Below the Lights CD. It is a powerful journey into the depths of a genre while still pushing the bounds of Black Metal... Atmospheric, beautiful yet at times dark and punishing. At this point I've only given the album 2 spins and I know this album will unfold more and more upon each listen. [ I also picked up their latest `ISA' which is also incredible]

Favorite Songs: The Dead Stare, Queen of the Night, and A Darker Place.

-4.5 Stars

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I wasn't prepared for this album, the first one I've purchased by Enslaved. I expected much more of a black metal sound because these guys were some of the originators of the genre and I'd heard older material. But this is nothing like I expected. For example the first song uses death metal, black metal and clean vocal stylings and the riffs don't fit into any easy classification. The chords used throughout the CD are striking in their harmonic diversity and the song stuctures show a lot of musical maturity. Oh hell they just rip. These guys are creating some new fresh sounds that are punishing in their intensity and retain the emotional resonance of black metal. But they throw in many diverse elements as well. They even use flutes as an intro to one song and damned if it doesn't work. Progressive Viking metal? What the hell do you call this and does it matter? Enslaved obviously have not been content to remain within the confines of black metal but have pushed themselves into creating some very original and brutal music. This is one of the best metal recordings released in the last year.

Melodic, thought provoking and absolutely unique...
Untill I heard bands like Opeth, Neurosis, Isis... I hadn't known that I could like any black/death/trash/progressive(Whatever other entitlements that could be involved) metal. This album changed my idea of metal even further. Its deffinately progressive in that vien of Opeth but it has a distinction I've never known untill this. This will be a contender for years to come and I can only pray this gets the praise it desevers: "Metal Album of the Year"
if you love metal (and I know you do)... fork over the cash at you favorite record shop and support this metal marvel.

This is the band that got me into black metal. Before them, I ignorantly thought the black metal scence was all mindless bible-bashing and simple song structures. Now, some of my favorite music is black metal, although I'm only familiar with the bands from the more progressive side of the scene. Enslaved have only gotten better and better with each album, and this is probably their best yet. "Mardraum" and "Monumension" were both a little more complex and progressive in some ways, but I think this works better. Both of those earlier albums, especially "Mardraum," had a sort of raw, grating tone to them that didn't go very well with the progressive elements of the music, and could get tiresome after a while. This one is much smoother. Some of the arrangements on here are just plain brilliant-the guitarwork flows over you effortlessly. The progressive weirdness actually adds to the catchiness of the songs, and this may be the greatest achievement of all. The odd-ball elements also contribute to the atmosphere in a convoluted kind of way-this album is very atmospheric, with all the darkness and sadness of black metal. I think the drums are programmed in places, which may be my only complaint. This is not only for people into black metal-if you're interested in progressive music of any kind, and can handle a bit of screeching, I would say buy this immediately. If you're looking for traditional straight-ahead viking metal, try their earlier releases, like "Blodhemn."

Although I have been a metal fan for as long as I can remember I haven't really gotten into black metal before. It's always seemed to me to be really simple and even boring music, played by less than competent players with stupid painted faces. But I'll have to bite it in me and admit that this album really is winning me over. I guess you could argue that "Below the lights" is not all out black metal, but much of the vocals, guitarplaying and drumming have BM written all over it. This is then merged with strong hints of 70's progrock, some excellent electronic keyboards and effectors, even flute, adding depth and atmosphere to the soundscape.

Some has suggested that the slightly dissonant riffs and unconventional chord structures points out a strong Voivod influence. I think King Crimson isn't to far from it either, and during "As fire swept clean the earth" I even get a very strong Led Zeppelin feeling. Other places it's so fast and furious Brutal Truth would have been proud. The fact that every song (and even parts within the songs) is really different from the other I find to be a very atractive feature in this recording. The band seems to have quite widespread musical tastes, and this makes the album very varied, keeping it from getting tedious, even if the songs generally are quite long.

This is really some of the most interesting and intriguing metal music I have heard in a while. After quite a few weeks it still grows, keeping me wanting to hear it again and again. Very recommended, but you'll need an open mind...

Well - by the majority of glowing reviews here, you can guess what to make of this record... absolutely amazing! The one poor review above... that gent bought this as his first Enslaved record and didn't like... I can't say I agree with any of his comments - sounds like Enslaved isn't his style. If you are looking for a straight-up traditional Black Metal record a la early Immortal, Marduk, Enthroned or the like - this definitely isn't it. As the for the production, Enslaved have always had a what I like to call a gritty-mud guitar sound... not sloppy or poorly produced, just different. This is the most experimental record from Enslaved yet - combining brutal vignettes of pure Viking/Black metal fury with more subdued elements and passages with an increasing progressive flair... if you like the more progressive side of extreme metal but without token power metal vocals or annoying guitar/keyboard wanking, this record is for you (fans of Opeth, Mastodon, Scarve, Darkane, late era Emperor, etc. should find this release very enjoyable.) Ivar Bjornsen, enslaved's guitarist and keyboardist, is a huge K. Crimson fan and you will find plenty of off-time changes, monster jazz chords and a peppering of that mid-seventies prog feel througout this record with heavy use of textured background sounds, mellotrons, etc...(even an acoustic interlude with flute that I would swear was the band Camel if I had never heard it before.) That said, the record is brutal viking metal foremost with segments and flares that venture into the experimental/prog. realm... Highly recommended!

A few weeks ago I got to see Enslaved live at the Met Cafe in Providence, RI. I had heard one other excellent album from their earlier days when they were making (almost) straight epic black metal on the grandest of scales. As soon as they finished "As Fire Swept Clean The Earth," I walked over to the merch table and bought the record. Here, finally was true, epic powerful black metal that gets your emotional blood flowing without most of the black metal cliches the scene is drowning in nowadays. I haven't been this touched by a black metal album since I heard Dimmu Borgir's "Stormblast."

On top of being emotionally crushing, the album shows the band using their musical skills to do more than just show off how fast they can play. Sounds of prog (and I'm talking true prog from the 60's and 70's, not Dream Theater metal prog) mix with black metal in ways I never would have concieved possible. Compared to this record, most black metal you hear sounds stale and rehashed. This is easily one of the best records of the year.

The production on the record is a little shoddy, but it tends to compliment the prog sound rather well. Still, I wish they had worked harder to make songs like "As Fire Swept" as heavy and overpowering as they were live. The packaging is extremely well designed, and while it will win no awards for originality, it does fit the mood well, and I'm a ... for silver type.

This is amazing. I can't imagine another heavy metal album surpassing it this year.

A mix of black metal, NWOBHM-riffs, My Bloody Valentine-shoegazing, forgotten 70's prog rock, and even more obscure German-noise-electronic-noodling.

I can't believe that this wonderful record is doomed to live out it's life in the metal ghetto when the rest of the world is praising and purchasing such unworthy "heavy music" as Puddle of Mudd, Metallica and Linkin Park...it's just inexcusable.

Awesome!!!

I'm not a black metal fan at all, but i must admit that this is one of the best metal releases of year 2003.

I'm absolutely amazed by this record. Enslaved sounds like the Voivod of Black/Viking Metal. They display their talents and innovative songwriting throughout the entire album. Each song sounds and "feels" different from each other. Great album overall.
I recommend this album to not only black and viking metal fans but also to the metal fans who like innovative, experimental and quality music (If you don't like black metal vocals, please be patient and try to focus on the music. You won't regret!).
It's a shame that albums such as Metallica's St. Anger are selling thousands, while this talented band stays unknown.
My favorite songs are Havenless and The Dead Stare.