Not really a surprise considering how insanely consistent they have been over their career, but Enslaved have officially announced work has begun on their 13th studio album. Writing has begun, hitting the studio in the fall.

https://twitter.com/EnslavedBand/status ... 9685675008

Obviously this is super early for a thread since a release date or name hasn't even been set, but hey, it's fucking Enslaved.

Good news, I hope they'll do something even more progressive or will scrap the prog influences altogether and do something a bit more original than RITTIR. I enjoy all their stuff anyway, getting this and seeing them on tour are no brainers.

I'd like to see them pick up the pace some more. Maybe go a little more harsh but keep those distinct Enslaved elements. Ideally would like to hear something maybe closer to Below the Lights, I thought Axioma was actually a great balance of all their elements so maybe something more in that vein would be welcome. RITTIR was amazing though and took quite a while to unfold the brilliance (for me anyways, but that's what I love about Enslaved).

Completely agreed. RIITIIR was good, but doing something similar would be extremely disappointing. Would definitely be cool to see them throw a wrench in the works for this one.

I really enjoyed Riitiir, particularly the first half ("Death in the Eyes of Dawn" = one of my favorite Enslaved songs.) As long as they don't go all the way off the prog-rock deep end like Vertebrae I'm looking very forward to their next offering.

I'd actually really enjoy seeing them go back to the style of "Heimvegr" off the Sleeping Gods EP, which doesn't really sound like anything else in their modern style - Deeper growls, a sort of "flowing" rhythm, stronger cleans...

I hope they go even more progressive than Vertebrae. Love that damned album.

Good news! I enjoyed RIITIIR immensely and I'm sure I'll enjoy the new album, whatever direction they take in.

I wish they would go back to the Ruun sound that's by far their best album song wise and production wise. Plus throw in some Below the lights progressiveness for a bit of flavor. I liked Riitiir a lot even know it was a little too proggy, bring back the aggression and heaviness please!!!

RIITIIR was somewhat of a letdown after the astoundingly good Axioma Ethica Odini, which still ranks among my favorite extreme metal albums of all time. Still, Enslaved was on an absolute tear before that, so I'll be warily optimistic that this one delivers the goods once more. I hope the songs aren't as unnecessarily repetitive and stretched out this time.

Awesome news. Incredibly excited to see what they do next.

Hmm. This band has been epic and awesome. I don't have any complaints... but if this is going to be a wishful thinking thread, I would like to see a heavier in the metal direction album again... they have mastered the progressive metal direction, and I don't want them to Opeth themselves at all or to rehash an already 'did that' album release, mind you after having said that they did the heavy thing already too though haha

Hmm, maybe something full on Viking would be wild. Go with horns and their style, but please avoid the too happy hummpa hummpa Finntroll style haha

Yes!!! Love all their albums, but I also hope they do something different on the next one. The last two full lengths were incredible and unique, but very similar to each other imo. Amazing fucking band in general tho

Nice, i really like the new Enslaved. And seeing them for the first time last year was brilliant! Definately one of the gigs of the year!

And I hope they return to the brilliance of Mardraum (their best in my opinion). Seriously though, Axioma and The Sleeping Gods EP are the best releases of modern Enslaved as well as two of the best metal release of the last few years.
I didn't find anything disappointing about RIITIIR at all. Yet another excellent addition to the Enslaved discography.
Like the forthcoming Vader album, I will buy this without hesitation.

Already? Can't even complain, they've been super good with Axioma, Sleeping Gods, and RITTIR lately. I also enjoy a good amount of Vertebrae immensely (the second half of the album is way better than the first half).

Not a fan of their prog stuff but Ethica Odini surprised me a lot with a nice combination of prog sounds and a more straightfoward and "blackish" approach. Who knows, perhaps they can release something similar again.

Super pumped for this, I have to say that RIITIIR blew me away, definitely my favourite of their post Maurdraum, prog flavoured releases. Ivar and Grutle are on a roll, and I'd love to see where they take their sound next. Personally, I'd love to hear the band experiment with electronics a bit more. Their ambient interludes have always been superb, and I'd love to see them explore atmospherics and incorporate that more into their songwriting.

Edit: I also want to throw my love out for Vertebrae. I wouldn't mind a softer, more airy release like this at all!

Old Enslaved is more progressive than later Enslaved. There, I said it.

I.. don't necessarily disagree. Old Enslaved had some progressive tendencies, but they definitely weren't "progressive" in the same sense they are now. Vikingligr Veldi was sort of progressive in the same way that Burzum was progressive: writing their songs as a series of sections or movements representing moods, rather than a verse/chorus structure many bands were using. Of course, these elements where incorporated in a fairly shallow way, as they were still young (still love the album, though), which pretty much just turned it into a series of riffs with appropriate drum beats/bass lines rather than a song that was actually going anywhere other than where the riff had already taken you.

Frost was a bit more of a straightforward barn burner. I'd say this might be one of their only releases I might NOT tag with "progressive" or even "unique". Eld was definitely progressive, yet still rooted firmly in Black Metal, and they pretty much took off from there.

While their earlier albums were progressive, especially for their genre, they definitely lack the prog rock/prog metal influence that most people are referring to when they call a band progressive these days. Their newer albums (especially on/after Maurdraum) have that old, progressive rock influence.

Woo! Glad to hear I'm not the only one here who thinks Ruun is among their best. That said, one of the fun things about a new Enslaved release is seeing how notably they change their sound, so I actually can't say I'm gunning too hard for them to mimic an earlier album. Just wish I could get into Vertebrae, though...As others have said, it is indeed "airier and lighter," but I really don't like that sound (Isa was similar IMO, though the songwriting there was at least a bit better) compared to the delicious crunchiness of Ruun, Axioma, Below the Lights, etc. Except New Dawn, that song rocks.

Also agreeing with the recent "prog" discussion. You could say that their earlier albums were progressive, while their later ones were Progressive, if that makes sense. Still like both periods, but it's an interesting distinction. And even though Frost might be the most "traditionally" black metal, it's loaded with atmosphere and by far my favorite Enslaved release (hell, it's in my top 5 albums of all time.)

I'd bet on more of the same. This band hasn't had a new thought flit through their heads in 20 years. 10 bucks says they'll still be reheating old leftovers.

You're embarrassing yourself.

I could admittedly see the argument that Axioma and Riitiir sounded a bit similar, at least when compared to the stylistic differences between just about every past album-pairing post-Eld, though they're still excellent albums. But to say there hasn't been an original thought between VV and Below the Lights, for instance...wat.

For the first time, I'm not very excited about a new Enslaved album. They went too far with the prog with RIITIIR. If they push it even further it's probably going to end up really boring.

You're free to pretend the emperor has clothes, if you so desire. I have nothing invested in Enslaved, so I'll stick with the truth.

See, I'd say they did that with Vertebrae. RIITIIR certainly pushed it pretty far but was still a great listen.

(On a stupid and unrelated note, it's kind of hard not to hear "assimilated your dick" instead of "assimilated logic" in Thoughts Like Hammers.)

Strutta obviously doesn't know what he is talking about. Even without talking about the quality of the albums after Vikingligr Veldi (in my opinion the worst Enslaved album) it's completely bonkers to say that they haven't had a new thought since that album. Liking or disliking the albums has nothing to do with it.

Pumped for the new album. Personally I'd like to hear something more akin to Axioma Ethica Odini and Isa. All out proggery reminiscent of Vertebrae would be awesome as well, although I don't think they'd be able to surpass that album in terms of quality.

This isn't about liking/disliking albums. However you feel about Vikingligr Veldi or Frost, these were albums that broke new ground in metal, while their subsequent albums, at best presented existing ideas in a new context. Shoegaze is not a new idea. Pink Floyd is not a new idea. Mid-period Bathory worship is not a new idea. There is nothing in the last 20 years worth of Enslaved albums that is unique to Enslaved, except the particular (re)combinations of the already known.

Mentioning Shoegaze in relation to Enslaved proves that you don't know what you're talking about. I highly suggest you revisit Below the Lights and Monumension if you think Enslaved were out of original ideas after Frost. All their albums,to varying degrees, have their own identity and no bands managed to sound like them

Yeah, that's like the second or third stupid thing I've seen that kid say today. Well, Enslaved has never really disappoints so a new album is good news.

Talking about post-2000 Enslaved without mentioning shoegaze is like talking about Angelcorpse without mentioning Morbid Angel; it's an integral part of what they've been doing for more than a decade, now.

Ok, feel free to think you're right.

I'm always free to be right. It's what I do.

Enslaved post Isa has been pretty bland to me. Neither the metal nor the prog sections have been really good and mostly just half assed sections pasted with each other. I hope they make a change for the better and make Herbrand to shut up for example.

Concurred.

I think his cleans were a lot better on Riitiir, though I do wish he'd use the slightly stronger approach he took the cleans on The Sleeping Gods EP. Still that sort of wavering nasally sound but delivered with a bit more power, which I think sounded great.

If I gambled, I'd take your money. Thou speakest from butt.

I'll probably check this out eventually. I'm not the hugest fan of their post-90s work but most albums do have something interesting to offer even if not all elements work right. I love that they have a rather apparent Voivod influence that's been showing through probably at least since Isa, and there's still more than a trace of 2nd wave Norwegian BM in their sound, too. I find the vocals to be a distraction though and rather poor, both harsh and clean.

I agree with Abominatrix in regards to the harsh vocals, which is a shame because they used to be pretty good. Ivar still has a pretty good bellow, but Grutle's harsh vocals have gotten pretty weak. Fortunately for me, they aren't so bad that they detract from the music. I disagree about the cleans, though. I absolutely love Enslaved's use of clean vocals.

Great news, thanks!
https://twitter.com/EnslavedBand/statuses/445114099685675008