Norwegian progressive metal legends Enslaved like to make their listeners think, and 2017’s cryptically named ᛖ was a head-scratcher in oh so many ways ...
First there was its title, which referred, not to the letter “E” in the Roman/Cyrillic alphabet, but to the Proto-Germanic runic character ᛖ (“ehwaz”), meaning “horse” (derived from the Latin “equus”), and -- I’ll be damned -- it sort of looks like a horsey, too!
Then there was its minimalist artwork, pairing the ᛖ with pagan paint-streaks on a wooden “canvas” for the cover, a symmetrical combination of lines and circles inside the gatefold that looked like Thor’s basketball court (!), and more stylized runes and horse heads on the inner sleeve.
And then there was the inexplicable decision to apply an underwhelming etching of the same ᛖ on side four of the vinyl edition (see above), instead of two additional cuts -- a decent original called “Djupet” and a Röyksopp cover called “What Else is There?,” available only on CD editions.
Now, with all that out of the way, I can get to what’s important, and that’s the six, mostly stellar, mostly epic-length songs comprising the LP’s official track-listing, which upheld Enslaved’s highest inventive standards, while exploring the usual themes of Norse mythology through the prism of modern times.
“Storm Son” emerges as if from a dream, its soothing, chiming melodies finally coalescing into taught staccatos amid both strangled croaks from Grutle Kjellson and melodious croons from new keyboardist Håkon Vinje, while developing across multiple passages for almost eleven minutes, behind heroic and, ultimately, victorious rhymes.
Next song “The River’s Mouth” isn’t even half as long, unfolding urgently within a swirling, howling vortex that fuses Hawkwind with The Police’s “Synchronicity II,” and it leads into the album’s crowning jewel, “Sacred Horse,” which drops anchor upon a remarkable thru-melody capable of withstanding both peaceful melancholy and blackened mayhem, all in praise of Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged steed.
The remaining three songs all have their merits (no duds here), but only “Hiindsiight,” with its audacious free jazz saxophone interpolation, can compete with the first three, and that’s why ᛖ is in contention among the best HALF-album of Enslaved’s career, and that’s still a pretty hearty endorsement.
But it’s also just my opinion -- my editors at Loudwire were so bullish on E that they added it to my previously written ranking of all Enslaved LPs at No. 5.
So trust your own ears and don’t hesitate to give this album a spin, because even with all the head-scratching elements I ran through overhead, there’s really no such thing as a “bad” Enslaved LP.
More Enslaved: Hordanes Land EP, Vikingligr Veldi, Frost, Blodhemn, Monumension, Below the Lights, Isa, Vertebrae, RIITIIR, In Times, Utgard.
