RUUN

Ruun, Enslaved's latest album is the group's further progression from their later efforts. Former forward-thinking Norwegian black/viking metal musicians continue to develop their music and this is perhaps their best album when it comes to appeal to prog fans. There is one noteworthy fact about Enslaved: since the beginning of their professional career they had a vast diversity of influences, yet managed to sound like nobody else, which explains why each of their records was done in their oqn unique sound and still featured some nuances the group had yet touched before. Ruun is not an exception, as you can both point out some similarities with its ambitious predecessor Isa and witness a new, fresh sound of the group.

Entroper opens the album with a short mellotron intro, which is a nice way to open the release and, in addition, to remind the fans about the 70's symphonic rock influence: it sounds like something Genesis would have done in their Golden Days. Don't get tricked by this though, Enslaved aren't one of the many progmetal groups who try to bring back the 70's sound back. Still, if you are influenced by something, it does not necessarily mean you have to resemble your influences in sound. Keyboards are used throughout the album on occassions and serve the background function instead of soloing. Going back to the track, this has one of their most memorable compositions in their long career: the fast, energetic riffs, tempo changes and trademark black metal rasps make this a solid, uplifting number, which has the original Enslaved feeling of cold and stiffness. Some clean chants can be found here which add that extra something the track seems to have needed. The bass line, which is repeated twice, also contributes to the composition.Path To Vanir follows and it is a slower paced track with a catchy riff, background 70's sounding keyboards which help to create the apropriate vibe. The song is interrupted by a clean part with vocals that remind me of Robert Wyatt for some reason. Fusion Of Sense and Earth is next and it is one of the heaviest songs on the album, with great, speedy riffs and a black metal approach to drumming. The title track continues the dark journey and is one of the most epic songs here, with a unique eastern melody line and haunting clean singing. Another noteworthy song is Essence, which features a duo of Grutle's growls and Herbrand Larsen 's clean singing - an extraordinary vocal "harmony", making it one of the album's most melancholic and dreary numbers. Next is Api-Vat, with a great melodic guitar solo, which isn't really something the group throws around mindlessly, and relentless guitar riffing. The intro and outro of this track are particularly moody. Heir to the Cosmic Seed closes the album with its intro bass line, mesmerizing riffs and more variety in both clean and harsh vocals. This is where the albums ends, unoftunately, not even passing the fifty minute mark.

Overall, Ruun is a solid album in the Extreme Metal genre and one of the best albums this year so far. I can predict that it will not be an easy record to beat. Those who have been following the group until Isa and were satisfied with what they heard will definitely appreciate the group's latest record, those who stopped caring after Blodhemn(directed towards true black metal fans, obviously) will not find much of interest here. The musicians have stopped doing general black metal music a long time ago and are still impossible to categorise, which isn't really a bad thing. This album is also a good way to introduce yourself to Enslaved if you aren't familiar with their music, as it is the album that is closer to what is more traditionally accepted as progmetal(not trying to belittle their past efforts!). The harsh side of the vocals here isn't over the top or as even extreme, so this experience will not disturb even those prejudiced against the use of harsh vocals in music.

Any fan of progressive metal or just interesting modern prog in general will feel comoftable with Ruun in his collection! Still, remember that this is in no way an accessible effort - the group always manage to craft their compositions carefully with each album, making every album a refreshing experience, which truly unfolds only after a few listens!

An excellent addition for any Progressive Metal fan!

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