ISA

Oddly I find that this album does not live up to the same standards of the other Enslaved albums from Monumension onward. In my opinion there is one stellar track - Bounded by Allegiance and one good track - Return to Yggdrasil. In fact these together are good enough to warrant this as necessary listening to any fan of progressive black/death metal. Neogenesis has some good moments. But for some reason I don't find the other ones particularly entertaining. Their riffs seem rather stale, and there isn't as much rhythmic or melodic inventiveness in comparison to other albums like Ruun. The sounds on this record is softer, more accessible, and reminiscent of Opeth. But instead of capturing Opeth's brilliance, they end up sacrificing their own individuality in favor of a cheap replica of something they haven't quite mastered.