AXIOMA ETHICA ODINI

Axioma Ethica Odini marked the first time an Enslaved album hooked me with the first listen. Vertebrae was one of my favourite records at the time, but even that album had taken several listens before I was able to connect with it. Other Enslaved albums are reserved for specific moods and times, and other albums, like Isa, have taken me years before I've learned to appreciate them fully. With Axioma Ethica Odini, I can still remember the excitement when I heard the opening track for the first time. "Ethica Odini" had all the same progressive bells and whistles as before, but they played here with a liveliness they hadn't had maybe even since Blodhemn, if ever.

In a way, Axioma Ethica Odini was the album Enslaved was leading up to for nearly their entire career. Between Mardraum - Beyond the Within to Ruun, increasingly progressive roots took hold in their sound. It wasn't until Vertebrae where their progressive mindset finally caught up to their inspirations. Vertebrae was the first album of theirs I really loved for that reason, but even then, there was a sense of restraint that seemed to shackle them from their full emotional potential. In context, Axioma Ethica Odini was far from the biggest artistic leap Enslaved had taken in their time, but the slight developments did a world of good for their sound.

At long last, it feels here like they finally loosened up with their performance. As such, this is the closest Enslaved have come to a masterpiece since the time of Below the Lights. The progressive evolution may have kept them relevant over the years, but it came at the cost of their original speed and energy. There's still far more in common here with the cautious restraint of their mid-era over, say, Blodhemn, but the slight change was all it took to make Enslaved sound exciting again. "Ethica Odini", "Raidho" and "Giants" are almost uncharacteristically upbeat, making due on the promise of earlier songs like "Entroper" off Ruun. Even regardless of the more urgent pace, this represents some of the most consistently solid songwriting of their career. From the ominous Viking overtones of "The Beacon" to the vintage prog vibe of "Night Sight", each song feels distinctive on its own. None of the sounds here should have come as a surprise to longtime fans; the way the blend comes together this time around just happens to stand out.

Axioma Ethica Odini was actually one of the safest steps Enslaved ever took in their career. Some of the prominent issues on Vertebrae, namely its stunted flow, were corrected here, but when you consider some of the major risks they took, the added progressive embellishments here seem like nothing. That's a far cry from discounting the album however; even if past albums did a lot of the legwork for it, there are points here where I finally feel like I'm hearing a perfect incarnation of Enslaved. Be that as it may, as years have gone on it hasn't aged on me as well as Vertebrae or Below the Lights. The album's sleekness throws itself at you all at once and practically gives itself away. That feeling of instant gratification may not help in the long run, but it doesn't rob from the sense that this is some of the best Enslaved have ever sounded. They fulfilled a peak with this album, and it's not a mantle they cared to bequeath since.

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