Enslaved - RIITIIR review
| Band: | Enslaved |
| Album: | RIITIIR |
| Style: | Progressive black metal |
| Release date: | September 28, 2012 |
| A review by: | Baz Anderson |
Disc I
01. Thoughts Like Hammers
02. Death In The Eyes Of Dawn
03. Veilburner
04. Roots Of The Mountain
05. Riitiir
06. Materal
07. Storm Of Memories
08. Forsaken
Disc II [limited edition]
+ Behind The Veil
From Viking-tinged black metal band to progressive super-heavyweights, Enslaved have constantly evolved with each release. RIITIIR continues the path of progression as it tackles the near-impossible task of following on from their 2010 masterpiece.
A mightily chunky riff leads us into the album at a steady pace, but it isn't long before the latest evolutionary step becomes apparent in the form of longer, more dynamic, more progressive psalms of extreme metal. RIITIIR is epic. Enslaved own the ambience with their hypnotic, landscaping riffs and excellent musicianship; be it an amazing, well-placed guitar solo or contrasting harsh and clean vocals. RIITIIR is an album to become truly absorbed into with such depth and fine detail on offer; in these progressive aspects the band have out-done themselves once more.
The album is so dense however, that RIITIIR is not an album that can be easily enjoyed to its fullest potential. The album is not as initially captivating as Axioma Ethica Odini, and can at first feel a little estranged or even alienating as it meanders from hymn to hymn. Enslaved have really thought outside of the box with this one, resulting in an album that is initially a challenge to digest - but given time does become clear.
RIITIIR has so many layers to explore, perhaps intimidatingly so at first, but once the layers begin to unravel we are presented with an amazingly dynamic, sonic experience well worth the time. The nature of RIITIIR might not make it as readily apparent, but it is as equally enthralling as the previous album with far more depth and detail. Perhaps alienating to some, but in this progressive vein Enslaved have become one of the finest talents, if not the finest in the field.
Unfathomably the band have created another majestic artwork of music. This one might take a little more time to digest and understand, but the evolution of Enslaved continues only into wonderful places.
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Extreme Progressive metal
Nuclear Blast
Norway
Length: 1:07:13
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 9 |
Comments
- 1
- 2
| Fredd Account deleted |
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18439  |
In days like these... I miss ponderer. 
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15302  |
Looking forward to getting this myself. too bad we don't get a copy on this side of the pond for another week and change... the review has me intrigued moreso than i might have been fearing a bit of a let down from AEO.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
Looking forward to this one. I hope I like it as much as the reviewer; This band creates very entertaining and interesting music for my tastes...
---- rekt
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| DelightfulJim Posts: 108  |
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| Grody2themax Posts: 240  |
Written by Coconut Racecar on 26.09.2012 at 22:47 If someone wrote the most technically challenging and (music) theoretically complex piece, but it sounded like the audio equivalent of feces, would you appreciate it? I wouldn't, but Enslaved is actually a great band to listen to. I'd give 'em some time if I were you. Axioma Ethica Odini or Isa are probably good ones to start out with, or if you like raw, old school black metal, their first few albums are about as good as it gets.
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3418  |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 26.09.2012 at 22:20 Yeah. Now who's gonna say this sounds just like Gorgoroth?
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| Unhealer Eclecticist Posts: 2311  |
WARRRGH give it to meeeeeh. Thank god this album will be pressed in my country.
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| -DC-002- Mastercommander Posts: 1703  |
Damn I forgot this existed. I guess it made the wait that much easier though.
---- Coldgrits
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459  |
I'm excited about getting this album. I'm quite new to Enslaved, having only been introduced to them recently when I got Axioma Ethica Odini and boy did that blow me away. Brilliant! Probably the best album I've heard in a few years. Very excited to hear you say in the review that this new album is "equally enthralling as the previous album with far more depth and detail" and "the band have created another majestic artwork of music".
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Lit. Account deleted |
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459 |
Written by [user id=101272] on 27.09.2012 at 14:50 hehe, I don't like the cover either. I agree there is a resemblance to the cover of Ten by Pearl Jam.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
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| Risto Wandering Midget Posts: 1116  |
I was thinking of buying this tomorrow but they failed to impress me with the two tracks they've released so far, have to hear the entire album in advance. Axioma Ethica Odini is just that good to make me consider.
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459 |
Written by [user id=1909] on 27.09.2012 at 23:16 I thought this was an interesting comment, so I had a look at a list of the reviews that Baz has done and your comment just isn't true. You'd make a good politician.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Ace Frawley on 28.09.2012 at 00:57 With respect to both parties involved, Baz is somewhat of an over-rater  Just have a look at his personal scores
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13262  |
My album ratings are nothing to do with my review ratings. These are the important ones.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
I'd still say you slightly over-inflate scores in reviews too. There just aren't as many 8 / 8.5 / 9 worthy albums as your reviews suggest, specifically of the kind of music you review
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| Mattybu Posts: 2589  |
Sometimes he is really spot on with the higher ratings though. Baz don't give a fuck. He backs up what he has to say too, and it's all opinions and shit anyways so really reviews are just reviews.
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| Grody2themax Posts: 240 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 28.09.2012 at 02:09 Terms such as performance, songwriting, production, originality, "overall rating", good, very good, excellent, and perfect can be deeply ambiguous to the listener and the genre. Nothing wrong with over-inflating scores either. When I'm 40 I'll probably listen to albums and not get that excited over it. I doubt much would bring to me rate something an 8. I like the feeling of liking music, a lot, if you know what I mean.
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459 |
Written by Grody2themax on 28.09.2012 at 07:05 I'm almost forty and still getting excited over music and I'm sometimes even giving ratings over 8. Hopefully you'll be the same when you get to this age.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6119  |
You people pay too much attention to other people's ratings. What is a 10 to you and what is a 10 to me? Some people have given like five 10's to albums in their entire lives and treat those albums like untouchable shrines. And they seem to hint that they won't give another 10 again, or that it's nearly impossible. On the other hand, I see a 10 as a sign that an album gave me lots of fun and pleasure. It's exceptionally memorable, it stands out among loads of albums in the genre/in a year/whatever. In other words, I feel that this is a perfect album for the time. I don't try to present a comprehensive outlook on metal in general and put a 10 in such a context, weighing the pros and cons and the ramifications of my decision. I'm not judging here, my point of view is as good as the next man's. In other words, don't be so serious about ratings 
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| Nightfall Posts: 103  |
Written by Daniell on 28.09.2012 at 12:25 Agreed. A rating is only an opinion, and there's nothing written when it comes to opinion. The average rating might put things into perspective, but again, what matters is your personal view on it.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Nightfall on 28.09.2012 at 13:48 A review is an opinion, a rating is an arbitrary representation of that opinion Why I think staff reviews and reviews in general are better off without them.
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| Nightfall Posts: 103 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 28.09.2012 at 13:58 In that sense I agree with you as well. Everything would be better with less numbers and more words. In many cases I found myself ignoring a particular album because I deemed the rating too low and I thought it wouldn't be worth the listen (considering there are better works in the same sub-genre) but given the chance I ended liking it more than some praised stuff. I have been trying to not bias myself on average ratings, but since I'm relatively new to metal I found other's opinions a good starting point.
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| Alex F Posts: 3521  |
If you actually read Baz's reviews you can see that he doesn't really over-rate things, except with the score. His reviews are pretty varied from good to bad, and who cares what is average album score is? Nice review and another great album from Enslaved
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10096  |
"Landscaping riffs" - Never listened to Enslaved, but this I gotta hear!
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| PePe Posts: 1 |
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| neonxaos Posts: 166 |
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| IronAngel Posts: 4888  |
I like the clean vocals here better than on Axioma, I think. They sound more effortless and free, as opposed to the somewhat strained approach on the predecessor. First listen in, so I can't really say much more.
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