Enslaved Discography and Listening Party: Vikingligr veldi

[LithoJazzoSphere]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

[twosuitsluke]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

This is just the warm up dude. It's all rise from here on out.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Well, I've already heard half a dozen of their more recent albums, so I know where they end up, but I can't deny it's been a bit of a slog for me so far. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Who's up for a listening party in the next 15-30 minutes?

[wolfking]

Anyone up for a Hordanes Land listening party sometime this week?

I actually just started listening a couple of minutes ago.

I didn't bother with demos but will follow from here.  Straight off the bat, not much to say, this sounds like black metal of it's time.  The amount of reverb and mix between the vocals and the rest of the instruments makes me chuckle a bit.

I like the orchestral touches in this first track. Around 3:25 reminds me what Iced Earth did in Dante's Inferno.

[wolfking]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

Probably subconsciously why I skipped them.  I'm not one that listens to demos of any bands and given the time and genrem was probably no use to me.

[TAC]

Not scared away at all, and I've been meaning to get back to this. Been a hectic week here. I'll catch up in the next couple of days.

[wolfking]

Not scared away at all, and I've been meaning to get back to this. Been a hectic week here. I'll catch up in the next couple of days.

8 minutes into this EP, it's worth half hour of your time. 

Loled a bit at the spoken word part around the 5 minute mark.

[TAC]

Not scared away at all, and I've been meaning to get back to this. Been a hectic week here. I'll catch up in the next couple of days.

8 minutes into this EP, it's worth half hour of your time. 

Loled a bit at the spoken word part around the 5 minute mark.

I'm on it! But I have other listening commitments tonight.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

Probably subconsciously why I skipped them.  I'm not one that listens to demos of any bands and given the time and genrem was probably no use to me.

The demos are kind of fun, if you are curious to see where they got started. Plus the fact they (Ivar and Grutle) were 12 and 16 when they got started and what they were doing in those early days at that age is still pretty amazing. I mean when they recorded the Hordanes Land EP Ivar was still only 15. Not to mention Enslaved had 3 full length albums recorded and released and the band was touring Europe extensively all before Ivar turned 20.

[wolfking]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

Probably subconsciously why I skipped them.  I'm not one that listens to demos of any bands and given the time and genrem was probably no use to me.

The demos are kind of fun, if you are curious to see where they got started. Plus the fact they (Ivar and Grutle) were 12 and 16 when they got started and what they were doing in those early days at that age is still pretty amazing. I mean when they recorded the Hordanes Land EP Ivar was still only 15. Not to mention Enslaved had 3 full length albums recorded and released and the band was touring Europe extensively all before Ivar turned 20.

Wow, that's damn impressive.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

But of course.

It'll good for those who have participated in the previous ones to hear the step up in quality.

Yeah, I just hope I didn't scare everyone away from the thread with the poor quality of the demos 

I wouldn't say I was scared away, but it definitely sapped some enthusiasm.   

Probably subconsciously why I skipped them.  I'm not one that listens to demos of any bands and given the time and genrem was probably no use to me.

The demos are kind of fun, if you are curious to see where they got started. Plus the fact they (Ivar and Grutle) were 12 and 16 when they got started and what they were doing in those early days at that age is still pretty amazing. I mean when they recorded the Hordanes Land EP Ivar was still only 15. Not to mention Enslaved had 3 full length albums recorded and released and the band was touring Europe extensively all before Ivar turned 20.

Wow, that's damn impressive.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Ivar has always been the main songwriter for the band's entire career. In fact, Ivar wrote all the music pre-Eld. From Eld onward, Grutle started writing a few songs here and there and other band members started helping Ivar with some songs.

[twosuitsluke]

Ivar is a damn black metal prodigy!

I love the atmospheres they create with their music, right off the bat, and I appreciate that their progress roots were there from the start as well. The main criticism I have is that some of the longer songs from their early career are just long because they are really repetitive. I'd say that is even more prevalent on their first full length, Vikingligr Veldi.

Wolfking, I said it earlier in the thread, but I see the early demos as a history and context for what's to come. They are really rough around the edges, and I wouldn't revisit them often (if at all) but when you listen knowing how young they were, and they were at the forefront of an emerging scene, it puts the music into perspective (at least it does for me).

[wolfking]

Noted Luke.  I wasn't going too but I'll give them a run through early next week.

I will say, I'm not sure if I've heard any Enslaved songs.  Maybe sampled a song once or twice but can't recall a thing so I'm going in stone cold.

[twosuitsluke]

Noted Luke.  I wasn't going too but I'll give them a run through early next week.

I will say, I'm not sure if I've heard any Enslaved songs.  Maybe sampled a song once or twice but can't recall a thing so I'm going in stone cold.

The early demos/promos are really short, so it won't take much of your time to get through them.

Their early stuff is kinda standard early black metal, but they focused more on lyrical themes surrounding vikings and norse mythology, and didn't get caught up in the church burnings and such.

They were also more progressive than their contemporaries and as such set themselves apart. As their sound grows you'll heat more of that progressive side coming through, and less old school black metal. Black metal is always the root of their sound, but it becomes more polished and less raw.

I know Puppies will agree with me when I say that I honestly don't believe they've released a bad album. They really are quite unique and have some killer albums/songs.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Noted Luke.  I wasn't going too but I'll give them a run through early next week.

I will say, I'm not sure if I've heard any Enslaved songs.  Maybe sampled a song once or twice but can't recall a thing so I'm going in stone cold.

Ooh, this will be an interesting journey for you then.

As I mentioned in the outset of this thread, I first got into Enslaved with the Isa album, which is a probably one of the best jumping off points for the band. Although, it will be interesting to hear your take starting at the very beginning and working your way through the discography with almost no prior knowledge. It will be a unique perspective.

The early demos/promos are really short, so it won't take much of your time to get through them.

Their early stuff is kinda standard early black metal, but they focused more on lyrical themes surrounding vikings and norse mythology, and didn't get caught up in the church burnings and such.

They were also more progressive than their contemporaries and as such set themselves apart. As their sound grows you'll heat more of that progressive side coming through, and less old school black metal. Black metal is always the root of their sound, but it becomes more polished and less raw.

I know Puppies will agree with me when I say that I honestly don't believe they've released a bad album. They really are quite unique and have some killer albums/songs.

Definitely not a single bad album. There are some I like more than others for sure, but no turds in the Enslaved pool.

[wolfking]

Sweet lads, I'm in.  Looking forward to it.  I'll go back to those demos too then.

But I can definitely confirm I have no prior knowledge on this band.  I knew the name obviously but that's it.  I didn't even really know ow they were black metal.  I thought they were like a progressive, doom, extreme kind mix or whatever.  But that's based on nothing.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Sweet lads, I'm in.  Looking forward to it.  I'll go back to those demos too then.

But I can definitely confirm I have no prior knowledge on this band.  I knew the name obviously but that's it.  I didn't even really know ow they were black metal.  I thought they were like a progressive, doom, extreme kind mix or whatever.  But that's based on nothing.

They sort of slowly morph into a Proggy Extreme Metal band, but it has always been rooted in Black Metal.

[wolfking]

Ah nice.  That makes sense.  Looking forward to them.

[twosuitsluke]

Who's up for a listening party in the next 15-30 minutes?

Tonight?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Who's up for a listening party in the next 15-30 minutes?

Tonight?

Unfortunately I can't today or tomorrow. Way too much on my plate. Perhaps Sunday.

[twosuitsluke]

I'm easy, I just couldn't make last night as it was short notice and I was heading to bed shortly after.

[twosuitsluke]

Who's up for a listening party in the next 15-30 minutes?

Tonight?

Unfortunately I can't today or tomorrow. Way too much on my plate. Perhaps Sunday.

We doing this thing?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Who's up for a listening party in the next 15-30 minutes?

Tonight?

Unfortunately I can't today or tomorrow. Way too much on my plate. Perhaps Sunday.

We doing this thing?

Yeah. Probably in about 2 hours. Hopefully that works for y'all.

[twosuitsluke]

Yea that should work for me.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I probably need another 20 minutes before I can jump in.

[twosuitsluke]

That works for me, took a while to settle the kiddo tonight.

[twosuitsluke]

Be in ASAP

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Queueing things up!

[TAC]

Sorry, couldn't make the party. I wanted to hit Yggdrasill again before moving on. As I remembered from the listening party, the first two songs showed a lot of promise, but the best song was the last one, Enslaved. But yeah, it's a rough listen.

Will hit Hordanes Land on youtube..

[TAC]

On Hordanes now.


The Battle In The Forest is awesome. Doesn't really feel like 13 minutes. The sound on this is so much better then Yggsdrill. This has some of those cheesy keyboard parts like on Yggsdrill, but I can at least see what they were going for, even of they didn't quite get there with them.

I don't know if I loved All Father Odin, but the last minute or so was really good.

Journey By Fire starts out with a different kind of rhythm that I've heard so far. I like it. The changeup must be where the Departure Of the Soul starts, and that's a nice break too.
Why does the EP end with a section called Prologue while Epilogue is in the first song?

[Lethean]

I haven't listened to anything yet.  Just when I was going to get started, some stuff came up, and when I had time to listen to anything it was something familiar.  But I'm going to start for real this week.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

On Hordanes now.


The Battle In The Forest is awesome. Doesn't really feel like 13 minutes. The sound on this is so much better then Yggsdrill. This has some of those cheesy keyboard parts like on Yggsdrill, but I can at least see what they were going for, even of they didn't quite get there with them.

I don't know if I loved All Father Odin, but the last minute or so was really good.

Journey By Fire starts out with a different kind of rhythm that I've heard so far. I like it. The changeup must be where the Departure Of the Soul starts, and that's a nice break too.
Why does the EP end with a section called Prologue while Epilogue is in the first song?

So, this was done intentionally, but I'm not sure why. I tried to find a band interview with some information on it, but not much exists regarding stuff pre-1994. All I could find was it was intentional.

[Lethean]

I wasn't able to join the listening session - is there a link to hear these somewhere?

Here's the Youtube links for the 3 songs on the second demo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvgmZ3Z-bHI&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF4ah6Q8MUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYJF5X-50xU

The other songs from the first demo are only available on the compilation called Slaughterhouse Tapes. It's available on bandcamp.
https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/slaughterhouse-tapes

I just listened to these.  The Last Settlement of Ragnarok was my favorite.  It kind of sounded creepy at times, in a cool way.  Overall I can't listen to those really deep harsh vocals for long, but this was just a few songs.  I definitely prefer the kind of harsh vocals they have now, or at least at the recent show I saw.

[Lethean]

I listened to Yggdrasill a couple times today.  I definitely liked it more than the initial demos; especially the vocals.