E.P. Review: Enslaved - Caravans To The Outer Worlds
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Enslaved are a band that are growing ever more prolific and have the increasing workload to match, especially considering that we are still in the midst of a pandemic. This time last year saw the release of their stunning Utgard album and since then the band have released a luscious box set containing all their 2020 live stream concerts entitled Cinematic Tour 2020 and now we have an offering of new material in the form of an E.P. entitled Caravans To The Outer Worlds.
If you have been following Enslaved you will have seen the band outgrow their Norwegian black metal origins to become one of the finest progressive metal bands in the genre. This E.P. is one that musically looks back as well as looks forward in the space of four songs - two with vocals and two instrumentals. The title track kicks things off and is a song that successfully combines their prog sound with some throwbacks to their heavier past with frantic riffs and blastbeats mixing with dark epic prog with parts of songs harking back to albums such as Monumension and Below The Lights. The two instrumentals Intermezzo I - Lonnlig, Gudlig and Intermezzo II - The Navigator see the band branching into more psychedelic territory with trippy sounding synths mixing with layers of guitars to produce almost hallucinogenic sounding music. The other song Ruun II - The Epitaph is a sequel to the title track of the 2006 album and is vast and epic prog metal with a wonderful use of clean vocals and acoustic guitars and the soundscape immediately transports you into the vast landscapes of Norway. It is stirring stuff.
Caravans To The Outer Worlds is an interesting little E.P. that sees Enslaved in a more experimental mood. The two instrumental songs are a bit lacking and come across as a bit of a glorified jam session but the title track and Ruun II - The Epitaph are both colossal reminders of how much I love this band. Whether this is a taster of the direction that Enslaved are heading with their next album or simply a one-off E.P. shall remain to be seen. If you have never heard Enslaved this isn’t a great entry point but fans of the band will no doubt lap this up.
