THORN

Surprising single from Enslaved that moves away entirely from the progressive black metal that they were so kind to bring to perfection on 'Axioma Ethica Odini'. Also the earlier 2011 release "The Sleeping Gods" didn't prepare for the direction Enslaved takes on the two songs here. The approach is much simplified and minimal, a stark midpaced 4/4 beat drives both songs forward while thick layers of keyboards, organs and distant guitars go through slow changing chords. It's all rather abstract and bleak while the vocals are persistently harsh and black.

I'm not sure yet where this is going to but it sounds like Enslaved is experimenting with type of minimalistic symphonic black drone metal that might announce a drastic shift in style. We'll see. Kudos to the guys for letting go of what they had perfected and bringing us something else instead. If they want to do an entire album of this they will need to work on adding more distinguishable elements into the songwriting though, but as a 2-track single this is quite satisfying.