April 2023 Featured Release - The Infinite Edition

Another month has come and gone, and as is always the case we must carry on.
April is now the month you see, so a new feature album is bound to please.
This time the band will be Enslaved, a Nordic group in their third decade.
The album I've chosen is In Times, a slept on record by some, but a favourite of mine[s].

Okay I'm done.

https://metal.academy/releases/1416

Another band I really need to revisit! In Times is known as one of the greatest albums from the band's 2010s era, and was a masterpiece for me when I was still listening to them. Look out for my second attempt at reviewing this album sometime this month!

Here's my review summary:

I can still hear some greatness from this band. They've never stopped recording and touring yet, and the amazing quality shows. With this album In Times, the band keep up their fearless ascension of their classic progressive black metal sound through the modern age. All the songs in the album are each 8 minutes long, with the title epic reaching under 11 minutes. They all walk the line between the complex melody of progressive metal and the violent extremeness of black metal, with each song have slightly more emphasis on one genre than the other. In fact, here's how I would tag the genres in the 6 tracks (with judgement submission for this album coming soon):

1. Thurisaz Dreaming - black/progressive metal

2. Building With Fire - black-ish progressive metal

3. One Thousand Years of Rain - black/progressive metal/hard rock

4. Nauthir Bleeding - black-ish progressive metal/rock

5. In Times - progressive/black metal with ambient bridge

6. Daylight - progressive metal/rock with black metal vocals

So based on what I've analyzed, there's quite some prominent black metal while progressive metal remains dominant by a slight notch. The progressiveness is blended together with their black metal roots. A beautiful and beastly offering like In Times needs some attention!

4.5/5