Enslaved - Frost (1994)^{Release ID: 1405}

An ecelectic mix of viking styled black metal that's always interesting if not always successful.

Enslaved certainly didn't muck around back in 1994. They managed to release two full length albums within the same year and it appeared at the time that they were going to be an immensely prolific band. As it's turned out they slowed their schedule down somewhat, but the band have managed an excellent, long career already (10 studio albums so far) and I can't imagine they'll stop any time soon. The strange thing about the two albums way back in 1994 is how different they are, but then how were we to know that Enslaved's evolution would drift so far from their roots.

The wonderful debut Vikingligr Veldi was made up of 5 drawn out yet fascinating black metal tracks that had a lot of emphasis on keyboards and repetitive structures. Follow-up Frost takes a different approach, with much shorter tracks in general, not to mention that there are 9 of them. The music is still well within the confines of black metal, but there is a lot more variation to proceedings, and while the repetitive structures pop up every now and then (such as on Svarte Vidder), for the most part Frost is a much more energetic and diverse affair. But while all of this may sound very positive, I admit that I enjoy the debut more than this one by a fair margin. It's not that Enslaved have lost what made them so interesting on Vikingligr Veldi. It's just that with all this variety comes with a level of inconsistency.

The opening instrumental is beautiful to say the least and Loke is a ripping black metal track that kicks things off nicely also. The previously mentioned Svarte Vidder is the track that’s most like the debut and works just as well as that material, but then things start to get just a little underwhelming. Yggdrasil finds the band entering folk metal territory which many may find very satisfying, but I sure don't. It's obviously an area that Enslaved wanted to delve into to take their viking influences somewhere fresh, but it just sounds awkward and just a bit embarrassing to me.

Thankfully the rest of the album follows more black metal paths with Jotunblod and Wotan being particularly aggressive and venomous. Both Gylfaginning and Isoders Dronning are a bit more atmospheric and have some really nice parts to them, but I can't help feeling that all these tracks are just a bit below the excellent standard that Enslaved have managed to hold for the majority of their creations. Frost is still a 4 star album as Enslaved is never anything but captivating, but I do consider it to be one of the lesser albums by an astonishingly creative and consistently amazing band. It's by no means an album to be ignored, but neither is it one to be showered with praise.

Enslaved managed to release 2 fantastic albums in 1994, and it’s a toss up between which is better. They have surprisingly different sounds to them, but due to Frost’s further foray into Viking Metal, it fills a niche as the best Viking Metal album of 1994.

Frost is an incredibly well-played album especially in the world of Black Metal. Songs are approaching Progressive territory with how many changes they have, and there’s a great variety to the drumming as opposed to some of the other Black Metal of the time. Music is dense and often features acoustic instruments and keys backing the primary Metal ensemble. The acoustic guitars especially do a great job adding some extra melodies and a folky atmosphere.

One real problem here… it’s not really Viking Metal. It’s got the lyrical content and some of that folky feel, but overall, the music here is very much Black Metal. Another problem is the song Yggdrasil, which is an awful slog to get through… the rest of the album is strictly great material.