Review by Ben for Enslaved - Vikingligr veldi (1994)

One of Enslaved's finest albums and their best within the more pure realms of black metal.

Enslaved had already displayed what they were capable of on the Hordanes Land half of the Emperor / Enslaved split release a year earlier than this. We're talking long black metal tracks with Viking inspired themes, with keyboards adding atmosphere to already epic sounding riffs. I distinctly recall picking up Terrorizer magazine back when this was released to find Vikingligr Veldi given a rating of 0 out of 5. Considering the magazine was really my only source of information on metal at the time, I can't explain to you why I still grabbed this the next time I visited the metal store in Sydney. I guess there were not really that many black metal albums to choose from back then and I decided it was a risk worth taking. Damn it, I don't think they've ever got a review more wrong than that one as this album is one of the finest in Enslaved's long and distinguished career. I think that was an important lesson to learn. That I should never rely on one source for recommendations, which is why I find Rate Your Music to be of so much value.

There are only 5 tracks on Vikingligr Veldi but 4 of them go well past the 10 minute mark so there's plenty of value to be had. This also gives each track plenty of breathing space to get under your skin and believe me, these riffs will dig their way in. The production is great, allowing each instrument to shine through without any taking over proceedings. As mentioned in many of the reviews for this album, there's a lot of repetition in Enslaved's early work which I think is both a strength and a weakness. On the one hand, they created some great riffs and when combined with extremely solid drumming and Grutle's high pitched screams, the repetition makes for some truly hypnotic sections. But then occasionally the band push the boundaries of what is reasonable, such as on the track Vetrarnott where the same riff continues for what appears an eternity. For the most part though, I think they got it exactly right, changing things up enough to keep boredom at bay while returning to strong themes and catchy melodies regularly.

It's tough to pick highlights on a 5 track album of this length, but I think Lifandi Liv Undir Hamri would be my personal favourite. That being said, a mention for the 11 minute instrumental Norvegr should definitely be made. This track manages to have quite a melancholic feeling to it due to the acoustic instrumentation, beautiful keyboard work and Grutle's moving bass lines and finishes off the album very nicely indeed. All up I'd say Vikingligr Veldi is a very fine album from a band that refuses to stay in the same place for very long. They'd release another very different album within just a few months and this evolution would continue onwards and upwards to the very progressive, yet still majestic ground that they populate in modern times.