ENSLAVED - Below The Lights CD

Overall, Below the Lights represents a balance of brilliant ideas and meticulous execution, which I would deem utterly flawless were it not for the final track ("A Darker Place") slightly lagging behind its forebears in eloquence and compulsion. And by slightly, I mean that it's still superior to most of the other tracks in the band's backlog, it just feels like it's marginally shier in ideas and distinction than those leading up to it. But otherwise, this is mandatory material, less jarringly developed than Mardraum and more thematically consistent than Monumension. It looks good, it sounds superb, and it even reads wonderfully! Simple, searing imagery rooted in folklore is well integrated to the emotional shifts in the music. Once more, Enslaved proves that growth need not come at the expense of credibility, and this record remains a hallmark for 'progressive black metal' or whatever sonic niche you deem to place it.