Ranking the Studio Albums: Enslaved

[@jeremybosco1218]

Enslaved rules putting these in order will be difficult! Best KZbin channel is Sea of Tranquility keep up the great work!

[@garyjoyce2160]

Nick, as usual tremendous. Love the way you word things, highly intelligent. Both you and PETE, awesome job. 👍💯

[@Patrick-sheen]

I’ve gone from Tull to Adrian Belew and now one of my favourite bands Enslaved on this channel today..awesome!

[@neugey]

Never turned off the football game so quick ... I am relatively new to Enslaved so I really value this episode! And tomorrow apparently we get the Metal God! Pete delivering early Christmas presents!

[@chrisrankinsmusiccrush9493]

Equal fav band of all time. Flawless live, a band that for nearly 30 years had been one of the most consistent metal bands of all time. Nothing below 9/10 for an album. AEO and Ruun are my fav albums. Giants and Ruun are my fav Enslaved songs. Frost was where I started with them way back then. Btw Utgard is my number 1 of 2020

[@peterock4210]

Yet another Thank You to Pete and Nick! Now exploring more Enslaved and it is overwhelming. They are a life time listen.

[@slaydesaid8741]

Great show again. I definitely need to listen more to Enslaved.

[@sideshowbobrobert]

not to go off topic but why in the F do people still talk about lametallica who haven't written a good album since the late 80s and are trillionaires ?! who gives a shite how many thousands o' 'riffs' kirk has on his f'n iphone - pick one and write a memorable song goddamn it ! meanwhile there are loads o' musicians who are still pumping out seriously awesome albums 15 in ! i grew up in the era o' 'well, they never put out an album better than their first'/steadfast decline to deserved obscurity; whereas today some are releasing their best many years later (and can barely cover their mortgage). anyway, Enslaved are a phenomenal band well deserving o' every accolade and ranking their discography is no easy feat. WAY enjoyed this episode...

[@alexbrett6008]

New to enslaved so this was a great guide for me. Keep up the great work Pete!

[@headovmetal]

My favorite band of all time! Great discussion! Thank you! I don't know if I can rank them, but the ones I listen to the most often are probably Below the Lights, Eld, Ruun, Frost, Monumension, Isa, Mardraum, AEO, Blodhemn, RIITIIR, In Times, VV, Utgard. Would love to have you invite Ivar on to discuss prog!

[@johnx1769]

Nice! Thanks for finally doing the Enslaved ranking. I like every album in their catalog, so this was tough. I'm sure my list will change tomorrow, but here is my ranking right now. 1. Below the Lights 2. Ruun 3. Axioma Ethica Odini 4. Eld 5. Isa 6. RIITIIR 7. Utgard 8. Frost 9. In Times 10. E 11. Monumension 12. Vikingligr Veldi 13. Mardraum 14. Vertebrae 15. Blodhemn

[@rendumen]

Awesome episode Pete!! Also thank you so much for your Norwegian talk effort 🙏

[@matthewpettola33]

Thanks to you two. I'm so impressed on how you guys know about all this fantastic music. I discovered Enslaved from you. They are such a tremendous band. Never heard anything like it.

[@lahloonatic]

How does this video only have 151 likes?!?! Sadness... What a great band.

[@KevinOrtega1980]

Currently at 172

[@lahloonatic]

@@KevinOrtega1980 better, but still, you know?

[@KevinOrtega1980]

@@lahloonatic yep

[@t702942]

Enslaved is a great band, and you should really check out the brand new documentary series about them called «Heimvegen». Episodes 1-5 are out so far, and episode 6 comes out tomorrow. 12 episodes in total. I love this band, and I really couldn’t rank their albums. I used to dislike «Blodhemn», «Mardraum» and «Monumension» before, but I really like these as well today.

[@hbkheavy]

Their local tv station from Haugesund have just made an absolutely amazing documentary about Enslaved called Enslaved heimvegen (the home road). It's in 12 parts, each part about 20 mins. It's being released on youtube with English subtitles. Part 5 has just been released and the rest will follow shortly. And Pete, you are right about one thing, your Norwegian really do suck, but I love the fact that you are trying. Keep up the good work, I really love your channel.

[@michaelhudson2912]

man I would love a SoT interview with Nick, Pete and Ivar

[@rememberbeginning]

Great show guys! My list goes: 1- Eld ( 793 is my all time favorite metal song - of any band ) 2 - Vikingligr Veldi ( love the vibe on this one ) 3- Mardraum - beyond the within 4- riitiir 5- Frost I haven't heard all the others enough to rate them. A song here and there. I would have to hear them on a great system as well. Lately it's music on a cellphone. It's just not the same. Thank you for covering such a legendary band. Would love to meet them one day. Maybe in the woods! With Beer!!!!!!

[@SardonicWrath]

793 is an absolute masterpiece! Doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

[@dickwhiskey8041]

Eld rules and 793 is my favorite Enslaved.

[@crushingalldeceivers]

Been a fan since the enslaved/Emperor split came out. Great band and lucky to see live at least once. 1. Below the Lights 2. Blodhemn 3. Monumension 4. Frost 5. Mardraum 6. ISA 7. Eld 8. Utgard 9. Vikingligr Veldi 10. Axioma Ethica Odini 11. In Times 12. RIITIIR 13. Vertebrae 14. Ruun 15. E

[@mohammed.alfarsi.454]

I got into Enslaved very recently thanks to you guys, and man what an epic band I can't stop listening to them & every album is a killer!! I will give my ranking soon 🤘🏻

[@jimwojton7369]

Great to see this ranking from one of my all time favorite bands!! 🤘

[@overthoughtmusik772]

Like the man said, not a single bad album.

[@alancook9696]

I enjoyed this discussion a lot. When I was a kid, I was huge into Viking mythology so finding out there was a band like Enslaved was exciting. My first album was Eld (which I bought in 97 or 98, I think), and then I bought everything in their discography and every new album that would come out. I'm much more into the progressive era of Enslaved now than the early black metal (even though that's great too). My favorite albums from Enslaved are probably E and In Times. The song "Sacred Horse" is massive! The best early album to me might be Vikingligr Veldi, it is very unusal. Cheers!

[@elfensteen5222]

Hi Nick , Pete ! this was (is) a great episode, of one of my favorite Bands ENSLAVED I enjoy to hear you both talk of the great albums of them.. it is for sure how can you rack these, they are all great but for witch album are you for in the right mood.. I always pick 2 albums from them in one evening last evening I listend to Monumension 2001 and the album E.. man these are just great,to hear in one take, from the Monumension album I know that is a special one for the band as a RITE based on the knowledge from CHAOS to self transformation to inner self (Ragnarok) ech song is one step and so on.. (see info in booklet about that) this album is just fantastic ! but all the others also.. the Vertebrae album is for me special to love al the songs on this album. the album ELD was my first Enslaved album.. it is impossibe to ranck al the Enslaved albums fro me I put them al on ONE... thanks a lot Guys... ! can you do a racking from swedisch band "ANEKDOTEN"

[@johnappleton8133]

This band is the most consistently excellent band i have heard and seen live. They know how to use outside influences to perfect effect without losing their true roots or their edge (Opeth should have went this route but I understand why they decided not to). Here was my arduous task to do my list: 1. Below The Lights 2. RIITIIR 3. Axiomi Ethica Odini 4. Isa 5. In Times 6. Mardraum 7. Ruun 8. E 9. Utgard 10. Eld 11. Frost 12. Vertebrae 13.Monumension 14. Vikingligs Veldi 15. Blodemn 16. Hordanes Land 17. Yggdrasill Albums 1-5 are masterpieces and will probably never be topped Albums 6-10 are excellent releases Albums 11-14 are really good albums Albums 15-17 are good albums with a couple of weaker tracks but solid none the less

[@GMHG777]

Absolutely on point by saying they just do not have a mediocre, let alone BAD, album. They just don't. I cam in on Monumension in the middle period so I favor that era, but Frost, Vikingligr and Eld are awesome but I favor the mid and later period albums most. Not sure I can put them in order at this point tbh. I saw them for the first time at that Hammerstein 09' show, ooops it was Starland Ballroom. 1. Below the Lights 2. Isa 3. Ruun 4. Axioma 5 RIITIR 6. Frost 7. Vertabrae 8. Monumension 9. Vikingligr Veldi 10. Eld

[@Intermentor]

if you havent check out Ice Dale other band Audrey Horne. Great hardrock inspired by the 70s and 80s style

[@niwdoog]

Thx man, I never heard of them and I just checked them out and it's some kick-ass stuff. Cheers!

[@KevinOrtega1980]

I need to check it out

[@swordoflight56]

The brilliant thing about Enslaved is how they keep the old school extreme metal consistently, take influence from older progressive rock bands (not the modern stuff) and most importantly execute it all in a sort of 'rock n roll' style. They have the balance of everything and it has paid off, especially how they choose their set lists, it's always going to cover most of the eras.

[@joshuafarden6069]

Your channel went up a 1000 points in my books

[@SardonicWrath]

Top 5 favorite albums: 1. Axioma Ethica Odini 2. Eld 3. Ruun 4. Vikingligr Veldi 5. E Favorite release: Hordanes Land. Deserves a mention. An absolute pinnacle of black metal to me. Slaget I Skogen Bortenfor might be my favorite song of theirs.

[@awol1209]

I love this channel and of course like everyone else here I love Enslaved but man my list is so different. i guess thats what makes bands like Enslaved and Opeth so captivating, the fans have so many amazing albums to choose from. Enslaved truly has no weak links in its catalog. They are in their mid to late 40s now, its possible these guys can pull a Slayer and stick it out till around 60 which means another decade and a half of more amazing music from these legends.

[@chrisharding5447]

I remember hearing 'ELD' and way later realising they were one of the first 'viking metal pioneers, and every album that has come since has been a favorite. Good job, fellas!!

[@jonathanneville7105]

Blodhelm is my favorite due to the viking atmosphere and melodic riffs.

[@wastelander1015]

What a coincidence, been on a Enslaved binge lately. For me it goes like this: 1. ISA 2. Monumension 3. Frost 4. Mardraum 5. Below the Lights 6. Utgard 7. Eld 8. Vikingligr Veldi 9. Axioma Ethica Odini 10. Ruun 11. RIITIIR 12. In Times 13. E 14. Vertebrae

[@SardonicWrath]

Poor little Isa, not even included :D

[@wastelander1015]

@@SardonicWrath not sure what you mean, but Isa is my number 1...

[@SardonicWrath]

@@wastelander1015 Haha, fuck, how did I miss that!

[@SwissCheese667]

Right now, my favourite is Utgard. What an album!

[@luiscontreras4718]

Man, just listening to you guys describe the music really makes me wish I I could dig it but, try as I may, I can't get into Enslaved. Lot of a respect for a band with such quality music through 15 albums, that's quite amazing. Maybe a ranking of Amon Amarth?

[@blackwaterrust476]

Enslaved are one of my all time favorite Metal bands. Their worst album is still very good. But this ranking is very tough. Changes all the time 15 Ruun 14 Vertebrae 13 Vikingligr Veldi 12 RIITIIR 11 Below the Lights 10 E 9 Utgard 8 Eld 7 Mardraum 6 Monumension 5 Blodhemn 4 Isa 3 Frost 2 Axioma Ethica Odini 1 In Times

[@cirjames2540]

Funny, I enjoy Black Metal vocals and can't stomach the cookie monster vocals in Death Metal. Any thoughts on doing a Drudkh or The Infernal Sea review? Great video guys!

[@KevinOrtega1980]

Drudkh would be a good ranking vid to do

[@joedegroot76]

Eld was the first I bought in the 90s as well… buying every album since. Cool that you guys rated In Times so high.

[@KevinOrtega1980]

Would have loved to seen Enslaved for three hours straight, I saw them live in ‘06 in Hollywood at the Key Club with Dark Funeral. Was a kickass show that night, then high tailed it back to San Diego to catch a two hour nap to wake up early and get underway for two weeks 😂

[@joninieminen8823]

My top 5 1. Frost 2. Axioma ethica odini 3. E 4. In times 5. Blodhemn

[@gordy3714]

Chaps do a top 10-15 best Black Metal Albums, I think it will be extremely difficult.

[@neuroisis85]

One of my top 5 bands ever. 1. Vertbrae 2. Below the Lights 3. Axioma Ethica Odini 4. Frost 5. RIITIIR 6. Heimdal 7. Vikingligr Veldi 8. Isa 9. Ruun 10. E

[@blitzhammer]

You two should do Top 10 Black Metal Albums ! Pete can you make a Ranking the Godzilla Movies. Would be cool to see that. Greetings from Germany !! Love your channel !!

[@carle9924]

Great ranking of the Enslaved albums . I agree all of the albums are amazing. My personal favorite is Eld and the song "For lenge siden"

[@Ihatecensorship1]

Hell yes 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 what a song! What an album!

[@griefforest1870]

I respect Enslaved very much, this ranking will be hard for me. Actually I didn't spend too much time with them because there is so much other good music out there, but in the coming months I will revisit their catalogue. Not a bad album, although my top pick is a little bit better than the rest of them and the last one a little bit worse. 1. Frost 2. In Times 3. E 4. Utgard 5. RIITIIR 6. Eld 7. Vikingr Veldi 8. Axioma Ethica Odini 9. Isa 10. Below the lights 11. Ruun 12. Mardraum 13. Monumension 14. Blodhemn 15. Vertebrae

[@griefforest1870]

Two and a half years later I gained a new appreciation for Blodhemn and Mardraum. I should rank it higher. I am surprised that Utgard made it into my top 5. It's a great album for sure, but Heimdal the new one completely blows it out of the water.

[@lening9]

1) Frost 2) Eld 3) Vikingligr Veldi 4) Mardraum (Beyond the Within) 5) Isa 6) Below the Lights 7) Ruun 8) Blodhemn 9) Monumension 10) In Times 11) RIITIIR 12) Axioma Ethica Odini 13) Utgard 14) E 15) Vertebrae

[@ianmacdonald7987]

Been waiting on this one for a while, as pretty new to Enslaved and wondering where to go next. I don’t know enough of their material to rank their full catalogue, but I really love Axioma Ethica Odini and E, and thought the new album was pretty strong. Any chance of following up with a Borknagar ranking show?

[@Ihatecensorship1]

There is a very good chance of that 🤘🏼

[@ianmacdonald7987]

Excellent........those guys are fkn great!!!Really interested in seeing how you both rank their releases 👍🏻🤘🏻

[@benedictdonald4338]

Great idea, being that these two bands are spiritual brothers, in terms of their general aesthetic. ( at least to my ears!)

[@ianmacdonald7987]

@@benedictdonald4338 Borknagar a bit more melodic to my ears, but agree the music of both is pretty well aligned. A year ago I hadn’t heard either, and wouldn’t have given black metal the time of day, but SoT has opened my eyes and ears to how fantastic some of this music is!!🤘🏻

[@joshuascott3428]

nick franco is my spirit wolf

[@erikdead8290]

Totally agree with both of you, Enslaved's discography is just ridiculous, none of those records is bad, not even weak, among my favorite bands. Curiously they are in kinda of a limbo in the music industry right now, they have their fanbase of course, but tehy are in that middle ground between neithrt beinga trve kult nor a totally crazy avant garde band, they are right in the middle of the traditional and the adventurous, and maybe that's why they are sooo underrated. Nevertheless, an amazing band with probably the most solid discography in metal. I saw them live in Mexico on 2019 in thier Frost anniversary, listening those classic bangers form Frost and even one from Hondanes Land, and then from E and some of their most popular classics, it was such outstanding concert.

[@danieldelrio1411]

1. Axioma Ethica Odini 2. Vertebrae 3. Utgard 4. Ritiir 5. In Times 6. Isa 7. Ruune 8. E ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@peteygemini60]

After watching this and hearing the rave reviews from both guys I had to check them out even though I'm not a black metal guy. The spotify list started at the latest album and works it way down to the first one. So far I have to say I like the music the atmosphere the themes and the clean vocals but still struggling with the extreme vocals. Hindsight is an incredible song.

[@w-james9277]

One of the most consistent metal bands out there. Impossible to rank so im going to cheat... *WORTHY OF ODIN*: Eld, Axioma Ethica Odini, Below the Lights, In Times, Mardraum: Beyond the Within, GREAT: Vikingligr Veldi, Frost, Ruun, RIITIIR, Utgard. VERY GOOD: Isa, Blodhemn, E ENJOYABLE: Monumension, Vertebrae

[@mxx720]

For the question of where to start, I always tell people that it depends on what you like. If you like straight up black metal and want to hear their full evolution, start at the beginning. If you like the more proggy stuff, Monumension and onward. I wouldn't start any later than Isa - everything since then has felt like one consistent era.

[@davidburns6284]

There's no way I could rank Enslaved albums. They have too many and most of them are fantastic. I think Axioma Ethica Odini would be my number one, though.

[@recordmass6298]

Exactly, and that goes for sooo many bands/artists. For me, choosing a "favorite" or ranking album doesn't really make sense. There can be one or two that have a special signficance? yes, perhaps, but that's it. If I really dig a band,, the`re all "favorites", because they all add something to the whole in the end.

[@KevinOrtega1980]

I have to agree, Enslaved is one of my all time favorite bands and this is hard to rank, I wouldn’t even know where to begin 🍻 everyone

[@andrewpequita6569]

I was at that March Metal Meltdown. Those feasts were dirty, grimy amazingness. I was 21 years old and that shit was the best. Jack Koshick presents. The first night was crazy Dimmu Hypocrisy Enslaved Amorphis. So dope

[@peterbuchhorn1775]

Bought Frost on release date. Then forgot about it. Now listening to it for the first time again. Come on - if you are into this style of Metal then pls check out Bathory. Love & Peace from Germany.

[@Ihatecensorship1]

I uh, love Bathory sir. For years and years

[@jimwojton7369]

The Season of Mist re-issues have the lyrics in Norwegian and English.

[@kevinm5957]

I’m a rarity and will be labeled not trve , but I prefer the latter day Enslaved. Easily in my top 5 extreme bands. Haven’t listened to Utgard enough to rank it. 1. Riitiir 2.In Times 3. Vertebrae 4. E 5. Isa 6. Axioma 7. Ruun

[@Ihatecensorship1]

You won't get labeled here, my friend. Latter day Enslaved is amazing work!

[@benedictdonald4338]

I’ve been a fan since 1997 and also prefer their “later era” (which, to me, beings with “Monumension”).

[@larbihoumam6187]

Good Job! no stinkers in the bunch tough to rank. I'm still at "The Roots of the Mountain" and haven't been into the stuff past RIITIIR as much, "Daylight" is amazing Going to check out E and Utgard.and give In Times another spin. Top 5 might be Eld, Runn, The Sleeping Gods, Axioma Ethica Odini, ,RIITIIR

[@m053168]

Great Show so many good albums I would say: Axioma Ethica Odini and then Frost are my clear favorites but after that I don't think they have a bad album but also any that stand out too much from the rest.

[@kamranmalik8546]

OMG! I can’t wait to see the Metal God himself, Mr. Rob Halford!

[@jpbarale4536]

Hi Pete! Greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷! I must ask, have you ever listened to Argentine Rock Music? If haven't, you are missing some of the best music ever created. Since you are a tremendous music fan, I bet you will really dig bands like Invisible, Serú Girán, Pescado Rabioso, Soda Stereo, Patricio Rey, among others.

[@luiscontreras4718]

Soda Stereo is the best!!!

[@sotdude7]

I’ve never heard of any of them.

[@nukritik2933]

1. Axioma Ethica Odini 2. Bloodhemn 3. Isa 4. Ruun 5. Frost 6. In Times 7. Riittiir 8. Utgard 9. Mardraum 10. Monumension 11. Eld 12. Vikingligr Veldi 13. Vertebrae 14. E 15. Below The Lights

[@MRSludgedude]

What's the most atompheric album with keys and chimes?

[@recordmass6298]

For me personally, with so many bands that I really dig, it's an impossible task to rank or choose "favorites"... in my teens it was. Could there be an album or two that could possibly have a special significance? sure, perhaps, but in the end they pretty much all add to the whole, they are all different ingredients that make up the final cake and thats great (discarding the ones which are not liked if that's the case). First one I listened to was Frost. Enslaved have gone through a very solid evolution incorporating classic progressive rock elements in an elegant way.

[@andrewpequita6569]

Mardraum is unfuckwithable. It seems to be a dark horse album for some people but to me it’s fucking flawless. Much like Amok from Sentenced it represents the crossroads between the two sounds. ( not saying they sound similar to Sentenced of course). Mardraum encapsulates everything that came before while mixing heavy elements of the progressive that would come later. I just adore that album so much. I think it will always be my number 1.

[@Spartanj42]

I appreciate your takes but Isa is my favorite and Monumension is in my top five lol.

[@bjornflatt5526]

Awesome! How about a Borknagar ranking next?

[@benedictdonald4338]

Not a bad album in the bunch, and hard to rank. I’d place Blodhemn and Mardraum at the bottom (although both kick azz!) and Axioma at the very top. Everything in between, again, slays!

[@coreycrossman3447]

Question is it worth going back beyond their last 10

[@michaelgundersen2982]

Bloodheim is my fav maybe. Suprised it was so low on petes list!!

[@cesaraSotoc]

can you guys do Dark Tranquility & Paradise Lost

[@twikirobot6897]

Should include the EP in this case...so I will. 1. Hordanes Land 2. Vikingligre veldi 3. Frost 4. Eld 5. Blodhemn

[@kyle.sterritt]

Yes nick franco! There best albums are Ulf, Isa and Monumension

[@deadliestassassin3092]

Holy Sh*t!!! Isa is one of my favorites of theirs and its your guy's least favorite lol. My favorite is actually Hordanes Land ep.

[@slaydesaid8741]

To be fair, they did say that all of their albums are good and that the order could change at any time. But yeah, just goes to show how great a band this is and I am only starting to learn their discography.

[@tyleragnew]

Love you Pete but ISA last is nuts lol

[@coreycrossman3447]

actually i agree, its good but kinda boring

[@brandonbelt5055]

Kind of think the mid-00's period is the only "kind of" mediocre period from this band - 'ISA' to 'Vertabrae'. Everything else is pretty much 4.5 stars or more!

[@erikberg5363]

That might be my favourite period personally! Just goes to show how strong their discography is

[@neuroisis85]

Isa and Runn are solid 4 stars, Vertabrae is my fave Enslaved album

[@coreycrossman3447]

I think ISA might be the only album that's a tad boring but wow that lenghy final track is epic

[@brandonbelt5055]

@@coreycrossman3447 At the time it seemed like a pretty big letdown from 'Below the Lights'.

[@SardonicWrath]

Imagine how insanely good a band is when their worst album is the masterpiece ISA! Love Enslaved (ISA is probably in the upper half of their albums for me tho).

[@brannenhudson8146]

You gotta do Cannibal Corpse!!!

[@fcamiola]

yes!

[@michaelgundersen2982]

Is like this guy dont know this band at all :P

[@fcamiola]

what guy?

[@Hgoenge81]

"Every aong is great on all these albums"???? Hahaha 😂 come on now...

[@martymartin2894]

I can't stand that horrible screeching I can't even call it vocals.

[@benedictdonald4338]

It’s an acquired taste, for sure. But one you “get it”, it becomes difficult to imagine their music without such vocals.

[@fcamiola]

check out The Carpenters then....

[@martymartin2894]

@@fcamiola love them Karen had a lovely voice.

[@fcamiola]

@@martymartin2894 Me too! great drummer too