Review by Allan on April 14, 2002.

Since the beginning, Enslaved have always been about musical evolution. It wasn’t all about dancing around in Viking helmets while wielding battle-axes. It’s more than that. For them, it has been about keeping firm in their roots while “using old skills in new ways, and new skills in old ways”. Any fan of the band should have seen this album coming their way. Did you really think the band was going to remake albums like “Frost” or “Blodhemn” over and over? And why would you really want them to anyway? Sorry if it isn’t “metal” enough for you. The fact is, Enslaved are doing what they want to do, and they are ready to move on without you.

Continuing where they left off, Enslaved take the new era of their music that was “Mardraum” and progress with it, forming “Monumension”. It’s got that same atmosphere almost. It has that kind of heavy, yet warm and dark atmosphere surrounding it. Enslaved bring in so much more with this record though. Often you will run into hypnotizing passages of music, doomy guitar lines, or dark psychedelic moods that the band only hinted towards with “Mardraum”. Much like Neurosis in a sense, Enslaved have great song composing ability that brings in more than just one mood per song. It can be completely destructive with heaviness (No, this isn’t Cryptopsy... this heaviness is more focused on the atmosphere), or be intensely beautiful within the same song. The clean vocals are definitely used less sparingly than before. They are such an integral part of the song. Grutle Kjellson sounds better than ever before. His voice is like a rag soaked with emotion, and when he sings he is drenching it out onto you. Much like this is the guitar playing. Ivar Bjørnson and R. Kronheim play phenomenally. Not only are they skillful guitar players, they are both amazing musicians. There is in fact a difference, you know. They play those guitars like it’s a part of themselves. Drummer Dirge Rep does an amazing job. The removal of Harald Helgeson after “Eld” was the best move the band could make. Of course any Enslaved drummer will be compared to Trym Torson, but I honestly don’t know if he would have been better than Dirge Rep for this album. There isn’t anything about this album that I can find a flaw in. From the every aspect of the music itself to the band members, it’s a seamless package of Enslaved.

Bottom Line: While many fans will toss and turn at night in their beds wondering why Enslaved aren’t so “true” anymore, they don’t even know the meaning of the word, or the band. Where Enslaved goes from here is their choice, but for now, “Monumension” is monumental.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 10
Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 10
Overall: 10

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Michael on September 29, 2024.

Only one year after the three Frisians visited the spheres beyond Acheron, they now worship the God Of The Godless on their already fifth regular studio album. On that one, we don't find a nice intro or anything of that sort but a straight jump into the cold North Sea where you gonna land your ass straight on a stone full of barnacles and razor clams, ouch!!! Once again a fantastic Paolo Girardi cover decorates the album, this time kept in purple (or is it pink?) and some good old Death / Pestilence / Morgoth vibes set the frame for the upcoming circa 40 minutes. Jens Finger's high-pitched screamed-out vocals sound as sick and pissed off as always and if you expected some stylistic changes in the Temple Of Love ehh Dread you will be disappointed for sure. But all the guys and ladies who liked the previous four death metal infernos will be enchanted with a diabolic smile on their faces.

Not that the trio is blasting through their nine songs, sometimes they have remarkably reduced their speed but that doesn't make the songs less interesting though. A song like 'Spawn Of Filth' with its machine-gun-like drumming is full of tension and sheer brutality with the creeping riffs. And if you listen carefully you will find the one or the other Death-like tune that could have been on “Spiritual Healing”, too. But also some more modern sound is lurking out here and there like in 'Sacrificial Dawn' where you might find some Slayer-borrowings from “Diabolous In Musica” (I hope that Jens, Markus, and Jörg won't appear out of a dense fog to kill me for that) and a lot of really cool, catchy and smart death metal riffs you haven't heard before, too. This one is a really great death metal song with all you need to be happy. In the title track, you will be taken on a ride with the ferrymen across a pretty heavy troubled sea. The song is unsettling and fast with a lot of disharmonic guitars. Of course, the ferryman does a solid job and so you always find back into calmer water underlined with some dramatic keyboard tunes. 'Monstrosity Divine' is one of my favorite tracks on God Of The Godless because of its super-diversity. Starting crawling and menacing, the song turns out faster and faster and literally explodes after some minutes. If you need a summary of the whole album, I guess that this one is candidate number one for that job. The last track 'Demise Of Olympus' starts with some acoustic tunes that give the song a very special flair. Mostly kept in the slower tempo range there is always some tragic element in the song and the melodies are always full of power and epicness. Maybe the end of the song and the whole album might have been a little bit more powerful, so Olympus has just fallen and nobody mourns that.

After I gave its predecessor Beyond Acheron 9.6 points back then, I have to state that I like God Of The Godless a little bit more because of its catchiness. I didn't need so much time to get access to it and it is a little bit more easy listening (okay, my mother-in-law probably wouldn't agree to that). The production is flawless again, so there isn't too much to complain about here. There can be only one rating this time for one of the best European death metal albums in 2024.

Rating: 9.7 out of 10

Review by Michael on September 29, 2024.

Only one year after the three Frisians visited the spheres beyond Acheron, they now worship the God Of The Godless on their already fifth regular studio album. On that one, we don't find a nice intro or anything of that sort but a straight jump into the cold North Sea where you gonna land your ass straight on a stone full of barnacles and razor clams, ouch!!! Once again a fantastic Paolo Girardi cover decorates the album, this time kept in purple (or is it pink?) and some good old Death / Pestilence / Morgoth vibes set the frame for the upcoming circa 40 minutes. Jens Finger's high-pitched screamed-out vocals sound as sick and pissed off as always and if you expected some stylistic changes in the Temple Of Love ehh Dread you will be disappointed for sure. But all the guys and ladies who liked the previous four death metal infernos will be enchanted with a diabolic smile on their faces.

Not that the trio is blasting through their nine songs, sometimes they have remarkably reduced their speed but that doesn't make the songs less interesting though. A song like 'Spawn Of Filth' with its machine-gun-like drumming is full of tension and sheer brutality with the creeping riffs. And if you listen carefully you will find the one or the other Death-like tune that could have been on “Spiritual Healing”, too. But also some more modern sound is lurking out here and there like in 'Sacrificial Dawn' where you might find some Slayer-borrowings from “Diabolous In Musica” (I hope that Jens, Markus, and Jörg won't appear out of a dense fog to kill me for that) and a lot of really cool, catchy and smart death metal riffs you haven't heard before, too. This one is a really great death metal song with all you need to be happy. In the title track, you will be taken on a ride with the ferrymen across a pretty heavy troubled sea. The song is unsettling and fast with a lot of disharmonic guitars. Of course, the ferryman does a solid job and so you always find back into calmer water underlined with some dramatic keyboard tunes. 'Monstrosity Divine' is one of my favorite tracks on God Of The Godless because of its super-diversity. Starting crawling and menacing, the song turns out faster and faster and literally explodes after some minutes. If you need a summary of the whole album, I guess that this one is candidate number one for that job. The last track 'Demise Of Olympus' starts with some acoustic tunes that give the song a very special flair. Mostly kept in the slower tempo range there is always some tragic element in the song and the melodies are always full of power and epicness. Maybe the end of the song and the whole album might have been a little bit more powerful, so Olympus has just fallen and nobody mourns that.

After I gave its predecessor Beyond Acheron 9.6 points back then, I have to state that I like God Of The Godless a little bit more because of its catchiness. I didn't need so much time to get access to it and it is a little bit more easy listening (okay, my mother-in-law probably wouldn't agree to that). The production is flawless again, so there isn't too much to complain about here. There can be only one rating this time for one of the best European death metal albums in 2024.

Rating: 9.7 out of 10