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 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 Adam M on October 10, 2018.

Voivod still bring forth a spacey science fiction feel to their latest release.  Their sound is very mechanical and it’s as adventurous as ever on this disc.  The tracks are fairly long and go through a number of twists and turns.  It is progressive, but is held back at times by fairly standard song structures. 

The riffs are razor sharp and make for an exciting listen, but I fear the band wanders into too weird territories at times.  This is a small flaw and their futuristic sound still has a lot of appeal in today’s musical landscape.  How does this compare to the classics like Nothingface and Angel Rat?  The band are able to bring aspects of those albums into play with a decidedly new approach.  I don’t think this eclipses those albums as they had something more original in them at the time.  That’s not to say this album doesn’t try anything different because it often does.  It’s successful in bringing together influences from other albums including the last one Target Earth into a melting pot and creating a fresh new set of songs.  This band is very different than a lot of others and this is part of what makes them so appealing.  I don’t see this music as game changing as a few have, but it’s definitely an enjoyable listen.

The band is appealing because of their weirdness, but I also feel this holds them back from being even better.  Make no mistake that this is more quality material from the band and highly worth checking out.  It brings the space laden style into great effect and crafts some intriguing songs in the process.  Though I don’t believe this topples their classic discs, it is still a highly desirable album.  Fans of the band should have no problem liking The Wake as it resonates with quality Voivod content.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10