Always never afraid to take a risk or expand their sound, Enslaved again surpassed expectations with the simply titled, E. The Norwegians have continued to expand on the progressive tendencies found on 2015’s In Times, but there’s still that Viking black metal vibe still present and can never be truly abandoned. E is an astounding listen of a band not content to keep their sounds the same with something new to be found on each listen. Enslaved’s E is more than worthy of the #4 spot on our countdown.

“We kind of abandoned all ideas of having a normal structure,” Kjellson said. “This is the furthest away from a normal verse/chorus production we’ve ever done. The atmosphere was a lot better and the energy in the studio and the moods were totally different. It was easy to add additional effects like the saxophone and soprano flutes. It was additional layers in all directions and it just felt great and natural.”

As BW scribe Kelley Simms said in his review, “With Grutle Kjellson’s growled black metal screeches, combined with new keyboardist Håkon Vinje’s vibrant clean vocals, it assures that all six — although long-ish tracks — manages to hold the listener’s interest with its many dynamic shifts, transitional riffs and hypnotic harmonies. With the band’s quality of output over the span of its long career, you just can’t go wrong with a new Enslaved release.

Vocalist, bassist Grutle Kjellson told BraveWords the writing process behind the album in a feature story, “We kind of abandoned all ideas of having a normal structure,” Kjellson said. “This is the furthest away from a normal verse/chorus production we’ve ever done. The atmosphere was a lot better and the energy in the studio and the moods were totally different. It was easy to add additional effects like the saxophone and soprano flutes. It was additional layers in all directions and it just felt great and natural.”

“The only plan we have is to not have any plans and just go for it,” Kjellson said. “We don’t like to construct anything to suit a certain type of audience. We like to be honest to ourselves and make things we find interesting ourselves; something we’d like to put on our own turntable. We do it because we are having a great time making our own favorite music. That has always been our main philosophy.”