SEIGMEN — Enola (review)

SEIGMEN — Enola album cover Album · 2015 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Enola" is the 5th full-length studio album by Norwegian rock act Seigmen. The album was released through Indie Recordings in April 2015. Seigmen is a very prolific act in their homeland, and especially enjoyed a lot of success in the mid-90s. They disbanded after releasing "Radiowaves (1997)" that generally didn´t resonate that well with their fans, but reunited in 2005 to play some shows (which resulted in the brilliant "Rockefeller (2006)" live album), again in 2008, and finally in 2012, where the idea of recording a new studio album began. According to bassist/main composer Kim Ljung the original intention wasn´t to record a full-length studio album, but the material just started coming to him, and Seigmen soon had enough written material to enter a studio to record their first album in 18 years.

18 years is a long time between albums, so it´s remarkable how "Enola" sounds unmistakably like Seigmen. Heavy and dark melancholic rock with Norwegian lyrics, featuring the trademark dynamic of restrained verses and louder anthemic choruses. It´s like "Radiowaves (1997)" never existed and "Enola" was released right after "Metropolis (1995)". For most fans of the band that´s probably a big relief.

The material on the 10 track, 51:40 minutes long album (the vinyl version features the bonus track "Mot I Brystet") is well written, catchy, and always features the dark melancholy that is Seigmen´s trademark. Some tracks are slightly more light in mood (with an emphasis on slightly), while others are really dark and heavy. Examples of the latter are "Trøst", "I Mitt Hus", and "Til Verdens Ende". The two last mentioned even feature a couple of metal oriented riffs. In the other end of the spectrum there´s a ballad type track like "Tenn Alle Lys". It´s Alex Møklebust emotional vocals which set the mood, but the heavy rhythm section, and the two guitarists who compliment each other with clean and distorted tones and rhythm and leads, and seldom play in unison, are also important parts of the band´s sound.

"Enola" is very well produced, featuring a powerful, dark, and organic sound production, which suits the music perfectly. An extra atmosphere enhancer if you will. It´s always with some hesitation and fear that I listen to comeback albums by artists I once used to enjoy a lot, but "Enola" won me over on first listen. The fact that Seigmen sounds like they were never gone, although it´s been almost 20 years, is incredible, and it´s like being transported right back to the mid-90s and the heyday of this great band. "Enola" is a high quality release through and through and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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