One of the things I love most about overindulgent music consumption in the modern Internet age is the ease of accidentally discovering an artist’s music at just the right time. Case in point: About a week ago, I was mindlessly sifting through my “Saved for Later” page on eMusic, hoping to find a halfway-decent album to listen to from a few dozen selections that I had placed on the back burner long ago. I came across Norwegian viking/black metallers Enslaved and their 2003 release Below the Lights, and downloaded it out of both curiosity and boredom. With an impressive catalogue of nine full-lengths into their career, I’ve always felt a twinge of guilt at knowing so little about this band, although in my defense, a good portion of their discography is tough to acquire in the States and often fetches steep import prices. I began playing “As Fire Swept Clean the Earth,” the opening salvo from Below the Lights, and by the 60-second mark every nerve ending in my body was tingling. I listened to the record in its entirety twice that evening and actually had difficulty succumbing to sleep later that night because of my excitement at the opportunity to explore this band’s music further.

The following day I strolled into my local Newbury Comics to pick up a tangible copy of Below the Lights, but to my mild disappointment the store had only one disc by the group, their most recent release Ruun (2006). I picked it up anyway, figuring that it would be just as good, and maybe even better than Below the Lights (at this point, I hadn’t done much online research about the band). Nothing could have prepared me for the unharnessed power that roared out of my car speakers minutes later. Leadoff track “Entroper” immediately embraced my eardrums and refused to let go for six minutes. Here is a list of reasons why I was hooked:

• The guitars. My God, the guitars. At once scalding the skin with blue-flamed fury yet stinging like a shower of ice pellets. I can’t emphasize enough how phenomenal the duel guitars of Ivar Bjørnson and Arve Isdel sound: raw, alive, majestic. And rather than chug along the lower strings of the fretboard, the pair construct open, expansive chords and weave internal melodies into the progressions, stacking ninths and elevenths atop the harmony. Hell, there are even bright, un-metal major seventh chords here. I could listen to this kind of six-stringed electricity every day until I go deaf.

• It would be criminal to overlook Grutle Kjellson’s bass playing. Listen at 1:38 for his solo exposition, brilliant in its simplicity and placement in the song, overlapping bar lines, every note resonating with determination and purpose.

• Cato Bekkevold owns the drum throne, never once overplaying and in complete deference to the time, yet prone to sudden bursts of double-kick rolling and polyrhythmic accents on his cymbals to keep the listener in suspense.

• Kjellson’s vocals are mixed perfectly, from his weathered rasp to the acidic whispers to the multi-tracked clean vocals. Yes, there are clean vocals here – normally a turn-off for my metal tastes – but their presence is never overpowering, and they are blended into the mix seamlessly.

• Listen to how thick and colorful the guitars sound. This is in no small measure due to Herbrand Larsen, who eschews organ solos and clunky piano licks for pure texture.

Soon I became engulfed in the swarming maelstrom of sound that brings “Entroper” to its triumphant climax, the guitars mowing down everything in their path while Kjellson mourns, “They turned safely into non-existence.” Which is precisely what I’ve just experienced.

“Entroper” – Enslaved 6:21 (Ruun, Candelight 2006)

On a record that’s virtually one long highlight it feels slightly inordinate to focus on standout cuts, but the title track gloriously melds exotic gloom with black metal elegance. The song opens with beautiful ringing guitar arpeggios over a slinky 7/8 signature that are counterbalanced by a drilling one-note riff in the left channel. At 1:43 the atmosphere turns claustrophobic with mashed chords as the drums force their way through the speakers in double-time, with Kjellson adopting his gutteral howl to deliver the chorus. A brief acoustic interlude offers the only chance for breath before the guitars return, culminating in the last final shrieks of Kjellson before fading into silence. Absolutely stunning.

“Ruun” – Enslaved 6:49 (Ruun, Candlelight 2006)

So for forty-six minutes I remained in my car, staring glassy-eyed into my windshield while absorbing the record, with an occasional flip through the insert for lyric clarification or some minor recording detail. I haven’t done this in years. Certain albums just find you when you need them to, and this is exactly the kind of heaviness I have been needing to hear for the past three years now, filling the void where Opeth’s somewhat disappointing Ghost Reveries (2005) was intended to reside. I couldn’t even fathom hearing a note of Ruun in warm weather; it is the sonic equivalent of the icy, desolate environment seen up there in the current floodwatchmusic.com banner (the remains of the fire tower atop Mount Garfield in Northern New Hampshire, for anyone wondering).

If anyone needs me during the next three weeks, I’ll be poring over every note of this band’s discography.