Enslaved - Heimdal
What a nice surprise, pretty good Atmos mix here! I've always loved this band. For a rough comparison, think of a black metal version of old Opeth, with more of a krautrock/psychedelic/space rock influence to them, instead of the more classic prog influences that Opeth tend to use. This is their latest album (2023). They've been around for 30 years already. It's probably my favorite release by them since 2008 or so, and I have it on CD, which includes a blu-ray disc as bonus, but with an (admittedly very cool) live performance instead of the Atmos mix, sadly.
It's definitely a fully discrete mix that, even in its "duller" moments, sounds a lot better than the stereo, way less compressed, which helps unearth the dense arrangements the band often use, including electronic elements. Interestingly, the center channel is used for some additional instrumental parts (such as guitar solos) instead of any vocals, which come either from the fronts (lead) or sides and rears (choirs, chants-like vocals). For most of the time it feels like a 7.1 mix, although there are more sounds emanating from the heights, esp. rear heights, in the last three songs of the album.
Unconfirmed, but I think Jens Bogren did this one, since he mixed it in stereo, and recently updated his studio
with an Atmos mixing room. At its best, I'd say this mix sounds better than any surround mix of a metal band Bruce Soord has done, although it's also less consistent in quality than his work. Recommended anyway, as long as you like or, at least, tolerate harsh vocals. "Forest Dweller" and "The Eternal Sea" (the latter happens to have the most exciting Atmos mix of the album) contain the bigger amount of clean vocals in case you're curious about this.
Seems like I'm unable to post a short comment on here
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