Hello everyone, JJ’s has returned to you once again and we’re ready to chart a course to new horizons. September is upon us, the weather is getting colder, the smell of autumn can be felt, getting ever stronger. With this, I think it’s time we get cooler and darker here too, so allow me to continue off my previous entry and take you on a journey to the frozen mountainous expanses and gelid waters of the land of nordmenn – Norway. We will submerge into archaic tales of Viking myth and legend but through it we will learn a bit about ourselves and the world around us. After I talked about my favourite band ever last time, I’ll introduce you to my other favourite band, or favourite active band if you will – the titans of Norway known as Enslaved!
Have you ever discovered an artist that fundamentally changes how you think about their chosen artform? Well, this happened to me, when I started listening to Enslaved. They have been a monumental discovery for me and their unique and fascinating approach to making music has broadened my musical horizons and opened me up to realms I never thought possible. Enslaved are what you get, when a group of exceptionally talented musicians and songwriters put absolutely no boundaries or restrictions on their own creativity and go wherever their hearts take them. They truly have one of the most fascinating discographies ever and I hope that through this blog, you too can learn to appreciate it and open the gates to a whole new world of music. You will see why they are called "the Pink Floyd of black metal".
Going back in time, the roots of Enslaved first sprouted in the dawn of the 90s around the Haugesund and Bergen areas in Norway. Two men (or well, teenagers still at this point) are our main protagonists here – Ivar Bjørnson, who would become the band’s guitarist, keyboardist and primary songwriter, and Grutle Kjellson, who would be the bassist, lead vocalist and frontman of the band. Heavy metal was making huge waves in Norway during this time and the nation was a hotbed of new music, fresh ideas and youth energy, ready to be channeled into creative force. Grutle and Ivar met at a concert in the early 90s and became fast friends. They quickly discovered their shared passion for metal and mutual desire to start their own band. One thing led to another and eventually, they formed their first band in 1991 and called it...Phobia. At this time, Grutle was only 17 and Ivar was a mere 13 years old! Can you believe that? This rag-tag group were a classic early 90s death metal outfit and managed to release two demo EPs during this time - The Last Settlement of Ragnarok and Feverish Convulsions, the latter of which becoming a minor underground hit. Already, the passion for Norse mythology can be found. However, this band didn’t last and later the same year, most went their separate ways, but Ivar and Grutle stayed together. They knew something special was brewing, so they recruited their friend, the rising drum god Trym Torson, and reformed under a different name – Enslaved! And with this, by 1992 they released their first demo EP under the new name, the ice-cold Norwegian slaughterhouse called Yggdrasill.
With this, the band had found a new sound, something unheard of before. They took heavy inspiration from the booming Norwegian black metal scene they surrounded themselves with and adopted a similar tremolo guitar and blast beat powered sound and characteristic rough DIY production but decided to focus on old Norse mythology and folklore for their lyrics, introduce keyboards and minor symphonic and folk elements into the music and also started to make longer and more progressive 10+ minute compositions, taking inspirations from some of their favourite progressive rock acts such as Pink Floyd and King Crimson. This created an eerie and mysterious sound, rich in variety, that captivated listeners and enveloped them in long, epic Northern tales. By 1993 and 1994, they managed to release their first EP Hordanes Land, split with fellow Norwegian legends Emperor, and their debut album Vikingligr Veldi (with lyrics in Icelandic, for a more archaic sound). With these two records, their signature style had been cemented and they pioneered their iconic Viking-themed progressive black metal sound, sometimes also called Viking metal. It’s hard to fathom how good and ahead of their time these records are, especially given how Ivar Bjørnson was still only 15 when he wrote them!
In 1994 and 1997 respectively they released their next two albums Frost and Eld (meaning Ice and Fire). These records cemented their style of abrasive black metal with lots of keyboards, progressive songwriting. Frost features shorter and tighter songs and is a favourite of fans of oldschool Norwegian black metal, while Eld is more proggy and with more experimental compositions. It also features their longest track to date, being over 16 minutes long and telling the story of the battle of Lindisfarne that is considered the dawn of the Viking age.
The next pair of records, Blodhemn in 1998 and Mardraum (Beyond the Within) in 2000, follow a similar pattern. Blodhemn features shorter songs and is very heavy and riff driven, while Mardraum is slightly more proggy and avant-garde. Større enn tid - Tyngre enn natt is a personal favourite of mine, it and 793 perfectly show how Enslaved have more variety and dynamism in one song than most bands have in their entire discography.
With Enslaved, the only constant, besides the strong black metal core and progressive metal songwriting, is change. This was epitomised by the unique 2001 album Monumension. The rough black metal era was drawing to a close and a new age was dawning. This is the first album with lyrics almost entirely in English as opposed to the band’s native Norwegian and in terms of songwriting, this is still the most out there and avant-garde record the band has ever made. It’s very progressive with gratuitous keyboards and effects, a mix of different vocal styles and very unpredictable song structures. It’s still a fascinating journey though and is a one-of-a-kind experience to this day.
Now we have firmly stepped into the new era of Enslaved, the middle period of their discography that is considered by most, including me, the perfect balance of everything that the band can do. Albums would still be heavily focused on Norse mythology, but instead of just retelling epic tales, they would focus on exploring philosophy, human nature and the world around us through this lens. Lyrics would now be mostly in English and the songs would be more proggy and experimental, although never as wacky as Monumension. During this time, two important people will join the band – lead guitarist Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal and keyboardist and secondary vocalist Herbrand Larsen. With the addition of more frequent clean singing on Larsen’s part and the phenomenal guitar solos of Isdal, the palette of Enslaved’s music was even richer than it ever was, as if anyone thought that was possible. The next three records – Below the Lights in 2003, Isa in 2004 and Ruun in 2006 would epitomize this era. To this day, these albums, especially the former two, are fan favourites and these tracks are staples of live shows. Isa is even a concept album that flows cleanly from one track to the next and is truly the journey of a lifetime.
And so, with their newly found force, Enslaved would continue to evolve and change, bringing new elements and ideas with every release. Their next album Vertebrae in 2008 stands out as their most melodic ever, with catchy riffs, sorrow lead melodies and a melancholic sound. The next one, Axioma Ethica Odini in 2010, is a focused blend of prog and black metal and is a huge fan favourite to this day.
As we move on, the tides of change were upon us again, although not in such an extreme way as last time. With their next record, Riitiir in 2012, Enslaved entered into their next and current era – the modern prog era. Long songs galore on most records, thorough experimentation, unique song structures and deep, philosophical and esoteric lyrics, these define this epoch. The most proggy and lengthy entires in this era would be Riitiir and the next album, 2015’s In Times, which is my personal favourite and the one along with Isa that got me hooked on this band. Songs are pretty lengthy and to me, these are the gold standard not just for Enslaved but are the absolute pinnacle of what progressive metal can and should be. And if you really like the black metal stuff, don’t worry, the band haven’t forgotten their roots or lost their dark edge.
And so, we come into the most modern times of Enslaved. With E in 2017, Utgard in 2020 and the brand spankin’ new Heimdal dropping earlier this year, the proud nordmenn have not stopped reinventing themselves. While Herbrand Larsen would unfortunately leave the band after In Times, the young talent Håkon Vinje would take his place and prove more than capable of filling his shoes, having a similar vocal style while also adding a more varied and oldschool keyboard sound to the music. Newest drummer Iver Sandøy also surprised us all with his own amazing singing on Utgard, thus giving Enslaved three different distinct voices to pull from in their music! Time and time again, the band continue to tread new waters and explore new ideas, sounding different and unique every time while also still sounding definitively like themselves and never losing the core of what makes them great.
In between records, they even found the time to record a few more EPs and some phenomenal live albums too. My favourite is Chronicles of the Northbound, which was aired live for free on YouTube to quench our thirst for concerts during the pandemic. The setlist was entirely decided by an online poll, in which I happily participated, which blessed us with fresh live performances of a few songs that we hadn’t heard in a good while.
For all their accomplisments, Enslaved have revolutionized the metal genre and inspired generations of musicians. In their native Norway, these guys are a national treasure. I mean, for the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian consitution, the Norwegian government themselves hired good ol' Ivar Bjørnson and had him team up with the multitalented Einar Selvik of the Nordic folk music titans Wardruna to make an album dedicated to Norwegian history called Skuggsjá. That's a ton of respect there. Also Ivar and Einar loved working together so much, the project was continued and they made a second album afterwards called Hugsjá.
And so, here we are, our longship docks back at shore in the present day, with Enslaved still on top of their game. I don’t know what cheat code for life or deal with the devil they have uncovered that allows them to have sixteen albums under their belt and have every single one be phenomenal, but I’m glad they have it. I hope you enjoyed going on this musical journey with me and I hope you are now also fascinated by this unique band. If you are, I highly recommend checking out the Heimvegen series – it’s a full length documentary about the band’s entire history, but focusing mainly on their formative and early years, even bringing all original members of the precursor band Phobia back together for the first time in 20 years! The series is available in its entirety on YouTube and I encourage you to check it out, it’s incredibly fascinating. And of course, all music mentioned above and more from them and other similar artists can be found in my playlist below. Happy sailing! Hail Enslaved!
spotify:playlist:75j1VWdrvtkybeJRR2Eycs
