Video Interview: Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson, on a Boat, Talks Touring Cinematically and More
Norwegian progressive black metal progenitors Enslaved just last week announced their new EP, Caravans to the Outer Worlds, would be released this Fall on Nuclear Blast. Well, at the time, I had already conducted this interview with founding guitarist Ivar Bjørnson, and though I asked about new material, there was never a mention of what will be the direct follow-up to 2020’s Utgard (review here). I guess we learned that the dude can keep a secret.
Further evidence? I brought up the fact that he was supposed to curate at the outdoor fest Fire in the Mountains in 2020 in amid the gorgeous scenery of Wyoming, and asked if he’d heard anything about resuming that post. He didn’t say no — which I took as yes anyway — but confirmation came down the PR wire this week that, indeed, Bjørnson will curate the 2022 edition of Fire in the Mountains. Not that you need an excuse to experience the landscape of Wyoming for yourself, but that’d be one if you did. So 
again, (not sarcastic) kudos to Bjørnson on keeping the secret. With a 30-year career behind him, no wonder dude’s a professional.
Even further evidence of that? He did this entire interview from a sailing ship. Apparently as part of a thing for Norwegian television, he was invited to take a sailing trip around Bergen, and yeah, he’s out there, on a boat, the whole time. Because of course. The waves look smooth — it was the connection that was choppy — but still, did the whole interview, live from the deck of the boat. Pro-shop. It seemed like a beautiful, if breezy, day on the water.
So let’s say there’s been a bunch of Enslaved news lately, and that’s before you even get to the fact that they’ve announced tour dates in Europe for early next year. Plus, they’re still not at all far removed from the release of their Cinematic Tour 2020 box set, which was the impetus behind my wanting to do the interview in the first place, to talk about the streaming shows, the production value, playing older songs and doing 2003’s Below the Lights in full with new band members Håkon Vinje (keys/vocals) and Iver Sandøy (drums/vocals), as well as bringing Utgard to life in that context. Even with the secrets kept, there was plenty, plenty, plenty to talk about.
Please enjoy:
Enslaved, Interview with Ivar Bjørnson, Aug. 4, 2021
Enslaved will release Caravans to the Outer Worlds on Oct. 1. The Cinematic Tour 2020 box set is out now. More info at the links. Special thanks to Mike H. for the inspiration to chase down this interview.
