I’ll not waste your time recounting the various glories of Enslaved‘s early-2023 outing, Heimdal (review here), because holy crap, we’ve arrived at the next stage of the covering-Enslaved-on-The-Obelisk running gag, wherein although I never really get much response when I write about the band — I assume because they’re not Electric Wizard, which is a standard that few bands will ever meet; just one comes to mind — I now assume you’re actually as huge a fan as I am. Sweet, right? I know!

As such, a deluxe edition of Heimdal from the Bergen, Norway-based progenitors of progressive black metal, which includes their ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ live recording, the new track “Gangandi” that you can see the visualizer for — it’s got more scope in its first three minutes than some bands have in their career, but you know that — at the bottom of this post, and a couple alternate versions of songs from teh record with Jo Quail on cello. Mark it a win for fans like you and I.

The release is out March 1, which puts it in time for the band’s upcoming European and UK tour, though I don’t know how you sell digital releases at the merch table. I’m sure there’s a way. It’s the future. You can always spend money here.

From the PR wire:

ENSLAVED | announce ‘Heimdal (Deluxe)’ digital album + release single/visualizer ‘Gangandi’

One year ago, Norway’s trailblazing cosmic voyagers, Enslaved, released their latest avant-garde creation titled Heimdal. To commemorate the studio album’s first year of existence, the band are proud to announce the Heimdal (Deluxe) digital album, set to be released on March 1st 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Heimdal (Deluxe) will include the studio album in full, as well as bonus track ‘Gangandi’, alternative versions of two album tracks ‘Congelia’ and ‘Forest Dweller’, both featuring sublime performances from renowned cellist Jo Quail, plus the entirety of ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ – Enslaved’s stunning 2022 streaming event featuring fellow psychedelic Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant.

Today, the band have released their deeply mesmerising track ‘Gangandi’ as a preview to the deluxe digital album, which is accompanied by a visualizer.

Vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson commented,

“Gangandi was the last song we made before the recording sessions for Heimdal took place. I remember Ivar driving down to my place from Bergen on a Friday night to play a demo for a new song for me, and I went like, “Daaaaamn, this is something else!” I absolutely loved it, but at the same time, I sensed that it was a little bit to the left of the rest of the material. When I started to figure out what to sing over it, I ended up writing a poem in cross rhyme in archaic western Norwegian, which even separated the whole effort even further away from the rest of the material.

So, ultimately, we ended up not including it on the album, other than as a bonus track on the most “exclusive” and limited vinyl versions.

That said, that doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy the song! Quite the contrary! We love this odd little hybrid of folk rock, early Mayhem, and King Crimson! It just ended up being the weird cousin of the rest of the songs. Kind of like Enslaved itself as a matter of fact.”

PRE-SAVE HEIMDAL (DELUXE): https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal-deluxe.ema
LISTEN TO TRACK ‘GANGANDI’: https://enslaved.bfan.link/gangandi.ema

Enslaved’s latest studio album Heimdal (released March 2023) is both a departure and a communion with roots forged over three decades ago in the turbulent birth throes of Norway’s black metal scene. It’s a record that points towards new beginnings, and a dawn that’s on the other side of the apex of the land. A psychedelic journey through arcane Norse folklore, connecting with one’s ancient ancestors and our future selves.

‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ was an Enslaved show like none other, their biggest, boldest project to date – a colossal, kaleidoscopic stage show featuring a stellar setlist covering their career, both past and present. Including some tracks never previously performed live.

Enslaved will be touring the UK and Europe in March 2024. The 16-date run will take the band across 10 different countries, with support coming from British post-hardcore quartet Svalbard and US metallers Wayfarer.

Tickets are on-sale now from https://enslaved.no/

ENSLAVED – UK + EUROPEAN TOUR 2024
w/ Svalbard + Wayfarer
06/03 – UK London, Islington Assembly Hall
07/03 – UK Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
08/03 – UK Manchester, Club Academy
09/03 – UK Glasgow, Slay
10/03 – IE Dublin, Opium
12/03 – NL Helmond, Cacaofabriek
13/03 – FR Paris, La Machine
14/03 – CH Geneva, PTR/l’Usine
15/03 – FR Montpellier, Victoire 2
16/03 – IT Milan, Legend
18/03 – CZ Prague, Futurum
19/03 – AT Vienna, Szene
21/03 – DE Cologne, Club Volta
22/03 – DE Leipzig, Taubchenthal
23/03 – DE Berlin, Hole44
24/03 – PL Warsaw, Proxima

Enslaved have also been announced for some festivals in 2024:

31/07-03/08 NO Beyond The Gates, Bergen
11/08 UK Bloodstock Festival, Derby
14/08-17/08 DE Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl
16/11-17/11 MX Mexico Metal Fest, Mexico City

Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums

http://www.facebook.com/enslaved
https://www.instagram.com/enslavedofficial
http://www.enslaved.no/

http://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa
http://instagram.com/nuclearblastusa

Enslaved, “Gangandi” official visualizer

Move along, people! Business as usual here. Just Enslaved touring with Svalbard and Wayfarer, supporting early-2023’s Heimdal (review here) at club shows probably ahead of another summer of festivals and more traveling as they complete the touring cycle for their 16th album, having built a catalog unparalleled in its commitment to sonic progression either in or out of black metal. Yeah, they’re not the only ones who’ve been around that long, but who else has had the kind of trajectory Enslaved have had, incorporating sounds and styles from prog and krautrock while maintaining their ability to conjure tempests of tremolo seemingly at will.

I guess Opeth would be the big analog, but Opeth ‘went prog’ from a beginning in death metal. They started as one thing and became another. Enslaved have done that without dropping their original intention toward extremity. They changed the sound to suit them, rather than themselves to suit the sound.

This concludes today’s lecture on why you don’t listen to enough Enslaved. Put on Below the Lights twice today after you watch the video for “Congelia” at the bottom of this post and we’ll talk about this again tomorrow. No, probably not really.

From the PR wire. Or was it socials. Oh who cares:

Friends!

In March next it is happening; we are going to tour Europe + UK! Enslaved will be hitting the road, together with Wayfarer and Svalbard. We will visit 10 different countries and play in 16 different venues. Ticket sales will kick off tomorrow, so make sure you find yours!

Due to events and circumstances beyond everybody’s control, our first European club tour since 2018 as a matter of fact! No less!

The blare of the great horn shall resound once again, and Heimdal will guide you through pain and anxiety and to victory!

Looking forward to see you all again.

Alu Alu Laukar!!
-Grutle

At which of these shows can we expect to see you?

06/03/2024 – Islington Assembly Hall – London (UK)
07/03/2024 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds (UK)
08/03/2024 – Club Academy – Manchester (UK)
09/03/2024 – Slay – Glasgow (UK)
10/03/2024 – Opium – Dublin (IE)
12/03/2024 – Cacaofabriek – Helmond (NL)
13/03/2024 – La Machine – Paris (FR)
14/03/2024 – Geneva PTR/l’ Usine – Geneva (CH)
15/03/2024 – Victoire 2 – Montpellier (FR)
16/03/2024 – Legend – Milan (IT)
18/03/2024 – Futurum – Prague (CZ)
19/03/2024 – Szene – Vienna (AT)
21/03/2024 – Club Volta – Cologne (DE)
22/03/2024 – Taubchenthal – Leipzig (DE)
23/03/2024 – Hole44 – Berlin (DE)
24/03/2024 – Proxima – Warsaw (PL)

Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums

http://www.facebook.com/enslaved
https://www.instagram.com/enslavedofficial
http://www.enslaved.no/

http://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa
http://instagram.com/nuclearblastusa

Enslaved, “Congelia” official video

It is difficult to convey just how singular Enslaved are. For over 30 years, they have continually refined their sound, moved ever forward and refused stagnation. That’s impressive enough when you have four albums, let alone 16, and their commitment to exploration, to developing new ideas and to pushing themselves and the styles they’ve helped shape to new places has led them to a place where the unknown has become part of their mastery. Their latest full-length and, yes, their 16th, is Heimdal, a title that translates to English as ‘home valley,’ and throughout the included seven tracks, from the kraturocky keyboard jabs in the first couple minutes of opener “Behind the Mirror” to the let-it-all-loose shred Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal unleashes for “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” — also the title-track of a 2021 stopgap EP (review here) — to the final harmony-topped prog-rock shove of the ending title-track, they are indeed at home in this next step of their ongoing, as yet unceasing evolution.

They are second to none in scope, and in the galloping triumph of “Congelia” — a shivers-up-the-spine riff-rooted life-burst that starts at 5:21 and consumes the rest of the song’s eight minutes; kin to standout Enslaved moments like “Fusion of Sense and Earth” from 2006’s Ruun (discussed here) and “The Watcher” from 2008’s Vertebrae and “Roots of the Mountain” from 2012’s Riitiir (review here), but even more gorgeously crafted now than it could have been then — and the depth of layering in guitar, keys and vocals of centerpiece “Kingdom,” and just about everywhere else, they remind that scope is an essential facet of who they are. And so is change. Progress. Movement.

Heimdal is not a record Enslaved could have made even five years ago. It follows a busy few pandemic years of livestreams and live albums after 2020’s studio LP Utgard (review here), and it is very much a sophomore release from the incarnation of the band featuring drummer and producer Iver Sandøy. Alongside founding members Grutle Kjellson (bass, vocals), whose signature rasp saves its most vicious gnash for the djent-doom initial unfolding of the title-track — a fitting way to let listeners know they’ve arrived at the end of all things — but who also works in some spoken narration for “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” and clean singing elsewhere, and guitarist/backing vocalist/keyboardist/etc.-ist Ivar Bjørnson, whose creative drive as main songwriter is the epicenter of the band’s own, as well as the undervalued metallurgy of Isdal and the synth/keys and soaring melodic voice of Håkon Vinje, who joined the band in 2017 and has only added to their reach in the time since, Sandøy contributes in multiple regards to the spiritual and aural force of Heimdal.

As a drummer, he is propulsive beneath the keyboard-led middle of “Forest Dweller,” which begins with acoustic-inclusive layered sweep and ends in a dream-drift exhale after the tension has broke, and no less able to hold the more open groove of “The Eternal Sea” either in its harmonized early moments, the stretch outright charred extremity that follows or the all-in engrossing melodic payoff that follows with his vocals as a crucial element of the whole. Also one of Heimdal‘s principal producers at Solslottet Studios (Vegard Lemme also assisted with engineering), where the basic tracks were recorded — Isdal did the leads/solos at his Earshot & Conclave Studios and additional recording was done at ‘the Overlook Hotel,’ where all work and no play reportedly makes Jack a dull boy — Sandøy is all the more integrated into the five-piece band across Heimdal, and his voice when added especially to that of Vinje, but also the rougher deliveries of Kjellson (mostly) and Bjørnson, results in arrangements that are nothing short of majestic.

Of all the places Heimdal goes in its 49 minutes — including home, apparently — across the material that’s perhaps more expansive than Utgard as an added benefit of the additional years of working with this lineup, Sandøy is able to function at both the core and the forefront of the going. He is there at the payoff of the introductory tour de force that is “Behind the Mirror,” alongside Vinje in a melodic-singing duo that pushes the entirety of Heimdal to a higher level of execution. That’s true even in the darkest corners of the material. The clenched-jaw raging intensity of “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” that reminds of the band’s madly careening earlier days, and the head-spinning, sharp-turning precision of “Kingdom,” the way in which the lumbering doom at the outset of “The Eternal Sea” presents the crashing of waves — all of these moments and so many others are able to be realized because on every level Enslaved can’t not challenge each other to surpass what they’ve done before.

Introducing Vinje with 2017’s E (review here) was a beginning point, and Utgard can now be seen as the start of a new era of progressive manifestations because of the affirmations wrought throughout Heimdal, and both the blinding luminosity and the severity of their material — on the most basic level, the things they can and will do — are harnessed with poise and purpose alike. Longer on average than they were last time out, the songs on Heimdal maintain urgency and atmosphere alike, and whether it’s the open-space first verses of “Forest Dweller,” crooning clean vocals over swirling synth drones before the drums fade in and Kjellson treats his vocal cords to another round of punishment, or the break in the middle of the title-track, a few spoken lines in Norwegian before the drums launch and punctuate the somewhat angular and still melodically stunning keystone ending — not a blowout, but a thoughtful, completing moment that gives over to residual synth to end; a universe’s answer back to the rowing oars and sounding horn at the start of Heimdal about 45 minutes and lightyears before — the band never lose their sense of direction despite what seems at times like a wildly spinning compass.

But that is who they are. Enslaved burn even the loftiest expectations in the fires of accomplishment and give credence to heavy metal as a form of high art. On the front cover, as ever by Tor Ola Svennevig (maybe based on landscape photography by Kjellson and Mirjam Orman Vikingstad?), there are three distinct representations of the past, present and the future, respectively, as water, earth and sky. In the water, we see the past as a reflection of the present and the future; subtly notable for the hillside object that might be a banner, speaking to a history of Norwegian peoples and places that is very much a part of Enslaved‘s thematic explorations. In the sky is the future, foreboding and bright in kind, unknowable. The proverbial limit. And where the logo and title are placed is on the level of the land, the present; somehow all we’re given between the two surrounding temporal infinities. It is a reminder not only that time is fleeting as the idiom says, but that none of those three stages can exist without the other. The present is our own home valley, and as Enslaved continue to chase and seek new realms of sound and presence in that unknown future, they are no less grounded in right now for the multidimensional, ever-blossoming nature of their calling.

Enslaved, Heimdal (2023)

Enslaved, “Congelia” official video

Enslaved, “Forest Dweller” official video

Enslaved, “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” official video

Enslaved, “Kingdom” official video

Enslaved on Facebook

Enslaved on Instagram

Enslaved on YouTube

Enslaved website

Nuclear Blast on Facebook

Nuclear Blast on Instagram

Nuclear Blast website

A couple things to note here for context. The version of “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” in the video below comes not from Enslaved‘s impending Heimdal album, due March 3 on Nuclear Blast, but from their prior livestream ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience.’ A bluray of that stream, a sort of culmination for the Bergen, Norway-based progressive black metal forebeards — that was a typo but I’m leaving it — from their ‘Cinematic Tour’ series that was released as a CD/DVD box set in 2021, will be included in the special edition of the new record, and featured a collaboration with the band Shaman Elephant. So when you see the glut of dudes in the video and say to yourself, “I don’t remember Enslaved being an orchestra,” well, there’s your explanation.

One can hardly begrudge Enslaved getting some mileage out of ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ or the streams in general, considering the quality of the audio/visual production at hand. Considering that alongside the adventurous nature of the project to start with, it’s pretty emblematic of who Enslaved are at this point in their career, masters of their sound who refuse not to explore new ideas. That’s been true of their work all along — one can trace a linear path across decades in their studio albums; if you never have, it’s a fun listening project provided you keep an open mind — but the farther out they go from their rawest beginnings, the more daring they seem to become. Special thanks to whoever it was that introduced them to krautrock, however many years ago now that might’ve been. At least 20.

You might also recall “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” was the title-track on an EP (review here) the band released last year. I don’t know if that version is the same one on Heimdal to come, but fair enough if it is, and while I haven’t heard the record yet, with the recent announcement of North American touring alongside Insomnium and Black Anvil, I look forward all the more to being immersed in that special expansiveness that is so quintessentially Enslaved‘s own when the time comes.

For now, dig into this and watch for flashing lights:

Enslaved, “Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)” official video

Bergen visionaries Enslaved present, ‘Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)’, taken from the bonus version of the upcoming album HEIMDAL. Pre-order / pre-save the album: https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal.yde

Listen to ‘Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)’: https://enslaved.bfan.link/caravans-tothe-outer-worlds.yde

Enslaved’s 16th studio album, Heimdal, will be released on March 3rd 2023, via Nuclear Blast Records.

(#127909#) Kolibri Media: https://kolibrimedia.no

Left-field metal luminaries Enslaved have revealed a single and video for ‘Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)’. The track, which comes from their forthcoming new studio album Heimdal (out March 3rd), as well as last year’s EP of the same name, sees an innovative, alternative live recording and stellar presentation of the song, with nuanced accompaniment from fellow psychedelic Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant.

This extraordinary performance took place one year ago, on last year’s Winter Solstice, via the streaming event The Otherworldly Big Band Experience.

Grutle Kjellson commented,
“Caravans To The Outer Worlds’ was the first material written for our upcoming album, and that first song usually points in a certain direction. However, this song points in several directions, and that really made the whole process immensely interesting, and ultimately pushed us making our best album ever!

This live-version, taken from ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’, our last big project keeping us alive during the pandemic, is the first of hopefully many opportunities to behold a performance of this energetic song. We hope you’ll enjoy it. God Jól!”

ENSLAVED – ALBUM LAUNCH EVENT
HEIMHUG
03 March NO, Bergen – USF Verftet
Head to enslaved.no/Heimhug for more information.

ENSLAVED + INSOMNIUM
NORTH AMERICAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR 2023
w/ Black Anvil
05 April New York, NY – Irving Plaza
06 April Boston, MA – Big Night Live
07 April Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
08 April Toronto, ON – The Opera House
10 April Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
11 April Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
12 April Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
14 April Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre
15 April Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
17 April Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
18 April Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw
19 April Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
21 April Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall
22 April Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
23 April Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
25 April Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live
26 April Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
28 April Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
29 April Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
30 April Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage

VIP tickets for NA shows available here: enslaved.soundrink.com

ENSLAVED – 2023 FESTIVAL SHOWS
03 Feb 2023 DK, Fredericia – Winter Metal Magic
13 May 2023 UK, London – Incineration Festival
10-11 Nov 2023 MX, Monterrey – Mexico Metal Fest

Enslaved is:
Ivar Bjørnson – guitar
Grutle Kjellson – vocals/bass
Ice Dale – guitar
Håkon Vinje – keys/vocals
Iver Sandøy – drums

Enslaved, Caravans to the Outer Worlds EP (2021)

Enslaved, “Bounded by Allegiance” from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience

Enslaved on Facebook

Enslaved on Instagram

Enslaved on YouTube

Enslaved website

Nuclear Blast on Facebook

Nuclear Blast on Instagram

Nuclear Blast website

Norwegian progressive black metal masters Enslaved recently announced their 16th full-length, Heimdal, would see release through Nuclear Blast on March 3, and today brings word that the band will return to North American shores to support it. Setting off from New York City on April 5 — which my calendar tells me is just four days after Church of the Cosmic Skull hit town for April Fools — Enslaved will co-headline with Insomnium for the better part of the month going coast-to-coast in the process with shoots up north for Montreal and Vancouver. I’m an easy sell on going to see Enslaved live, and if you’re not, it’s your loss. Me and Mike H.’ll happily tell you why you need to show up next time.

Rad as the tour news is, it’s only scratching the surface of everything the stalwarts have going on, between other special performances and festival dates coming up next year, special editions of Heimdal and this and that and then some. To wit, this PR wire info is about 700 words long. Most don’t crack 200, but then again, most bands who’ve been going for 30 years without a break aren’t still pushing boundaries the way Enslaved ceaselessly do with either their level of quality or productivity.

Anyway, here you go:

ENSLAVED Announce Co-Headline North American Tour With INSOMNIUM

Enslaved are pleased to announce a month-long, North American co-headline tour with Insomnium. The run will take place in April 2023, shortly after the release of Enslaved’s new studio album, Heimdal, out March 3rd. Support on the road will come from Black Anvil.

Ivar Bjørnson commented,

“Neither you nor we will BELIEVE how much we are looking forward to coming back to the US of A and Canada in April 2023! We have a new album (and more if you want to be technical), ‘Heimdal’, to show you – spoiler alert: it will lay venues waste. Yes, we are that confident. We also have some rather cosmically awesome (!) bands joining the trek in co-headliners Insomnium and support Black Anvil – how could this become anything but the most spectacular event of 2023?”

Tickets will go on-sale Friday December 16th @ 10am (local time) via the below links.

ENSLAVED + INSOMNIUM
NORTH AMERICAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR 2023
w/ Black Anvil
05 April New York, NY – Irving Plaza
06 April Boston, MA – Big Night Live
07 April Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
08 April Toronto, ON – The Opera House
10 April Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
11 April Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
12 April Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
14 April Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre
15 April Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
17 April Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
18 April Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw
19 April Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
21 April Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall
22 April Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
23 April Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
25 April Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live
26 April Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
28 April Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
29 April Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
30 April Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage

ENSLAVED – 2023 FESTIVAL SHOWS
03 Feb 2023 DK, Fredericia – Winter Metal Magic
13 May 2023 UK, London – Incineration Festival
10-11 Nov 2023 MX, Monterrey – Mexico Metal Fest

But Enslaved have even more planned for 2023, including festival show dates, and a unique album release event in their home city of Bergen, Norway. Named Heimhug, the evening will feature an extended Enslaved live set with guests, and very special guest Jo Quail.

03 March 2023
Bergen, Norway @ USF Verftet
HEIMHUG – an Enslaved Heimdal album release event
Tickets available HERE: https://www.ticketmaster.no/event/enslaved-presents-heimhug-a-heimdal-album-release-event-billetter/705535?irgwc=1&utm_content=1220128_8215
Please head to enslaved.no/Heimhug for more information.

Grutle Kjellson commented,
“Sometimes the answers and the truths lie under your very nose, or where the journey starts, where you first set sail towards horizons unknown. This was very much the case when we started working on “Heimdal”; we stepped back and looked a bit inwards and also at our immediate surroundings, at the area we hail from and where we still dwell today; Hordaland. On these shores people have been living and dying, worshiping and crying, laughing and lying ever since the Stone Age. History has been written here, history will still be written here and we will continue to dwell here until the end of our days.

“Built around this historical narrative, “Heimdal” was created, and on the 3rd of March 2023 we would like to invite you to celebrate the album release with us and pay homage to our history.

“Under the “Heimhug”-banner, we’re gonna perform a two-set release concert at USF Bergen with very special guests, we’ll have an art exhibition with the specific photographs and drawings we used for the artwork on the album and also an exclusive showing of last year’s “The Otherworldly BigBand experience”.

“See you in Bergen in March!
Alu Alu Laukar!”

Enslaved’s 16th studio album, Heimdal, will be released on March 3rd 2023, via Nuclear Blast Records.

You can pre-order Heimdal here: https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal.ema
Listen to ‘Congelia’ here: https://enslaved.bfan.link/congelia.ema

Heimdal tracklisting
01. Behind The Mirror
02. Congelia
03. Forest Dweller
04. Kingdom
05. The Eternal Sea
06. Caravans To The Outer Worlds
07. Gangandi (Bonus Track)*
08. Heimdal

Heimdal, is both a departure and a communion with roots forged over three decades ago in the turbulent birth throes of Norway’s black metal scene. The record is named after Heimdal, arguably the most mysterious entity in Nordic mythology.

The record features psychedelic track ‘Caravans To The Outer Worlds’ from last year’s EP of the same name. Album bonus versions contain an extra track, ‘Gangandi’, alongside a Blu-Ray copy of 2021’s stunning Otherworldly Big Band Experience streamed event – the band’s boldest project to date, featuring fellow Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant. The kaleidoscopic stage show features a stellar setlist, covering Enslaved’s career, both past and present.

Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums

http://www.facebook.com/enslaved
https://www.instagram.com/enslavedofficial
http://www.enslaved.no/

http://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa
http://instagram.com/nuclearblastusa

Enslaved, “Congelia” official video

Norwegian progressive black metal progenitors Enslaved will release their 16th album, Heimdal, March 3 on Nuclear Blast. News comes fresh off the PR wire, along with a video for the first single “Congelia” and the opening of preorders. We would seem to be at the moment of launch, as regards the album generally.

I probably don’t have to ask you when the last time you felt so much anticipation for a band’s 16th record was, but there’s only one Enslaved. The single they released earlier this year, “Kingdom” (posted here), will feature on the record and since I’m in the waiting room of a doctor’s office I haven’t even had the chance to check out “Congelia” yet, but that’s for sure going to happen on the ride home, whether or not the orthopedist takes out the stitches currently residing on either side of my left knee. Good fun.

In any case, Heimdal will be the follow-up to 2020’s Utgard (review here), and on the off chance you don’t already have the kind of crazy unrealistic expectations that the band specialize in surpassing, I’ll tell you outright that you should.

Info from the PR wire:

ENSLAVED Announce New Studio Album “Heimdal”
+
Release New Single/Video “Congelia”

Those few golden, undying hearts are those of secret sons.

And the secrets of the Sun are those of daughters asking to…

Bergen visionaries Enslaved are proud to announce their 16th studio album, Heimdal, set to be released on March 3rd 2023, via Nuclear Blast Records. Today’s news is accompanied by the release of a blistering new single, titled ‘Congelia’, alongside an emotive, environmental video.

Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson & Grutle Kjellson commented,

“It’s quite weird, yet pretty awesome that we are now talking about the release of our 16th album; yes our 16th full-length album release. That’s not too shabby for a couple of scallywags from rural western Norway, is it? If you count our stint in the short lived Phobia-act, we have been playing together for no less than 32 years!

In all these years, Norse mythology has been our umbilical cord to the realms of mysticism and philosophy, and our gateway to the realms of deep psychology and the esoteric worlds beyond. One of the most fascinating characters of our mythology is HEIMDAL, and he has been lurking around in our minds like an enigma for three decades now. His first appearance was in a song called ‘Heimdallr’ on our demo tape ‘Yggdrasill’ back in 1992, and he’s had both minor and more significant roles in our lyrical universe over the years.

This time we have decided to dedicate an entire body of work to this most enigmatic of characters and richest of archetypes – we give you ‘HEIMDAL’. We have reached deeper and scouted further ahead than ever before – the past, present and future sound of the band comes together in songs born from sheer inspiration – it is the common force of a close-nit group of friends and musicians.”

You can pre-order Heimdal here: https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal.ema
Listen to ‘Congelia’ here: https://enslaved.bfan.link/congelia.ema

Heimdal, is both a departure and a communion with roots forged over three decades ago in the turbulent birth throes of Norway’s black metal scene. The record is named after Heimdal, arguably the most mysterious entity in Nordic mythology.

The record features psychedelic track ‘Caravans To The Outer Worlds’ from last year’s EP of the same name. Album bonus versions contain an extra track, ‘Gangandi’, alongside a Blu-Ray copy of 2021’s stunning Otherworldly Big Band Experience streamed event – the band’s boldest project to date, featuring fellow Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant. The kaleidoscopic stage show features a stellar setlist, covering Enslaved’s career, both past and present.

Heimdal tracklisting
01. Behind The Mirror
02. Congelia
03. Forest Dweller
04. Kingdom
05. The Eternal Sea
06. Caravans To The Outer Worlds
07. Gangandi (Bonus Track)*
08. Heimdal

Heimdal formats
CD
Limited edition digipack CD (inc. Bonus Track) + Blu-Ray*
2LP vinyl gatefold – black
2LP vinyl gatefold – white + black marble (Nuclear Blast Excl.)
2LP vinyl gatefold – white + green marble (Nuclear Blast + Selected Retailers)
2LP vinyl gatefold – blue + white marble (UK Retail + EMP)
2LP vinyl gatefold – white (USA Revolver Excl.)
2LP vinyl gatefold (inc. Bonus Track) + Blu-Ray – crystal clear w/ black marble (Nuclear Blast Excl.)*
2LP vinyl gatefold (inc. Bonus Track) + Blu-Ray – clear w/ black + gold marble (Band Excl.)*

Heimdal was produced by Enslaved’s own Ivar Bjørnson, Iver Sandøy and Grutle Kjellson. Mixing was handled by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, and the final treatment was mastered by Tony Lindgren. The concept and lyrics for Heimdal was, as always, developed by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson in tandem.

The album was recorded primarily at Solslottet Studios in Bergen, which is owned by Iver Sandøy. Solslottet is a satellite of the well-known Duper Studios, where the drums were recorded and engineered by Iver himself, with assistance from Vegard Lemme. The main guitars, bass, pianos, organs, and vocals were also recorded at Solslottet. Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal recorded his guitar leads at his own Earshot & Conclave Studios. The final touches and a few experimental ideas were added at the Overlook Hotel using Solslottet’s mobile studio rig. All music for Heimdal was written and demoed at Ivar Bjørnson’s own Crow’s Nest studio.

Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums

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Enslaved, “Congelia” official video