Enslaved
Enslaved performing live at Wacken Open Air 2007
Background information
Origin	Haugesund, Norway
Genres	Black metal Viking metal Progressive metal
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Deathlike Silence, Voices of Wonder, SPV GmbH, Osmose, Tabu, Relapse, Candlelight, Nuclear Blast
Website	enslaved.no
Members
Ivar Bjørnson Grutle Kjellson Arve Isdal Cato Bekkevold Herbrand Larsen
Former members
Trym Torson Roy Kronheim Per Husebø Harald Helgeson

Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Haugesund, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Members 2.1 Current members 2.2 Former members 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums and EPs 3.2 Demos 3.3 Splits 3.4 DVDs 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson (also known as Kjell Grutle) when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo track, "Enslaved in Rot".^[2] After many line-up changes throughout their career, Bjørnson and Kjellson are the only remaining original members. By 2004 the line-up solidified with guitarist Arve Isdal, drummer Cato Bekkevold, and keyboardist/vocalist Herbrand Larsen.

Bjørnson and Kjellson had been playing in a death metal band called Phobia, but like many in the burgeoning black metal movement, they were looking for new sources of inspiration and expression.^[2] Though Enslaved began as a prototypical Norwegian black metal band, they always incorporated song structures unusual for the genre, with several of their early songs expanding past the ten-minute mark. The album Eld (1997) is often considered to be the beginning of the band's shift towards progressive metal; that album's sixteen-minute track "793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)" is often regarded as one of the peaks of the band's career. The band's shift toward progressive black metal was rendered complete with Mardraum (2000), which contained several multi-part epics such as "Større enn tid - Tyngre enn natt" and "Entrance - Escape"; from that point onward, the band's influence from progressive rock became stronger on each successive record, with several tracks (most prominently, "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth" from Below the Lights) even using Mellotron.^[3] Mardraum, Monumension (2001), and Below the Lights (2003) can be regarded as having somewhat similar styles, although there is a clear progression of sound between the albums regardless; however, Isa (2004) and Ruun (2006) show a marked departure from previous sounds, with the latter almost abandoning any trace of black metal whatsoever, apart from Kjellson's vocals.

Although the band has used mainly English lyrics since Monumension, their albums before that were mostly recorded in Norwegian except on their first full-length album, where three songs had Icelandic lyrics, while the lyrics on Heimdallr was an Old Norse excerpt from Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson. Most of their lyrics relate to Norse mythology.

In 2007-2008 Bjørnson, Kjellson, and Isdal collaborated with the Norwegian noise duo Fe-Mail, under the name Trinacria. Enslaved released the album Vertebrae in September 2008. On this particular album, many of their techniques, particularly harmonies, have been compared to Pink Floyd. After touring Europe extensively, Enslaved embarked on a North American tour with the progressive death metal band Opeth in May 2009.^[4]

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

• Ivar Bjørnson – guitar, keyboards (since 1991)
• Grutle Kjellson – bass, vocals (since 1991)
• Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal – guitar (since 2002)
• Cato Bekkevold – drums (since 2003 - Formerly of Red Harvest)
• Herbrand Larsen – keyboards, vocals (since 2004)

[edit] Former members

• Trym Torson (Kai Johnny Mosaker) – drums (1991–1995)
• Harald Helgeson – drums (1995–1997)
• Per Husebø (also known as Dirge Rep) – drums (1997–2002)
• Roy Kronheim – guitar (1997–2002)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums and EPs

• Hordanes Land (EP) (1993)
• Vikingligr Veldi (1994)
• Frost (1994)
• Eld (1997)
• Blodhemn (1998)
• Mardraum - Beyond the Within (2000)
• Monumension (2001)
• Below the Lights (2003)
• Isa (2004)
• Ruun (2006)
• Vertebrae (2008)

[edit] Demos

• Nema (1991)
• Yggdrasill (1992)

[edit] Splits

• Hordanes Land (split with Emperor, 1993)
• Yggdrassill (split with Satyricon, 1995)

[edit] DVDs

Enslaved also has two DVD releases, primarily consisting of concert footage.

• Live Retaliation (2003)
• Return to Yggdrasill (2005)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enslaved

• Official website
• Enslaved at MySpace
• Enslaved discography at MusicBrainz
• "On the Road to Spread the Word of Good, Old-Fashioned Evil," The New York Times, November 8, 2007 (review of Enslaved's concert in Allentown, Pennsylvania).
• Interview with Grutle Kjellson

v • d • e Enslaved Ivar Bjørnson · Grutle Kjellson  · Arve Isdal · Cato Bekkevold · Herbrand Larsen Trym Torson · Harald Helgeson · Per Husebø · Roy Kronheim Studio albums Vikingligr Veldi · Frost · Eld · Blodhemn · Mardraum - Beyond the Within · Monumension · Below the Lights · Isa · Ruun · Vertebrae EPs Hordanes Land DVDs Live Retaliation · Return to Yggdrasill Related articles Early Norwegian black metal scene