Enslaved who previously announced their new single and new album Heimdal, have announced a record release event in Bergen, Norway. Taking place on 3rd of March 2023 at USF Verftet, Bergen, the program will feature an art exhibition with the specific photographs and drawings they used for the artwork on the album, an exclusive showing of last year’s “The Otherworldly BigBand experience,” direct support from the brilliant Jo Quail, and a live performance from the band with two sets, featuring special guests yet to be announced. Get your tickets and pre-order the album below.
3rd of March 2023 @ USF Verftet, Bergen
w/ special guest JO QUAIL (UK)
Get Your Tickets
Dear Friends,
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
Ivar Bjørnson, Grutle Kjellson, Ice Dale, Iver Sandøy, Håkon Vinje
HEIMHUG PROGRAM
– Extended Enslaved live set with guests (you will be surprised!)
– Movie Screening of “The Otherworldly Big Band Experience” & Jo Quail’s “The Cartographer live at Roadburn 2022”
– Meet & Greet w/Enslaved
– Special Enslaved Art Exhibition “Heimdal”
Stream and share:
https://enslaved.bfan.link/congelia.yde
Those few golden, undying hearts are those of secret sons.
And the secrets of the Sun are those of daughters asking to…
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
Bio:
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
- Behind The Mirror
- Congelia
- Forest Dweller
- Kingdom
- The Eternal Sea
- Caravans To The Outer Worlds
- Gangandi (Bonus Track)*
- 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.
Never faltering, Norway’s iconic Enslaved continue to exist as one of the most original and dependable components in our scene’s indestructible backbone. Possessing the reputation as one of the most riveting live acts around, they never fail to offer us talent of the highest calibre, always doing justice to their signature black/progressive sound. Enslaved was formed in 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, releasing their first demo Yggdrasill in the summer of 1992, their legendary mini-album Hordanes Land coming out in 1993, and with their debut full-length Vikingligr Veldi arriving in the spring of 1994.
Enslaved in 2022 are a band in stellar form – a band at its most existentialist and self-conscious, proud Bergeners bearing the torch of their hometown’s extraordinary musical history. Their most recent material shows Enslaved at their most unleashed and thought-through – a lethal combination unfurling a potential that’s easily rekindling the furor of their early works while dancing gracefully through their most ambitious, most haunting and most musical tunes yet. A contradiction? Life itself is a contradiction. And yet we all live to prove it wrong.
Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve ‘Ice Dale’ Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums