Enslaved was formed in 1991, by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson. Joined by drummer Trym Torsson, they did their first demo in the summer of 1992. While working with the first full length, there came a call from England, resulting in the two 1993 legendary mini albums; Hordanes Land and Emperor These two mini-albums was released as a split-record "Emperor/Hordanes Land". Due to tragic circumstances, Enslaved’s debut album Vikingligr Veldi was held back until the spring of 1994. Enslaved moved their label base to French Osmose Productions, and Frost were released late in the 1994. Enslaved were now known outside the Black / Extreme circles of Northern Europe. This led to the "Winter War Europe Tour ‘95", and the first Norwegian Black / Extreme tour ever in the US, Canada and Mexico during ’95. The tours were a great success; but Trym Torson moved on to join Emperor as a drummer.
Eld was recorded with drummer Harald Helgeson in 1996, and released the year after. However, working with Harald was no permanent solution, so Dirge Rep (then Gehenna) and R. Kronheim were hired, becoming integral parts during the recording of Blodhemn (’98).
Enslaved released an important milestone in 2000 with Mardraum: Beyond the Within, which marked a turning point for the band; and sent shock waves through the Extreme Metal scene with a revolutionary experimental and innovative approach to their genre. The band kept adding fuel to the fire, and released Monumension in 2001, and again the band was shocked to see the positive response to their "no rules" approach to Extreme Metal. Gigs were still being played in Norway, Europe and the States, in front of a faithful and ever increasing audience.
After returning from the UK in March 2002, R. Kronheim had to leave the band. The band kept on working with new material, in which they now saw a synthesis between the original thesis (the "Blacker" Enslaved) and the anti-thesis forming from Mardraum onwards (the experimental, progressive and gloomier Enslaved) – Below the Lights was recorded in 2002 and released the year after, and presented the perfect blend of power, tradition, progressive elements and dark psychedelia. The process and hard work had taken its toll on drummer Dirge, and he left the band.
A new line-up were put together during and after the recording of Below the Lights, including old-timer Cato Bekkevold (Red Harvest founder), Arve Isdal (aka. Ice Dale) and Herbrand Larsen. With all the changes left behind, Enslaved reached new heights with their live performance, also adding strong visual elements in the shape of video art and more. English market leader Kerrang! rewarded their Inferno 2004 performance with a full house: 5 K!’s.
The new line-up recorded ISA during the autumn of 2004, and was released in Oct/Nov ’04 (Feb ’05 in the US). The album received raving reviews in all territories (except Finland obviously), and put Enslaved at the very forefront of contemporary Extreme Metal. A European Tour with fellow Norsemen Vreid took place in February and March 2005. The tour was rewarded with both great reviews and great turnouts. In absentia, during the tour, Enslaved also received both the Norwegian Grammy and the independent Alarm Price for ISA.
The band released the full length album Ruun in 2006, which received great critics world wide and Enslaved received the Norwegian Grammy (Metal) for the second time in a row. Ruun is an extreme progressive metal record with growl-vocals and quite different from the bands first records.
Enslaved released the album Vertebrae in 2008, which gained wide critical acclaim, including Terrorizer Magazine's album of the year and critic's choice album of the year award for 2008. Many of their techniques on the album, particularly harmonies, have been compared to Pink Floyd
Although the band now records in English, their early songs were mostly recorded in Icelandic or Old Norse, with one track on their first full-length album being performed in ancient Norwegian. Lyrics from Frost to Mardraum were mainly in their native Norwegian. Most of their lyrics relate to Norse mythology or history.
They have also recorded a collaboration with the Norwegian noise duo Fe-Mail, under the name Trinacria.
Current members:
* Ivar Bjørnson - guitar, keyboards (1991-) - (Desekrator, ex-Borknagar, ex-Phobia, Obnoxious, ex-Gorgoroth (as "Daimonion"), live session guitar for Taake)
* Grutle Kjellson - bass, vocals (1991-) - (Desekrator, ex-Phobia, guest for V:28, Insanity)
* Arve Isdal - guitar (2002-) - (Malignant Eternal, Audrey Horne, I)
* Cato Bekkevold - drums (2003-) - (Demonic, ex-Ashes to Ashes , Sirius, ex-Red Harvest, Dunkelheit)
* Hakon Vinje - keyboards, vocals (2017-)
Former members:
* Trym Torson (Kai Johnny Mosaker) - drums (1991-1995) - (Emperor, Zyklon, Imperium, Tartaros, Shadow Season, Paganize)
* Richard Kronheim - guitar (1997-2002) - (ex-Subtitles, ex-St. Satan, ex-Kliftones, ex-Desekrator)
* Per Husebø (aka. Dirge Rep) - drums (1997-2002) - (Gehenna, Orcustus, Gorgoroth, ex-122 Stab Wounds, Desspo Hallelujah, Neetzach, ex-Aura Noir, Secht)
* Harald Magnus "Rivheim" Helgeson - drums (1995-1997) - (Thundra, Zeno Morf, ex-Dwelling Souls, session for Evig Natt)
* Freddy Bolsø - drums (2003) - (ex-Blood Red Throne)
* Herbrand Larsen - keyboards, vocals (2004-2016)
* Øyvind Madsen - keyboards (live only) - (Sulphur, Vulture Industries, live for Black Hole Generator)
Discography:
Full-Length Albums:
1994 - Vikingligr Veldi
1994 - Frost
1997 - Eld
1998 - Blodhemn
2000 - Mardraum: Beyond the Within
2001 - Monumension
2003 - Below the Lights
2004 - Isa
2006 - Ruun
2008 - Vertebrae
2010 - Axioma Ethica Odini
2012 - RIITIIR
2015 - In Times
2017 - E (note that the official title of the album is actually the Elder Futhark rune ᛖ, or Ehwaz, which looks like the roman letter M, but the album title is often written as E for simplicity, including in official sources)
Demos:
1991 - Nema
1992 - Yggdrasill
Splits:
1994 - Emperor/Hordanes Land (split with Emperor)
Live albums:
2009 - Live at the Rock Hard Festival
2017 - Roadburn Live
DVDs:
Enslaved also has two DVD releases, primarily consisting of concert footage.
2003 - Live Retaliation
2005 - Return to Yggdrasill
Trivia:
* Grutle Kjellson and Cato Bekkevold are avid sport fishing enthusiasts; in fact, the two met at a related event.
* The band's song Havenless from Below the Lights was featured in the film "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey".
* The band were also reported to have appeared in an episode of the American cartoon series South Park, but this later transpired to be a practical joke at the expense of the Norwegian press.
Forsaken
Enslaved Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Entombed in monumental self-moral
Embracing the absurd
Reason turned to abstraction
Drowned in the shallowest of waters
Forgotten the will
To learn
Create
Every border can be breached
By the glorious armies of united perfection
Marching forth
Aiming low
A thirst to kill
Defending the nothingness
Forsaken
The unborn learns to hate
Navigation towards destruction
Letting our ideals slowly rot
And thus
Thus we choose
To die
Die with pride
And innocence
We became the heralds
Born and raised to preach
And to erase all traces
Of the abstract and evil
Swords
Temples
Fires
Doom
We failed to see what we fed
The serpent of the deeps
It grew and shitngled the truths
We were embracing the lies
We once could see it's eyes
The stare of death and deceit
We feared not, the secrets we knew
The guardian of the deeps
Lost
And the darkness will prevail
Forever
Folding hands with clouded sight
Ceremonial rituals will obscure the mind
Forever
Lost
And turning blossom to decay
Forever
Fighting wars with clouded sight
Ceremonial rituals will obscure the mind
Forever
The lyrics to Enslaved's song "Forsaken" are about the dangers of blindly following ideology and rejecting reason and creativity. The singer is entombed in self-righteousness and embraces absurdity, losing touch with reality and drowning in shallow waters. They have abandoned their will to learn and create, instead joining the army of united perfectionism, which aims low and relentlessly pursues destruction.
The unborn, representing the future, learns to hate, and the navigation towards destruction is set as ideals slowly rot away. The singer acknowledges their choice to die with pride and innocence, but they have become the heralds of a dangerous ideology that seeks to erase all traces of abstract thinking and labels it as evil. The song ends with a warning about the dangers of failing to see the truth and blindly following rituals and traditions, which will lead to the darkness prevailing forever.
The themes of this song can be interpreted as a critique of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes that suppress independent thinking to promote their own agenda. The focus on the unborn and the future also suggests a concern about the impact of current actions on future generations. The use of imagery such as swords, temples, and fires suggests a medieval or ancient setting, but the message is timeless and relevant to any society that values reason and individual freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Forsaken
Feeling abandoned and hopeless
Entombed in monumental self-moral
Trapped and imprisoned by one's own moral beliefs
Embracing the absurd
Accepting the irrational and illogical as truth
Reason turned to abstraction
Logic has become too complex and theoretical
Drowned in the shallowest of waters
Overwhelmed by something seemingly insignificant
Forgotten the will
Lost the desire or intention to do something
To learn
To acquire knowledge or skill
Abandoned every urge to
Gave up any desire to do something
Create
To make something new or original
Every border can be breached
There are no boundaries that cannot be crossed
By the glorious armies of united perfection
Through the strength and power of collective perfection
Marching forth
Moving forward with determined purpose
Aiming low
Expecting or striving for little accomplishment or success
A thirst to kill
An intense desire to cause harm or destruction
Defending the nothingness
Protecting a void or emptiness
The unborn learns to hate
Even those who have not yet been born can be taught hatred
Navigation towards destruction
Heading towards ruin and devastation
Letting our ideals slowly rot
Allowing our beliefs and values to deteriorate over time
And thus
As a result of previous actions or events
Thus we choose
This is the decision we have made
To die
To pass away or cease to exist
Die with pride
Accepting death with dignity and honor
And innocence
With a pure and untainted spirit
We became the heralds
We were the messengers or spokespersons
Born and raised to preach
From birth, we were taught to teach others
And to erase all traces
Eliminating any evidence or remnants of something
Of the abstract and evil
Wiping out any indication of the theoretical or harmful
Swords
Weapons made of metal used for fighting
Temples
Places of worship or religious ceremony
Fires
Blazes that consume and destroy
Doom
Impending disaster or ruin
We failed to see what we fed
We did not realize what we were contributing to
The serpent of the deeps
A dangerous and hidden force lurking beneath the surface
It grew and shitngled the truths
It expanded and twisted the concepts of reality
We were embracing the lies
We were accepting falsehoods and deceptions
We once could see it's eyes
We were previously aware of its presence
The stare of death and deceit
An ominous and deceptive gaze
We feared not, the secrets we knew
We were not afraid of the knowledge we possessed
The guardian of the deeps
The protector of the unseen and unknown
Lost
Without direction or purpose
And the darkness will prevail
The negative forces will ultimately overcome
Folding hands with clouded sight
Being blinded and confused by spiritual beliefs
Ceremonial rituals will obscure the mind
Prescribed traditions will cloud one's judgment and reason
Forever
Perpetually or without end
Turning blossom to decay
Transforming beauty and life into death and decay
Fighting wars with clouded sight
Engaging in conflict without clear understanding or perspective
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Herbrand Larsen, Ivar Peersen, Iver Sandoy, Kjetil Grutle
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind