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.
Glemt
Enslaved Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Lyrics and Music by Ivar Bjornson)
The silence inside this place is screaming
Here, were the roses never wither, as they never bloomed
Here the sun never shone
Even the darkness never came in
No hope, no fear
An ocean of tears, that never fell
Tomorrow brings remembrance of opened wounds
The light invaded the endless darkness
A soul, which birth was denied
A soul that became forgotten
The darkness fades away even the brightest colour
The street is empty, and leads to nowhere
A shrilling scream, that no one heard
Who cares? We can all be free
"Tomorrow is a new day
But today was new as well...
... For only thing is fear fealt
The fear of life"
Fallen asleep, wrapped in a blood red blanket
Two dead eyes are staring into emptiness
From a soul, which birth was denied
Death greets the one life forgot
The lyrics in Enslaved's song "Glemt" are quite haunting and provide a vivid description of a place where there is no life or hope. The imagery used suggests that the place is almost like a cemetery or a wasteland, where even the dark doesn't enter. The opening lines "The silence inside this place is screaming, here where the roses never wither, as they never bloomed" paint a picture of a place that is devoid of life, where even nature fails to thrive.
The singer describes an "ocean of tears" that never fell, suggesting that the pain and suffering caused by the desolate surroundings is so overwhelming that it is immeasurable. The only thing that tomorrow brings is the memory of past wounds and the invasion of light into the darkness. This line is particularly interesting because it suggests that the only thing that can bring hope into this bleak place is a memory of the past.
The singer also describes a soul that was denied birth, a metaphor for a life that was never allowed to exist. This again reinforces the overall theme of despair and hopelessness. The closing lines suggest that death is the only thing that can free us from this nightmare, a grim reminder of the futility of life in this place.
Line by Line Meaning
The silence inside this place is screaming
The atmosphere is so quiet and tense that it feels as if it is screaming.
Here, were the roses never wither, as they never bloomed
This place is so stagnant and lifeless that not even the roses can die because they never even had the chance to bloom.
Here the sun never shone
This place is so dark and gloomy that the sun never even had a chance to shine.
Even the darkness never came in
This place is so devoid of life and energy that even the darkness couldn't penetrate it.
No hope, no fear
There is no hope and no fear in this place; it is completely lifeless.
An ocean of tears, that never fell
This place is so devoid of life and emotion that even though there is an 'ocean of tears,' they never actually fall.
Tomorrow brings remembrance of opened wounds
Even though nothing happens in this place, each new day only serves as a reminder of past pain and hardships.
The light invaded the endless darkness
Despite how hopeless this place seems, a ray of light has finally managed to break through the darkness.
A soul, which birth was denied
This place is so lifeless that even the souls that could have been born, weren't.
A soul that became forgotten
This place is so devoid of life and energy that even the souls that were born were eventually forgotten over time.
The darkness fades away even the brightest colour
This place is so hopeless and void of energy that even the brightest of colors would eventually fade to black.
The street is empty, and leads to nowhere
Even the path that could have potentially led somewhere is empty, and there is nowhere to go.
A shrilling scream, that no one heard
Despite any noise that could be made, there is nobody there to hear it because this place is so lifeless.
Who cares? We can all be free
In a place devoid of life, it doesn't matter what happens because ultimately, there's nothing to lose and everyone can be free.
"Tomorrow is a new day
But today was new as well...
... For only thing is fear fealt
The fear of life"
Every day is a new day, but even though nothing happens, the only thing present is the fear of life and whether any sense of it will ever be reached.
Fallen asleep, wrapped in a blood red blanket
In a place where there's nothing to fear, to die would be like falling asleep and being wrapped in a blood red blanket.
Two dead eyes are staring into emptiness
In a lifeless place, even the dead are staring out into emptiness because there's not even any energy to be gained from death.
From a soul, which birth was denied
Even though there may be souls in this lifeless place, not all of them were given the chance to be born.
Death greets the one life forgot
Even in a place devoid of life, Death still finds a way to make its presence known to those that life has forgotten.
Contributed by Nathaniel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.