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Album Review – Enslaved / Mið (2026)

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Immune to the familiar rock narratives, these unstoppable Norwegian Progressive Black and Viking Metal masters are back with their stunning seventeenth studio offering.

Immune to the familiar rock narratives, and celebrating 35 years of existence, Norwegian Progressive Black/Viking Metal masters Enslaved are back with their seventeenth studio offering, titled Mið, an Old Norse word for “centre,” or “middle,” marking another departure, and another new beginning. Recorded at Duper Studio, Solslottet Studio, Personal Sound, Conclave & Earshot Studios, and Scandinavia House, mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios, and displaying a cryptic artwork inspired by a Bronze Age stone monument found in the township of Skjeberg, Østfold Norway, near the Swedish border, but removed by a museum in the 1960’s, the follow-up to their 2020 album Utgard and their 2023 opus Heimdal sees the band formed of vocalist and bassist Grutle Kjellson, guitarists Arve Isdal and Ivar Bjørnson, keyboardist and pianist Håkon Vinje, and drummer Iver Sandøy build their unique, expansive cosmology from a vital new starting point. With the swerving prog flourishes and krautrock wormholes dialed back, these eight tracks fizz with a newfound clarity and purpose while casting yet more illumination on the band’s kaleidoscopic palette. “I’ve come to realize that this is a really positive album. It’s about growth, it’s about digging yourself out of a pit, and it’s about leaving yourself open to the element of surprise. It’s about all the possibilities of being a human being,” commented Grutle Kjellson.

The cold and enfolding intro Non-Being sets the tone for the band’s darkened feast of melancholy in the form of I Am Ice, featuring guest Johan Sara Jr, a Sami musician and a central Sami composer, producer, teacher, arranger, actor and performer of contemporary music with roots in the Sami tradition. Needless to say, the song is an explosion of Enslaved’s core prog madness, and the same can be said about Solar Will, showcasing poetic lyrics vociferated by Grutle (“Son of cosmic wisdom / Son of Mother Earth / The starlight at the center / The illuminated I / Drowned in dreams of blood / Pierced by merciless vanity / The starlight at the center / The illuminated I”) accompanied by the hammering drums by Iver. And Mountain is by far the most experimental of all songs, and although the heaviness is there (in special through the devilish kitchen by Grutle and Iver), it’s not as exciting as the other songs.

Spirit Helper, featuring vocals by Kevin Kicking Woman, an esteemed Native American educator from the Blackfeet Nation who made history as Montana’s first-ever Native American Teacher of the Year, is a tribalistic tune that unites Kevin’s vocals with the heaviness of the guitars by Arve and Ivar; whereas they go full Progressive Black Metal in the eight-minute aria titled Parting, with their riffs once again clashing in a beautiful way with the keys by Håkon, alternating between stormy moments and delicate passages. Tales of Trees brings forward the perfect balance between Black and Progressive Metal, with Iver  sounding insane on drums from start to finish, followed by I Miðju, a more atmospheric and pensive aria by the band including elements of Doom Metal to make things heavier and darker, with Grutle  once again sounding bestial on vocals until the song’s Stygian finale.

A album that sheds light on harmonies and dialogues embedded all around us, between the ways of the past, and how they can bring enlightenment to the present, between small kernels of truth and their ability to project onto the most universal on canvases, and between band members relying on instinct and each other to create a record that galvanizes on every possible level, Mið is another solid stone in the unbreakable castle built by Enslaved through the years. “I started with the songwriting very shortly after Heimdal, but I had a feeling that the old ways didn’t work anymore. I’d always been chipping away, playing on the guitar and then on keyboards, something would happen then I’d work on that. But once I had a bunch of demos, none of it felt like it was good enough to follow up on Heimdal. It felt like we had to go somewhere else,” said Ivar Bjørnson. Needless to say, you can get in touch with Enslaved via Facebook and Instagram, subscribe to their Youtube channel, stream their music on Spotify or Apple Music, and of course purchase Mið from Bandcamp or several other locations. Because the excellent Mið represents the past, the present, and a new beginning for a band that’s never tired of stunning us all with their first-class heavy music.

Best moments of the album: I Am Ice, Parting and Tales of Trees.

Worst moments of the album: Mountain.

Released in 2026 Nuclear Blast Records

Track listing
1. Non-Being 1:19
2. I Am Ice 5:02
3. Solar Will 4:39
4. Mountain 5:46
5. Spirit Helper 4:52
6. Parting 8:16
7. Tales of Trees 4:43
8. I Miðju 7:16

Band members
Grutle Kjellson – vocals, bass, keyboards
Arve Isdal – lead guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Ivar Bjørnson – guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, effects, backing vocals
Håkon Vinje – keyboards, piano, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy – drums, percussion, keyboards, effects, clean vocals

Guest musicians
Johan Sara Jr – vocals on “I Am Ice”
Kevin Kicking Woman – vocals on “Spirit Helper”

Album Review – Enslaved / Utgard (2020)

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Once again inspired by Norse mythology, one of Norway’s most prominent bands of all time returns with more of their early Black Metal roots infused with experimentations with 70’s Progressive Rock.

Since their inception in the distant year of 1991, Bergen, Norway-based Progressive Black/Viking Metal horde Enslaved has continued to push their sound into new territories and remain fresh and relevant with each one of their records, which is also the case with their brand new opus entitled Utgard, the fifteenth studio album in their undisputed career. Currently comprised of vocalist and bassist Grutle Kjellson, guitarists Arve Isdal and Ivar Bjørnson, keyboardist Håkon Vinje and drummer Iver Sandøy, the band’s music once again draws heavily on the Viking cultural and religious heritage of their home country for inspiration, with most of the band’s lyrics relating to Norse mythology. Embraced by a somber artwork by Norwegian artist Truls Espedal, Utgard is titled after a location in Norse mythology, even including some Norse lyrics and song titles, while at the same time displaying the band’s early Black Metal roots infused with their experimentations with Progressive Rock from the 70’s, resulting in a very entertaining album for both diehard fans of the band and newcomers to their Viking realm.

Ritualistic vocalizations ignite the flammable and melodic Fires In The Dark, before the acoustic guitars by Arve and Ivar take us to desolate, bitterly cold Norwegian lands in a beautiful depiction of their modern-day Progressive Black Metal. Furthermore, Grutle, Håkon and Iver have a healthy vocal duel with their respective harsh roars and serene clean vocals, increasing the song’s taste considerably. Then leaning towards their more classic Black Metal, but of course also providing their fans elements from their current musical stage, we have Jettegryta, where Iver is on fire with his blast beats and intricate fills while Grutle growls and gnarls in a dark and captivating manner; followed by Sequence, more rhythmic and less visceral than its predecessors, with Grutle’s gnarls being once again effectively supported by his bandmates’ backing vocals. However, the guitar solos seem a bit disconnected from the rest of the music, resulting in a sound that’s not as exciting as expected in the end. Fortunately, in Homebound the band gets back on track, offering our ears beautiful, poetic words vociferated rabidly by Grutle (“When gold blinds / I will see beyond the false torches / The howling will guide us / Walking the plains between worlds / When houses fall / I will be the pillar in the hail / Unmoving we travel / Crossing oceans in mythological dreams”) while the music remains imposing and vibrant from start to finish.

In Utgarđr, a cryptic, hypnotizing interlude presenting deep vocalizations, we face freezing background sounds until Enslaved come ripping once again with Urjotun, blending their raw sonority with modernized and even electronic sounds and tones from 80’s pop music. As a matter of fact, the final result is truly exciting, as if it was taken from a cult action movie from that same decade. And strident riffs and the pounding drums by Iver kick off the grim and furious Flight Of Thought And Memory, a lecture in contemporary Progressive Black and Viking Metal alternating between obscure savagery and melancholic passages, or in other words, a very detailed, multi-layered composition tailored for admirers of the genre. Back to a more straightforward musicality the quintet offers us all the melodic Storms Of Utgard, with the guitars by both Arve and Ivar permeating the air in great fashion, boosted by the song’s galloping beats and celestial keys, and they put a gentle and inspiring closure to the album with Distant Seasons, a semi-acoustic ballad where we’re treated to serene clean vocals infused with tribal and primeval nuances, featuring spot-on backing vocals by guests Inger Sunneva Peersen and Sonja Elisabeth Peerson.

We must all admit it’s a real pleasure to witness Enslaved experimenting and developing new sounds album after album, and in Utgard, which by the way is available in full on YouTube and on Spotify, let’s say they nailed it, offering us all a well-balanced mix of their more violent roots with their present progressiveness and harmony. Hence, don’t forget to give those Norwegian metallers a shout on Facebook, to follow them on Instagram, to subscribe to their YouTube channel, and to purchase Utgard from their own BandCamp page (or simply click HERE for all location where you can find the album), and may Enslaved keep on rocking like there’s no tomorrow through the realms of Viking Metal and Progressive Rock for many decades to come in their gorgeous and mythical homeland.

Best moments of the album: Jettegryta, Homebound and Flight Of Thought And Memory.

Worst moments of the album: Sequence.

Released in 2020 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Fires In The Dark 5:59
2. Jettegryta 4:56
3. Sequence 6:39
4. Homebound 5:29
5. Utgarđr 1:51
6. Urjotun 4:21
7. Flight Of Thought And Memory 6:22
8. Storms Of Utgard 4:38
9. Distant Seasons 4:31

Band members
Grutle Kjellson – vocals, bass, keyboards
Arve Isdal – lead guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals on “Fires In The Dark”
Ivar Bjørnson – guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, effects, backing vocals on “Fires In The Dark”
Håkon Vinje – keyboards, piano, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy – drums, percussion, keyboards, effects, clean vocals

Guest musicians
Martin Horntveth – percussion, glockenspiel, rototoms, tubular bells, keyboards and programming on “Sequence”
Inger Sunneva Peersen – backing vocals on “Distant Seasons”
Sonja Elisabeth Peerson – backing vocals on “Distant Seasons”