Enslaved are pleased to announce a month-long, North American co-headline tour with Insomnium. The run will take place in April, shortly after the release of Enslaved's new studio album, Heimdal, out March 3. Support on the road will come from Black Anvil.
Ivar Bjørnson commented, "Neither you nor we will BELIEVE how much we are looking forward to coming back to the US of A and Canada in April 2023! We have a new album (and more if you want to be technical), Heimdal, to show you - spoiler alert: it will lay venues waste. Yes, we are that confident. We also have some rather cosmically awesome (!) bands joining the trek in co-headliners Insomnium and support Black Anvil - how could this become anything but the most spectacular event of 2023?"
Tickets will go on-sale Friday December 16 at 10 AM (local time).
Tour dates:
April
5 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
6 - Boston, MA - Big Night Live
7 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
8 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
10 - Detroit, MI - Saint Andrew's Hall
11 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
12 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
14 - Denver, CO - The Gothic Theatre
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
17 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
18 - Vancouver, BC - The Rickshaw
19 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
21 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall
22 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
23 - Phoenix, AZ - Nile Theater
25 - Austin, TX - Come And Take It Live
26 - Dallas, TX - The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
28 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
29 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre
30 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
Enslaved have even more planned for 2023, including festival show dates, and a unique album release event in their home city of Bergen, Norway on March 3. Named Heimhug, the evening will feature an extended Enslaved live set with guests, and very special guest Jo Quail. Tickets here.
Grutle Kjellson commented, “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!"
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 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.)*
Pre-order here.
Heimdal tracklisting:
"Behind The Mirror"
"Congelia"
"Forest Dweller"
"Kingdom"
"The Eternal Sea"
"Caravans To The Outer Worlds"
"Gangandi" (Bonus Track)*
"Heimdal"
"Congelia" video:
"Kingdom" video:
"Caravans To The Outer Worlds" video:
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
(Photo - Roy Bjørge)
