Enslaved “Serenity Now” By Chris Dick for metal maniacs

Enslaved frontman Ivar Bjørnson has little to worry about. Ruun, Enslaved’s latest 8-song Nordic epic, sails circles (insert more Viking clichés here) around the near-mythical Isa, revealing at once a more sonically mature, if thoughtfully adventurous, outfit and an undying loyalty to core principles. With a late-night listen to Ruun, on Grutle Kjellson’s iPod no less, it’s evident that Enslaved expressly abandons all precepts that it is solely, and rather narrowly, a Viking Metal band. Even though Norse mythology is used for metaphor, imagery, and concept, the actual heart of the band’s music is far from peers in, say, Moonsorrow, Thyrfing, or Windir.

Formed in 1991 when Bjørnson and Kjellson were mere teenagers, Enslaved heavily borrowed musical themes from Darkthrone and Mayhem (who were developing Norwegian Black Metal in real-time), but the very concept of Black Metal didn’t fit who they were as people. They weren’t Satanists nor did they want to participate in some of the drama that unfolded as a result of people acting as Satanists. In order to convey Enslaved properly without the Black Metal construct acting as a yoke, the duo took pages out of Bathory’s Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart, and Twilight of the Gods and created a unique expression out of it. It was this pagan matrimony that fused (new) Black Metal’s romantic, fervent pulse with Bathory’s post-“Black Metal” battles ‘n’ fjords atmosphere. Perhaps Viking metal started with Bathory, but it was given new life and validity by Enslaved, even if it was through metaphor and imagery.

But let’s make sure we’re clear: Enslaved isn’t Viking Metal. The songwriters and lyricists (primarily Bjørnson and Kjellson) aren’t casting runes or threatening to invade small countries to come up with an album’s worth of material. Rather, the duo, along with a recently revamped line-up, take influences from almost every angle—it could be Voivod, Darkthrone, or even a few licks from the latest King Crimson album, but it’s all fair game. Ruun, or Rune in English, proves that. Beginning to end, songs like brilliant “Entroper,” the unnerving “Path to Vanir,” and soon-to-be-classic “Essence” reveal Enslaved’s work is as ambitious, complex, and rewarding as those who are willing to take the time to peel apart the layers to discover new roads to musical enlightenment. Perhaps they were born in the wrong time, but that time isn’t the age of the Vikings, it’s the ‘70s.

Traveling to Vatnahalsen, Norway, a little hamlet two hours east of Bergen with a population of 5, I caught up with Enslaved—all five members—to discover what makes Ruun the masterpiece it is. Additional findings also proved that when you get these ‘serious’ musicians in a room, load ‘em up on Norwegian beer, and rattle off Seinfeld quotes, they’re more than willing to trade laugh for laugh.

MM: What is the evolutionary process of Ruun to Isa?
Ivar Bjørnson: I think there’s an evolution in the production. Isa was a step in the right direction from the previous albums. It had a more determined production. The drums were more forward in the sound picture. The guitars changed role on Isa. They are more of a wall, working in the background. Earlier on the guitar was in the front, playing the riffs and melodies. The vocals were almost like an instrument. So, earlier albums were most like instrumentals with vocals. On Isa the guitars left more space for the vocals. We talked about developing the vocals more, so it felt natural to let the vocals do the work. This is more present on Ruun. Ruun is more like a band. Everyone has more room. It gives the sound more texture. Some of the complexity and strangeness might be a bit more subtle now. You have to work through the layers. Grutle [Kjellson, vocals/bass] commented that it was the weirdest stuff we’d done, while Herbrand [Larsen, keyboards] had the opposite view and said it’s the most apparent stuff we’d done.
Herbrand Larsen: It’s more of everything—it’s weirder and more normal. [laughs] On Ruun you can also hear the bass guitar for the first time in Enslaved’s history. That also makes Enslaved sound a bit different.

MM: Was it a conscious effort to steer the sound in that direction?
IB: It’s more traditional from a production view. It’s one of the forces of Enslaved that conscious decisions never happen. We never talk about music in terms in normal language to express ideas. We simply do it, or talk about it in terms of moods or atmospheres. That’s why we end up being surprised by own work. [laughs]

MM: The mood is a central theme with Enslaved. Everything is built on mood and texture… Is Ruun the next evolutionary step?
IB: Ruun is one step closer to removing the stuff in-between. Like removing doubts. For example, now if we’re feeling a particular way, we just go for it. Before it was a longer process, ‘cause we’d have to take everything in.

MM: Does the line-up have anything to do with it?
IB: Absolutely! Everything can be done. Now we have Cato [Bekkevold, drums], who is a stabilizer. You wouldn’t think that if you’ve met him. He’s a paradox—he’s a chaotic guy. [laughs] The first time we played live with him it was like riding a bicycle without the training wheels. He’s solid as a rock. Herbrand came into the band, acting as a sparing partner to Grutle on the vocals. Finally, we had someone who understood the importance, in theory, of vocals. Then we have Arve [Isdal, guitars], who has no limits to what he can do. That’s definitely taken out the middle man. When we were a three piece in ’97, Grutle could say, “let’s do a fantastically long song with a technical solo at the end.” I would say, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Next idea, please.” Now we can do it.

MM: It’s interesting that you’re more confident now experimenting with music. Mardraum and Monumension were odd albums.
IB: The one advance we’ve had is that we don’t doubt what we do. We have no limitations. For example, instead of doing hopeless solos on Frost, there are no solos. We found our boundaries, and didn’t want to step outside them. You can sometimes see a metal band that gets too confident and wants to change their style, they forget you need to be able to do that properly.

MM: Was it difficult to insert your soloing into Enslaved’s music? “Neogenesis” is a perfect example.
Arve Isdal: Not really. I might improvise at rehearsal and work on it later. It came quite naturally. I don’t know why. [laughs]
IB: If you hear stuff he’s done in Enslaved it’s a lot different from solos he’s done in other bands. That’s interesting, ‘cause a lot of solo guitarist bring their own style. You can go to Malmsteen and say, “Hey, can you do a solo that’s fitting to this song, this theme, or this style?” He’d say, “No, I won’t.” You mentioned “Neogenesis.” When it was finished it was an eye-opener, a shock.

MM: On “Path to Vanir” the vocal lines are different for Enslaved. It’s atypical from a historical point of view.
IB: Yeah, that’s Herbrand singing the clean vocals.
HL: Grutle will always be the main vocalist. He’s doing the growling, snarling type vocals. I can’t do that. Together, we do the clean vocals. We work very well together. On Isa we were hurried. We were more stressed and that brought a different result. On this record we had a lot of time to test out the ideas. It was easier this time to try out new ideas, and we had the opportunity to remove ideas we felt didn’t work. We have very different musical backgrounds, so that makes working together easier. My musical background is everywhere. I’m into Classical, Jazz, Rock, Heavy Metal, even some Hip-Hop.

MM: Isa pushed you off the plateau. You’re no longer flat lining. Any pressure?
IB: The setting was perfect after finishing Isa. There came a point where I didn’t listen to Isa for a long time. There was lot of hurry involved in Isa. I wanted to remove myself from it. There came a point where I had to write an entire new album. It didn’t really work out until people started asking me, “Do you feel the pressure?” That works perfect. I like to be cornered. People were expecting something—I didn’t care too much about that. I just looked at the time lines. It sounds opposite to what the ideal setting is. If you’re not a composer or musician is to think to give it 20 years, limitless studio time, and see how it turns out. That doesn’t work. There was a lot of confidence from recording Isa. We realized what we could do.
HL: Everybody is more confident about the band. We’ve done tours and that brings you together as a band.

MM: What was the starting point/pressure cooker?
IB: It was after the tour we did in February and March of last year. That’s when it felt that Isa had really started to come to an end. Isa started to glide into the back catalog. In my world, it’s like, “Fuck, everything is crashing down and I need to finish the album.” On the outside, people are like, “What? A new album? This is quick!” There’s no pressure in the band. Also, there’s no point in discussing a musical idea if one guy in five hates it. Personally, to sit down and have a group therapy session about if a musical idea works or not is a bit silly. Either you like it or you don’t. It’s a gut feeling.

MM: How is writing and working with Arve different from Kronheim?
IB: He has a better understanding of the riffs—even better than me. I can ask him, “What’s this chord called?” I like that. With Kronheim, it worked up to the point where he didn’t feel comfortable anymore. That’s where the problems arise. A lot of people like Monumension, I like it too, but as an Enslaved album it’s going in too many directions. Dirge Rep, at the time, wanted to go more Black Metal again. He was feeling like a traitor. There’s nothing negative about it, as he’s dedicated to Black Metal and Enslaved was sliding into the psychedelic or experimental sound. He felt disoriented by that. Kronheim wanted to do more Stoner Rock-type stuff. Now, we’re all working in the same direction.

MM: You’re known for writing oddball chords. How do you keep coming up with these strange riffs?
IB: The solution for that is being self-taught. That’s my theory. They lack something in a way, something generic. Sometimes I’m very inspired by a band like, say, Voivod or Motorpsycho. I’ll try to rip it off, but it always ends up sounding like me. It’s like a disability. [laughs] Speaking of the weird riffs, Herbrand and Grutle were working on a song in pre-production. I was listening to a tape of the bass ideas, and got totally mad. I lost it. The bass is one note off the entire riff. It’s a half note off the entire recording. I had to ask them, “What the fuck are you doing?” Herbrand’s answer was, “I thought maybe you’d really like this riff.”
HL: [laughs] Sometimes he plays a riff and says it’s very inspired by this band or that band. And when we hear it, we’re like, “Well, no.”

MM: The keyboards are more integrated into the sound.
HL: I think the main difference is that there is a permanent keyboard player. They’ve used keyboards before, but not in the way that they’re used now. They’re more in the songs. I kind of write the keyboard parts to fit the mood, which is different from how they were used before. The use of sounds of Hammonds, Moogs, and synthesizers is very important to the sound of Enslaved. Also, the keyboards are part of the live show.
IB: Sometimes an artist has a recording budget that would allow them to record with an orchestra or a real Hammond organ. Why the fuck do you use a keyboard to produce the sound of a 64-piece orchestra? It doesn’t sound like that. Keyboards should be used as keyboards. It’s an electric current being amplified and fucked around with. That’s interesting. Then it starts to sounds like a guitar, a voice, something live. This is especially true in Black Metal. There’s a lack of self restraint.

MM: Why the Mellotron, the Hammond, etc.? What’s up with the ‘70s?
IB: The Mellotron is time gate opening not back to the ‘70s, but somewhere else. Like on “Strawberry Fields Forever,” it’s sadness in a nostalgic way. It’s not going to make me cut my arms or wearing gothic clothing. It’s just timeless. The B3 organ is so powerful.
HL: All those instruments aren’t perfect. Like the Hammond organ with the Leslie going on. It’s alive. It’s not exactly the same every time. The same with lots of old synthesizers. They’re weird and don’t behave the same every time. It’s perfect.

MM: Enslaved never sounded perfect. The riffs, transitions, etc.
HL: A lot of music now is too perfect. The drums are perfect, the guitars are perfect, and the singing in perfect. No one sing that perfectly. You can hear it’s completely flat. It loses the human touch and it gets very boring. We’re not perfect on purpose.

MM: Enslaved has the tendency to sort of be like music sort of used to be. Real dynamics are sorely lacking in a lot of music today. Ruun has a lot of really loud moments that segue into these quiet, almost fragile vignettes. Is that something you meant to explore?
IB: Yes, absolutely. We’ve been trying to explore it for a lot of albums, along with other stuff. Especially in the last years, as influenced by a lot of stuff. The ‘70s obviously, the prog bands really developed that, on how to really work out the atmosphere that’s right, especially live. You can go in studio and make songs where the dynamics are in the actual basic structure of the song and in the ‘70s you’d have a band like Genesis, they would rehearse five days a week with the music and then have two days, every week, assigned to the instrument changes and whatever. We’re five people and we have to make the most out of it, not only in the loud direction, but also in, how to make things down there. But also, I like things like Neurosis or Isis or The Swans, which represent something to me. You can be 14 guys in a band, but the real trait for a band like that is how can make 14 guys be real quiet. If you can do that and be really loud, then you can represent everything in between.

MM: I mean from a live setting, does it, obviously during those quiet moments you’re more exposed.
IB: I like those moments too, because I think we’re pretty confident. It’s a mix of everything really. We’re really confident with each other, confident with the material, and also this, we’re searching for, not necessarily perfection but a realization of potential; to just do our best basically. And, listening to a live song: if a guitarist is playing and misses a string, making a squeak (makes a ‘dink’ sound’) that can be a real treat too. It’s a lot more exciting than just having one guitarist and 2,000 guitars on the playback and swell up and be beautiful. And to be loud you have to be quiet.

MM: [to Herbrand] What is it that brought you into Enslaved? That made you want to become an actual member of the band?
HL: The money and the women. [laughs] The weirdness maybe. Everybody’s very open minded and that reflects in the musical tastes. I think that that’s the reason. But everyone’s very nice. That counts a lot when you’re in a bus for a month at a time.

MM: [or Arve] You’ve been with Enslaved since Below the Lights.
AI: Well, actually I didn’t know Enslaved that well before I joined them. Ivar asked me [when we were in] Bergen, we were out drinking and he said, “So, do you want to play in Enslaved?” I was like, “All right, well, yeah.” [Laughs] And I stayed ever since.

MM: Well, what is it that keeps you in Enslaved?
AI: It’s the music and the guys. I think it’s the musical development. It keeps going further at all times.

MM: Do you think your potential can grow with the band as well?
AI: Yeah. I’m not that into extreme metal—never been actually—, so for me the direction on Isa and Ruun is perfect. It’s more prog, more ‘70s. Kind of more rock ’n’ roll as well, in a weird way.

MM: One thing that’s kind of been apparent to me, since I’ve been here is sort of the band vibe. What I’ve found now is that you’re sort of a bunch of jokers, you like to fuck around with each other.
IB: I think we have a very well-balanced group of people. I think in the same way as the music. It’s a weird combination. I can be very pompous and you know, a bit eager in terms of ambition and workaholism and that’s kind of like balanced very well in the group. Because Enslaved’s the kind of band if you start to put on your emperor’s robe and you start reading out poems, you get an egg in your face in less than two seconds.

MM: Is that something that you kind of think grounds you as a person?
IB: Yes, it’s perfect. The work ethic brings it all together. Enslaved can be very strange and very goofish, but at the time you have to do something, whether playing or producing or contributing physical labor or mental labor or whatever, everybody’s in there giving their full.

MM: Do you work hard to separate those regular life and band life?
IB: For me, I’d say I don’t know. I’ve never had a life outside the band. When I started I guess I was too young and went directly from reading magazines and seeing bare-chested ladies and thinking, “Whoah! Those things look great!” and went into recording an album. I mean, so, I don’t know. I had a month off Enslaved in ‘98 from I kind of said, “Let’s take a break and see what life’s like without the band,” but it didn’t appeal too much sitting around staring at the wall. There’s no hobbies or anything besides it. It’s just the music.

MM: I mean, is that something, I don’t know, maybe you guys have a different take on that?
IB: I can be very annoying with that if people say, “No, we can’t do this and that because there’s something else going on.” “Your mother died?” or no, we’re supposed to be doing this or that, why? It must be a lot more interesting to paint the Enslaved logo on a piece of furniture or whatever. That can be very annoying.

MM: If music is a tool what kind of tool is it for Enslaved?
IB: It’s not a tool. For me, it’s a way of keeping the core stable. It defines me. It adds and subtracts from what I am. It keeps me in motion. If you turned off the music and sat there I’d shake apart.

MM: Is there a point on Ruun where you felt the music was the part of you?
HL: No, not really. It’s more the period of time.
IB: I listen to older stuff and think, “Jesus Christ! I must’ve been really fucked up.” [laughs]

MM: For Ruun did the pieces come together easier?
IB: This is one is the most demanding songwriting process, but at the same time the most straightforward one. It started at the first song, and I wrote it riff by riff through the song. Earlier on, even Isa, the songs were comprised of sketches that were rearranged or moved from song to song. On Below the Lights, the texture was put around the main frame of the songs. Ruun was written from the start – it started at 0 seconds and went from there. It meant I had to come back to the point where I felt the song was losing or lacking energy. This means that when you get to a certain point on the album, there’s a lot of pressure on songs that come after, say, song four. Also, halfway through things started to sound better, which meant having to discard the first ideas and re-writing those parts again to make it even. I don’t know if it’s an old or new way of writing.

MM: You controlled the spontaneity of the songwriting process.
IB: It’s not like finished songs. It’s like sketches or blueprints. To make a stupid comparison, it’s like building a house. You have the blueprints, but it takes the rest of the team to add their skills to the blueprints. It’s a democratic dictatorship. At some point everyone is a dictator. In Enslaved, it’s tyranny based on achievement. If we have disagreements on a drum pattern, Cato will have the last say, ‘cause he’s the best drummer. We could disagree on the vocals until we’re green in the face, but Grutle and Herbrand would have the last say.

MM: Lyrically, how does this album tie into this process?
IB: The process is an idea I had for a concept. It’s simple. We wrote eight songs about the same happening, and the happening being very abstract. Something happens, it’s a horrible thing, there’s so much stress involved. It can be an accident that you can’t stop. It can also be on a psychological level. You come to a point where you can’t avoid something anymore. That last moment is very pure. You just have to accept the crash and start working from there. We have eight songs which have eight aspects to that singularity. I asked him to bring in eight mythological perspectives since we’re dealing with Norse mythology and aesthetics. We translated the core idea into those perspectives.
Grutle Kjellson: There’s seven themes and one theme that sums up the seven. There’s three organized forces against four chaos forces. The chaos forces are eventually dragging down the ship [on the cover]. On the constructive side are: Odin, Balder, Frigg. On the chaos side there’s: the Giants, Loki, and the Vanir Gods. The Vanir Gods are on the chaos side because their forces are very hard to control. We put Thor in-between ‘cause he can’t control his anger. With the help of Thor, only his aggressive trait, the chaos side beats the constructive side.

MM: Why does chaos beat the constructive side?
GK: ‘Cause it normally does in the band. [laughs] And in the world, right now. There’s nothing political about the message though. It’s a picture of a human mind.

MM: Does it define you as a person? Do you fight back?
GK: Of course! You have to fight it, but you have to welcome it as well. It’s important to maintain a balance. There’s always fighting forces in nature, in the cosmos, and in the micro-cosmos.

MM: And what about the dreaded ‘Viking Metal’ tag? How does that make you feel now?
IB: To me, it’s a disappointingly simple explanation to what we do. In fact, we don’t care to call it Viking Metal. I’d rather just call it Metal. Well, Experimental Extreme Metal. The whole Viking thing is very simple: we were on the outskirts of the new Black Metal scene, ‘cause we felt related to Darkthrone and Mayhem were doing in ’92. We started Enslaved in ’91. At the same time, we felt the concept didn’t fit us. We can’t be singing about Satan or evil, ‘cause we don’t relate to it. We don’t feel anything for that, even if we’re a weird cousin to all those bands. We felt the need to express a distance—not because we felt embarrassed but because at the time bands were very concerned about what is and what is not Black Metal—, ‘cause we didn’t have any of the criteria for being Black Metal. We felt the need to convey what we were singing about, and that one word was, “Viking.” It started with demo and the first album, but it never ended.

MM: Do you feel trapped by having to use Norse mythos for metaphor?
GK: No, not really. It’s universal. There’s no dogmas. There’s no rules. It’s for advice, or personal development. There’s no following one god. It’s not a dogmatic religion, and in my point of view it’s not even a religion. Norse myth is a guideline.
Cato Bekkevold: Guidelines give you a choice in life. It encourages you to think for yourself. Monotheistic religion does not.

MM: Nervous about the new album?
IB: One or two days after the final mastering I had a small panic attack. I was sweating. We were so focused on the whole recording of it that when I listened it I thought to myself, “Did I remember to check the material? Is it good?” I forgot to check that. We just did it. The calm came back after Herbrand sent me a text message saying, “Oh my god! What a great album.” It was like an old guy writing to his neighbor. [laughs]
[www.enslaved.no]

Discography:

Promotape 1991
Demotape "Yggdrasill" 1992
MLP/Split-CD (Emperor) "Hordanes Land" 1993 (Candlelight Records)
CD "Vikingligr Veldi" 1994 (Deathlike Silence/Voices of Wonder)
Promotape ("Frost" tracks) 1994
CD/LP "Frost" 1994 (Osmose Productions)
Split-CD/LP(With Satyricon) "Yggdrasill" +bonus 1996 (Moonfog Productions)
CD/LP "Eld" 1997 (Osmose Productions)
CD/LP "Blodhemn" 1998 (Osmose Productions)
CD/LP "Mardraum" 2000 (Osmose productions)
CD/LP "Monumension" 2001 (Osmose productions)
DVD "Live retalition" 2002 (Metalmind productions)
CD/LP "Below the lights" 2003 (Osmose productions)
CD/LP "Isa" 2004 (Tabu Recordings/Candlelight USA)
CD/LP “Ruun” 2005 (Tabu Recordings/ Candlelight USA)

Vikings had iPods? It makes sense to have an entire collection of music on one spearhead-sized boom-stick when you’re off invading foreign lands doesn’t it? While a goateed Grutle Kjellson wasn’t looking I nabbed his black (of course) Nano. It was only a few intuitive strolls around the Click Wheel before I found Kjellson’s shockingly varied treasure trove. Half expecting to find spoken word rune rituals, examples of elk calls, or the battle cries of his forefathers, Kjellson’s iPod library was anchored firmly in prog rock territory, with the occasional pop/singer-songwriter sandwiched in-between. Here are the Top 10 most played albums on Grutle’s iPod—week of February 20, 2006:

1. Enslaved – Ruun (Tabu/Candlelight)
2. Marillion – B’Sides Themselves (EMI)
3. Anekdoten – Gravity (Virta)
4. Beach Boys – “Keep an Eye on Summer” (song only)
5. King Crimson – The Power to Believe (Sanctuary)
6. Elvis Presley – Hit Story (Sony)
7. Genesis – Nursery Cryme (Atco)
8. Morbid Angel – Gateways to Annihilation (Earache)
9. Tom Waits – The Black Rider (Island)
10. Älgarnas Trädgård – Framtiden Är Ett Svävande Skepp Förankrat I Forntiden (Silence)

i can't wait for this album to come out. i'm predicting it will be my favorite album of the year, topping new daylight dies and agalloch.

i like the fact that grutle has been listening to anekdoten alot recently. i love that band.