Grutle Kjellson – Enslaved

Raw, aggressive, unorthodox and unpredictable would be just a few words apt enough to describe the sounds and music of this legendary band. From the cold, dark depths of Bergen, Norway and the country that brought forth the evil forces of black metal come the mighty ‘Enslaved’, a band that have made an extraordinary mark in the world of heavy music. Formed in 1991, the band have remained dedicated to keeping that classic underground extreme metal sound alive while simultaneously exhibiting their versatility by combining an array of elements and creating musical masterpieces. From their first couple of releases of ‘Vikingligr Veldi‘ and one of my favourites ‘Frost‘ which boast the signature black metal sound to 25 years later, with the perfect balance between melodic structures and fiercely powerful harsh vocals, the Yin and Yang of heavy metal that ‘In Times’ stands for, the band continue to enthrall fans and non-fans alike. Metal Obsession sat down to have a chat with one of the founders and vocalist Grutle Kjellson about Enslaved’s journey through the years and share his thoughts on new music, metal in the 21st century, upcoming Australian tour, among other things.

A milestone of 25 years, creating musical masterpieces, and captivating audiences all over the world, Grutle shared his thoughts on what it feels like having come this far with Enslaved. “It feels so good yet it feels rather strange as well. Sometimes I can’t believe that we’ve been doing this for so long because to me, it certainly doesn’t feel like 25 years. But i guess that’s a good, vital sign that we’re not as old as we think we are. Our passion for the art and our music has remained constant throughout the years and it feels great. Mostly we’re proud of all the things we have made happen and have achieved till now.”

Asking him to rewind to about 25 years ago when it all began, he said, “I was 17 at the time. A lot runs through your mind when you’re that age. You don’t really think too far ahead and I have to admit, I didn’t do that – I didn’t even think past the next two days. But things are so much more different now. I remember those days when we had a great time, we were an extremely enthusiastic band just starting out by making songs, demos and being a part of the underground scene. ” On this little nostalgia trip, he continued, ” We had contacts all over the world but we were so connected with that underground scene. Everyone did what they did for music. However I feel like we kind of lost that brotherhood feeling when the internet came around and everything just became so random. Yes, it was definitely different and a lot more special back then.”

13 albums later, hundreds of shows across the globe and over two decades later, Enslaved remain one of the most respected bands in the heavy metal world and continue to mesmerize people with their music. But what lies behind all those songs you might wonder? “Well, the ethos of  Enslaved and our music has always been to tell our fans and audiences to ‘express yourself’. We want people to get to know themselves, their potential and to create an understanding about other people, other cultures etc. This can only be done through the music. Secondly would be to inspire other bands to think the same way or to somehow inspire them to use some of the same approaches or similar ones when they make music. ” Spreading this inspiration on our shores soon, the Norwegians are all set to return to Australia, their last show being in 2013. “We’re really looking forward to our Australian tour. In fact, you can actually vote on the set-list. It’s up to the Aussies to decide on the set-list for those evenings and there’s going to be a lot of songs to choose from so it’ll be interesting! There will certainly be a good mix from our entire discography. We have already done some shows this year with old songs and it was fascinating to play them again – some we even played after 10 or 15 years!”

Enslaved live is an indescribable experience as the band takes you on a powerful, inspiring journey with their music. “Energetic, honest and dynamic” Grutle confesses, ” We always try to get the vibe of the audience going and engage them with our performance. The main objective is to try and create the symbiosis between the band and the audience so that you can really feel the effect of our music on you. For us, the most important thing is that release of energy, release of fury and to create an emotional atmosphere. I really don’t like when bands just stand up and down on stage playing instruments – it’s hard to explain but that isn’t what a live performance is – that’s a rehearsal.” With the plethora of music across various genres that is being released day after day, the labels attached to bands are increasing and this is especially true with Enslaved. Black, extreme, progressive – the names used to define their sound are many in number. On asking Grutle if people focus more on labels than really immersing themselves in the music, he replied “‘It’s always been hard to label us – this is very true and to be honest, I don’t really think labeling is necessary; it’s not interesting. At the end of the day, there’s only two types of music if you really look at it, good music and shit music. Like I said about the internet before, people on the internet and on online forums need something to do and I leave it to them to argue whether it’s this or that. I really couldn’t care less. It doesn’t really matter, we do what we do for the love of the art.”

For those of you who are waiting for new music from Enslaved? Good news but a fairly long wait. ” Well we’ve already started the process of working on new material, and when we have time to actually continue that jam a little write some more so I guess during 2017 we’ll have a new Enslaved recording at least not sure about the release date but definitely something

As always, it’s always fun to get musicians to reveal some of their weirdest moments while on tour and Grutle had a very interesting one to share. “That’s pretty easy actually. Mexico in 1995 – the main show was in Mexico and it was actually cancelled the promoter said they would book another show in two days. So we waited around in our hotel weird hotel and I don’t know if it could be called a hotel. Just lying in the hotel bed for two days smoking some green substances and drinking some brown substances with it, carbonized stuff. The gig they set up was memorable especially the gear they had for us which was legendary. The drum kit was 50% adult kit and 50% children’s. The guitar amp was 10-15 watts PV and this is the best part – the bass and the vocals the ran through the same ghetto blaster it was impossible to distinguish between the bass and vocals made no sense at all. On top of that, what was even more beautiful was that the back of the stage was like a wardrobe of a whorehouse, small rooms, took a drink and discussed ‘business’ so I was just really wondering what Mexican customers thought when they walked through the doors and saw three young Norwegians standing in viking costumes, it was the specialty of the day absolutely ridiculous.”

Grutle has one last message to the Australian fans ahead of their tour in October. “We’re looking forward to performing there again, we’re really psyched about it. Three years ago it was the perfect warm- up and we can’t wait to come back and play for you again.  See you soon!”

Grab your tickets and witness the magnanimity of Enslaved on one of the following dates:

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