Norwegian metal avant-gardists ENSLAVED have announced a month-long, North American co-headline tour with INSOMNIUM. The run is supporting ENSLAVED’s new studio album “Heimdal” Opening band for the tour is BLACK ANVIL.
ENSLAVED’s Ivar Bjørnson commented: “Neither you nor we will believe how much we are looking forward to coming back to the USA 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?”
ENSLAVED and INSOMNIUM North American co-headline tour 2023 with BLACK ANVIL:
April 05 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
April 06 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
April 07 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
April 08 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
April 10 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
April 11 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
April 12 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
April 14 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre
April 15 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
April 17 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
April 18 – Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw
April 19 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
April 21 – Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall
April 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
April 23 – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
April 25 – Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live
April 26 – Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
April 28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
April 29 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
April 30 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
ENSLAVED has even more planned for 2023, including festival show dates, and a unique album release event in their home city of Bergen, Norway. Named “Heimhug”, the evening will feature an extended ENSLAVED live set with guests, and very special guest Jo Quail.
ENSLAVED’s 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 Big Band Experience’.”
“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 the 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” 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.
ENSLAVED is:
Ivar Bjørnson – guitars
Grutle Kjellson – vocals
Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal – guitar
Håkon Vinje – keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy – drums
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