ENSLAVED Guitarist IVAR BJØRNSON To Sit Out North American Tour

Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson of Norwegian metal avant-gardists ENSLAVED will sit out the group's North American tour "due to immediate family issues that needed to be taken care of." His bandmates will perform as a quartet on the month-long, North American co-headline trek with INSOMNIUM, which is scheduled to kick off on April 5 in New York City and conclude on April 30 in Baltimore.

Late Tuesday night (April 4),ENSLAVED released the following statement via social media: "Dear friends of ENSLAVED, due to immediate family issues that needed to be taken care of, Ivar was unable to join us for our upcoming tour in the United States and Canada. However, the rest of us have arrived safe and sound on American soil and will proceed with the tour.

"Our voyage starts at Irving Plaza, NYC tomorrow, and since we are reduced to a quartet at the moment, we invite our beloved audience to become the fifth member! Let’s go New York!"

ENSLAVED is touring in support of its latest studio album, "Heimdal", which came out March 3. Support on the trek will come from BLACK ANVIL.

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

"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