• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

ENSLAVED: Listen To 'Heimvegen' Song From 'The Sleeping Gods - Thorn' Compilation

October 25, 2016

Norwegian progressive extreme metal icons ENSLAVED will release "The Sleeping Gods - Thorn" compilation this November via ByNorse Music. A full-length album comprised of rare material from 2010-2011, "The Sleeping Gods - Thorn" is a unique collection of experimental material connecting with the band's early roots.

The song "Heimvegen", the first single from "The Sleeping Gods - Thorn", can be streamed below.

The seven tracks comprising "The Sleeping Gods - Thorn" originally appeared on extremely limited EPs between ENSLAVED's "Axioma Ethica Odini" and "Riitiir" full-lengths and were recorded both in Solslottet Studio in Bergen, as well as the band members' own studios and partly in the deep woods of Valevaag on the South Western Coast of Norway. Like the songs themselves, the production is a mix of old and new; high tech and no-tech — a mix of concepts that have been essential in achieving the signature sound ENSLAVED has become notorious for today. Members Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson co-produced the material together with longtime collaborator Iver Sandøy.

The album includes lyrics sung in Norwegian, English, and Old Norse, with themes centered on mythology and the esoteric side of the runes, as well as contrasting the Norse Ways as a polytheistic belief system to the monotheistic plague of the Big World Religions. The music nods respectfully to the wildly varying deities that make up the pantheon of inspiration for ENSLAVED, both "then" and "now." There are traces of the proto black metal of BATHORY, the classic rock and heavy metal of the '70s and '80s, the synthesized and sequenced masters of the '70s, prog-rock, world/Norse folk music, Norwegian black metal of the '90s, modern classical music, goth rock a la FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, and much more.

Tying he package together are the extensive liner notes Kjellson and a beautiful new layout by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight 13 Media (Roadburn festival, OPETH, DARKTHRONE, AT THE GATES) whose mesmerizing new illustrations display a unique symbiosis between two of our times' most exciting visual and sonic artists.

"The Sleeping Gods - Thorn" will see release on November 11 on limited-edition blue vinyl (webshop edition),black vinyl, digipak CD, and digitally via ByNorse Music.

"The Sleeping Gods - Thorn" lineup:

Ivar Bjørnson - guitar, synth
Grutle Kjellson - vocals, bass
Cato Bekkevold - drums
Ice Dale - lead guitar

enslavedsleepingcd

Find more on Enslaved
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).