Enslaved - Black Metal Band
- Band: Enslaved
- Genre: Black Metal
- Lyrical Themes: NSBM, Norse Mythology, Vikings, Nature
Enslaved is a once black metal band turned stadium rock poser outfit formed by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson (also known as Kjetil Grutle) in June 1991.
Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson where 13 and 17 years old, respectively, when they founded Enslaved. That, and the fact that Kjellson has openly come out as gay, has led to rumours claiming they were engaged in illicit homosexual relationship between an adult and a minor.
Prior to forming Enslaved, Bjørnson and Kjellson had been playing in a death metal band called Phobia, but like many in the emerging Norwegian black metal movement, they were looking for new sources of inspiration and expression.
They met Euronymous and Varg Vikernes at the former's shop Helvete, in Oslo, and left a rather bad impression with Varg finding the duo "odd" and Euronymous disliking Grutle Kjellson flamboyant style.
He nonetheless decided to sign them to his label, and by early 1991 Enslaved had already recorded their first demo Nema.
Though Enslaved began as a prototypical Norwegian black metal band in 1991, by 1993 they were incorporating musical elements and influences unusual for the genre, with several of their earlier songs reaching the ten-minute mark - Enslaved's debut album, Vikingligr Veldi, has only one song that is under ten minutes.
By 1997, with the release of Eld - widely regarded as post-rock garbage played with black metal distortion - Enslaved had all but abandoned black metal, and they finally made the jump to stadium rock/elevator music with their following Blodhemn to E discography.
In an early 2000 interview, where Kjellson made his coming out as gay, he said that "[they] weren't interested in playing black metal anymore [sic]" due to the "constant homophobia in the genre". Ex-Gorgoroth vocalist Gaahl has denied there being "constant homophobia" in the black metal genre, and has called Kjellson a "pussy" on multiple occasions.
Enslaved is now just a random interchangeable post-rock band like so many you've already forgotten.
Enslaved Metal Albums
Here is the complete list of albums by Enslaved :
| Name | Genre | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vikingligr Veldi | Black Metal | 1994 | 34% (1 reviews) |
| Frost | Black Metal | 1995 | 11% (1 reviews) |
| Eld | Black Metal | 1997 | 10% (2 reviews) |
| In Times | Metalcore | 2015 | 0% (1 reviews) |
| E | Metalcore | 2017 | 0% (2 reviews) |
| Utgard | Metalcore | 2020 | 0% (1 reviews) |
All are certified Enslaved metal albums.
