Formation and early history (1991–2007) Enslaved was formed in 1991 by
Ivar Bjørnson and
Grutle Kjellson (also known as Kjetil Grutle) when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an
Immortal demo track, "Enslaved in Rot." Though Enslaved began as a prototypical
Norwegian black metal band in 1991, by 1993 they were incorporating song structures unusual for the genre; several of their earlier songs reach the ten-minute mark (their debut album,
Vikingligr Veldi, has only one song that is under ten minutes). As such, the band rejected the black metal label and preferred the term "
extreme metal". After several line-up changes throughout their early career, Bjørnson and Kjellson remained the only original founding members. By 2004, the line-up was solidified with guitarist
Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal, drummer Cato Bekkevold, and keyboardist/vocalist
Herbrand Larsen. The albums
Isa (2004) and
Ruun (2006) marked a departure from previous sounds, most notably with the inclusion of sharp dynamic shifts, and Bjørnson considers the former a turning point for the band. Following
Ruun, Bjørnson, Kjellson, and Isdal collaborated with the Norwegian noise duo Fe-Mail under the name Trinacria in 2007. Enslaved played at
Wacken Open Air in August of that year.
International recognition (2008–2015) Enslaved released the album
Vertebrae in September 2008, their tenth studio album and their first on
Nuclear Blast.
Terrorizer magazine named it the album of the year in 2008, notably above other metal releases such as
Meshuggah's
obZen and
Opeth's
Watershed. After touring Europe extensively, Enslaved embarked on a North American tour with the progressive death metal band
Opeth in May 2009. The album is noted for its shift in its approach and its diverse sounds; Sammy O'Hagar from MetalSucks.net even says that "to call [Vertebrae] black metal would be quite a stretch" because "there's an impressive depth to [it] that surpasses the sour misanthropy so often (and rightfully) associated with the genre", and furthermore describing their sound as "heavy and surprisingly soft, focused and curious, true to their roots and longing to forget them". The album's sound has been said to be akin to
Pink Floyd's sound on a few occasions, as well as other black metal releases in a similar vein. The band's eleventh studio album,
Axioma Ethica Odini, was released on 27 September 2010 in Europe and the following day in North America. In 2011, Enslaved released two new EPs. The first EP, entitled
The Sleeping Gods, which was produced in partnership with
Scion Audio/Visual, was released on 10 May 2011 and made available as a free download consisting of 5 original tracks. The second EP, entitled
Thorn, was released on 27 August 2011 in partnership with Soulseller Records in fulfillment of a decade-old agreement. The
Thorn EP, released on seven-inch vinyl, was strictly limited to 1,000 copies and featured a more atmospheric sound than the band is currently known for. Enslaved started their 20th anniversary tour "Circling Above and Within North America Tour Part IV" in September 2011 with
Alcest and
Junius in the United States and Canada. An official tribute album called
Önd – A Tribute was released on Pictonian Records in July 2012. It contains covers from twenty bands (including Dordeduh,
Fen, Kraków,
Vreid and
Wodensthrone) to celebrate the two first decades of Enslaved's career. 2016 in Germany After having signed to
Nuclear Blast in Europe, Enslaved released their 12th studio album,
RIITIIR, on 28 September 2012 in Europe and 9 October in North America. The album received positive reviews from music critics. In 2013, they contributed to the book
Tenk som en rockestjerne (
Think Like a Rockstar), written by
Ståle Økland. Enslaved released their 13th full-length studio album,
In Times, on 10 March 2015 through Nuclear Blast. The album received positive reviews from music critics, with
AllMusic's Thom Jurek noting that the band are "still pushing at the boundaries of the music that inspired them back in 1991 when guitarist Ivar Bjørnson and vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson (13 and 17 years old at the time) first formed the band."
Recent history (2016–present) In 2016, the band celebrated their 25th anniversary with a series of exclusive shows and merchandise designs. Their Spinning Wheel Ritual tour across Europe with
Ne Obliviscaris and Oceans of Slumber will take place from late September to early November. They also announced their plans to release a new compilation album on 11 November 2016, titled
The Sleeping Gods – Thorn. The album compiles rare and experimental material from 2010 to 2011 which were previously available as two separate EPs released in 2011:
The Sleeping Gods and
Thorn. In December 2016, keyboardist Herbrand Larsen left the band amicably after 12 years. The band then recruited Håkon Vinje of Seven Impale, a Norwegian band that previously opened for them at a concert in
Bergen. In May 2017, Enslaved released their first live album,
Roadburn Live, recorded during their performance at
Roadburn Festival in 2015. Enslaved's 14th studio album
E was released on 13 October 2017. In June 2018, drummer Cato Bekkevold retired from the band amicably, and was replaced by Iver Sandøy, who had previously played in Bjørnson, Kjellson and Isdal's side project Trinacria and co-produced several recent Enslaved albums. The band's 15th album
Utgard was initially announced for spring 2020, but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic until October 2020. The four-song EP
Caravans to the Outer Worlds was released in October 2021; the EP was described by the band as a bridge between
Utgard and their next full-length album in the future. Their sixteenth studio album
Heimdal was released on March 3, 2023. Later that spring, the band toured with
Insomnium and
Black Anvil. The band is scheduled to perform at the
Hell's Heroes music festival in
Houston in March 2026. == Musical style and influences ==