In a world rife with sub-genres, Norway’s Enslaved is one of the few heavy metal acts that refuses to be slotted into an easily defined style.

You see, ever since they rose from the ashes of their former death metal band, Phobia, in '91, Enslaved has forged towards something more ambitious.
“We decided to split up [Phobia] because we were kind of bored with the so-called death metal we played,” vocalist and bassist Grutle Kjellson explains.

“We wanted to start from scratch again with this lyrical concept based on Norse mythology.

“We combined Norse mythology with – well, at least in the beginning – pretty harsh and primitive metal. It was kind of a reaction to how trashy death metal had become.”
Further distinguishing Enslaved from the hordes of Norwegian death metal groups are their songs, which often exceed ten minutes. But not even the term 'progressive' seems to sit well with Grutle.

“When people refer to progressive music, it's a bit ironic because those bands that claim to play progressive rock tend to play very regressive rock because they have a formula.
“If you step outside of the boundaries and try to explore a little bit, I think that's what you could call progressive – in that sense we're a very progressive band.”

The band's latest LP, 'RIITIIR', also represents their eagerness to ignore the guidelines laid out before them.

“I think it’s our strongest album to date. We actually went back a little in terms of recording philosophy. We decided to try to record the thing live again for the first time in many years. We tried to have a more dynamic and live band, and there are some minor mistakes here and there, but I think the sound breathes a lot more than the contemporary, sterile, typical metal production.”

'RIITIIR' also finds Enslaved exploring beliefs foreign to the realms of Norse mythology.

“It's a constructed word inspired by an old Norse word … and it more or less means 'ritual', and the concept is the primal rituals of mankind. A lot of the same themes are in very different mythological systems, yet they didn't have any contact with each other.”

Enslaved play The Hi-Fi Nov 3.