So reads a statement posted online by Norwegian metal titans, Enslaved, a band who’s vast and varied career has cemented their legendary status. Though the band’s newest output Caravans To The Outer World isn’t an album but a four track EP. Coming out a full decade since their previous non-album release (2011’s The Sleeping Gods), it follows on from 2020’s full-length Utgard in more ways than one.
“After Utgard, the path ahead cleared itself and we followed, past, present and future melted together in an EP that marks one giant leap for us” states guitarist and founding member, Ivar Bjørnson. Caravans… is a transitional piece, seamlessly picking up where Utgard (the band’s fifteenth(!) studio album) left off whilst also giving us an indication at what’s yet to come.
Described as “a tale of departure, leaving behind a barren and desolate world after willingly venturing into the unknown” it sounds as though Enslaved are gearing up to venture into the unknown, continuing to think outside the box with their current fusion of prog rock infused black metal.
There always appears to be an air of ritual about the way Enslaved approach their musical outputs and Caravans To The Outer Worlds is no exception, four songs recorded in four days in the fourth month. Opener ‘Caravans To The Outer Worlds’ is a six and a half minute track brimming with howling winds and breakneck speed riffing. Frontman Grutle Kjellson’s iconic, grim and gravelly vocals contrast with soaring melodic breakaways. The track then bleeds into ‘Intermezzo I – Lonnlig. Gudlig’, the first of two intermissions on the record. Whilst part one continues navigating a chuggy, metallic route, part two moves into unchartered waters. Setting forth as a hint of what’s yet to come, ‘Intermezzo II – The Navigator’ features layers upon layers of cosmic synths, jazzy piano lines and clean vocals, culminating in an enormous, atmospheric wall of sound that teasingly begins to fade away almost as soon as it’s begun.
What initially began life as a single song to elaborate the themes explored on Utgard, Caravans… soon took on a life of its own once the idea of a physical release was agreed upon. “Once it was decided that it would get a proper, physical release, we of course could not help ourselves, if it’s to be marketed as an EP then damn it, a proper EP it shall be!”
In a Youtube video posted by the band, Bjørnson explains how Enslaved “move in circles” rather than linearly. “It’s not the end of an era but a new burst of inspiration” he says comparing how, much like the Norse gods of old, the band have come full circle. By “invoking the old” with the black metal elements incorporated on Utgard and considering their early flirtations with prog rock on 2003’s Below The Lights the “middle of their journey”, Enslaved are now ready to ascend upwards to a new circle, exploring new ideas and maintaining the new-found energy within the band.
Whatever we may make of Caravans To The Outer Worlds, it’s clear that Enslaved have a path laid beneath their feet that’s leading to something big, something exciting and after thirty years and fifteen studio albums under their belts, this is still just the beginning…