Utgard (album)
Utgard is the fifteenth studio album studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved, released 2 October 2020 by Nuclear Blast.[1]
Utgard | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 October 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2019 | |||
Genre | Progressive black metal | |||
Length | 44:46 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Iver Sandøy, Ivar Bjørnson, Grutle Kjellson | |||
Enslaved chronology | ||||
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Background
Utgard is the first Enslaved album with new drummer Iver Sandøy, who had previously co-produced several of the band's albums and joined full-time following the departure of longtime drummer Cato Bekkevold in 2018.[2] The album was originally scheduled for release in early 2020, but was delayed until October of that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
The album is titled after a location in Norse mythology[4] and includes some Norse lyrics and song titles.[5] A video, filmed in Iceland, was released for the song "Jettegryta".[5] Utgard continues to display some of the band's early black metal roots while continuing their experimentation with 1970s progressive rock.[5]
Critical reception
The album received mostly positive reviews upon its release. Kerrang! noted that "Enslaved take the listener through a frightening landscape in Norse mythology where the gods have no control and chaos reigns" and called the band "masters" and "elder statesmen" of progressive black metal.[6] Blabbermouth noted that the album "feels like the true culmination of Enslaved's ascendancy to the throne of modern prog-metal wizardry."[4] The Prog division of Loudersound concluded that Utgard is the ultimate result of musical experiments that the band had been conducting over their past several albums.[7] In the words of Antihero, "Enslaved deliver their elite brand of Prog/Extreme Metal that they have so meticulously hammered out over the past three decades."[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ivar Bjørnson (under the name I. Peersen); except tracks 1, 4, 6, 7 with lyrics by Grutle Kjellson (under the name K. Grutle).
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Fires in the Dark" | 6:00 |
2. | "Jettegryta" | 4:56 |
3. | "Sequence" | 6:39 |
4. | "Homebound" | 5:30 |
5. | "Útgarđr" | 1:51 |
6. | "Urjotun" | 4:21 |
7. | "Flight of Thought and Memory" | 6:22 |
8. | "Storms of Utgard" | 4:38 |
9. | "Distant Seasons" | 4:31 |
Total length: | 44:46 |
Personnel
- Ivar Bjørnson – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, synthesizers, keyboards, sequencer, FX, backing vocals (track 1)
- Grutle Kjellson – vocals, bass, synthesizer
- Iver Sandøy – vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, FX
- Håkon Vinje – keyboards, piano, vocals
- Ice Dale – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals (track 1)
Additional personnel:
- Martin "Bellhammer" Horntveth – percussion, synthesizers, glockenspiel, tubular bells, rototoms, programming (track 3)
- Inger Sunneva Peersen, Sonja Elisabeth Peersen – backing vocals (track 9)
Charts
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 59 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] | 162 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] | 59 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] | 42 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 30 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] | 48 |
References
- "ENSLAVED | Utgard - Nuclear Blast USA Store". shop.nuclearblast.com. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- Munro, Scott (June 2018). "Drummer Cato Bekkevold parts ways with Enslaved". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- Blabbermouth (2020-03-24). "ENSLAVED To Release 'Utgard' Album In The Fall; Cover Artwork Unveiled". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- Blabbermouth (2020-09-28). "Utgard - ENSLAVED". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- DiVita, Joe (2020-07-10). "Enslaved's New Song 'Jettegyrta' Is Proof They Can Do No Wrong". Loudwire. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- "Album Review: Enslaved – Utgard". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- Ewing, Jerry (October 2020). "Enslaved - Utgard review". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- "Album Review: ENSLAVED - Utgard". Antihero Magazine. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
- "Austriancharts.at – Enslaved – Utgard" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Enslaved – Utgard" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Enslaved – Utgard" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "Enslaved: Utgard" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Enslaved – Utgard" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2020.