Richard HolmesSong
Sacred Horse (live)
Artist
Enslaved
Enslaved backstory
Over the course of 15 albums, Norwegian act Enslaved have journeyed from harsh, blizzard blasted black metal to expansive, multi-hued prog, and left a legacy few of their contemporaries could hope to match.
Indeed, last year’s Utgard was described by Rushonrock as a “record of seemingly limitless possibilities” and was named in our Top 20 albums of 2020.
And while the quintet had to put touring plans on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic, they sated fans’ appetites with a string of stunning digital shows, which are being released as new live albums/DVDS this month.
Sacred Horse is taken from The Rise of Ymir, a package which chronicles Enslaved’s debut digital show, which took place last April at USF, Bergen, as part of the Verftet Online Music Festival.
In Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson’s own words:
“Sacred Horse is probably one of our proudest moments in our now three-decade long career and that song pretty much sums up what Enslaved is all about; energy. A very aggressive song, yet also dynamic and mellow.
“Besides, it’s always a delightful experience to perform it on stage and to see how our audience absorbs it and enjoys it.
“We’ve even seen people crying at the front row while playing this song, and of course beholding our fans unleashing such emotions, really lifts the whole experience to a pretty much divine level!
“Obviously, performing it without an audience at an online show wasn’t an easy task. But the memories of our previous endeavours, playing it alongside our fans, got us through.”
The verdict on Sacred Horse
One of the stand-out tracks on 2017’s masterpiece, E, Sacred Horse is an epic voyage through the progosphere – but one which still nods to Enslaved’s primordial roots.
And this live version is brilliantly executed.
Taking the song to even heights, the Norwegians pull jaws to the floor with their cosmic excursions and hive-mind dynamics.
Of particular note are the explosive contributions of Enslaved’s newest members – Jon Lord-worshipping keyboard player/clean vocalist Håkon Vinje and drummer Iver Sandøy, who joined the band ahead of Utgard. Check out the video… they’re a joy to watch.
What’s next for Enslaved?
As well as The Rise of Ymir, three live packages – Chronicles of the Northbound, Below The Lights and Utgard – The Journey Within – will be released on June 25 via Nuclear Blast. T
hese packages detail Enslaved’s Cinematic Summer Tour digital shows, which took place last summer and were collaborations with the Roadburn, Beyond The Gates and Summer Breeze festivals.
And with each album/DVD set taking listeners on a voyage across the band’s incredible career, plus some limited edition splattered vinyl on offer too, Enslaved fans should certainly get that June 25 in their diaries.
Enslaved have also lined up a European tour with Intronaut, Obsidian Kingdom and Crown for next year, which kicks off on February 13 in Berlin and takes in UK dates in Birmingham (February 16), Glasgow (February 17), Leeds (February 18) and London (February 19).
Physical pre-orders of the live albums/DVDs are available here: bynorsestore.com
Digital pre-orders are available here: http://nblast.de/Enslaved-CinematicTour
Band photo by Roy Bjørge.
