Enslaved At Union Transfer

Enslaved Enslaved was formed in 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, and did their first demo “Yggdrasill” in the summer of 1992, while the legendary mini-album “Hordanes Land” was released the year after in 1993. Enslaved’s debut “Vikingligr Veldi” came in the spring of 1994, while the successful second album “Frost” was released already winter 1994. In many ways “Eld” (’97) marked the opening of a horizon-widening era for the band, with a small detour on “Blodhemn” the following year: Enslaved’s most furious and black-edged effort to date. “Mardraum (Beyond the Within)” was released in 2000; taking on an experimental and innovative approach for Extreme Metal. The band followed up with “Monumension” in 2001; receiving more (pleasantly) surprising positive response to their “no rules” approach to Extreme Metal. Many see an important milestone being “Below the Lights” (’03) - where the progressive yet darker Enslaved emerged. A new line-up was put together after the recording of “Below the Lights”, marking the opening of a new, shimmering chapter. The new line-up released the album “Isa” in late 2004, and the album put Enslaved at the very forefront of contemporary Extreme Metal; both as a recording and live artist – proving the latter with the release of acclaimed live-DVD “Return to Yggdrasill”. “Ruun” was released in 2006, and received numerous great reviews from fans, magazines and websites worldwide. Early 2007 Enslaved sat out on their first full tour through USA and Canada since the late 90s; following up with treks all over Europe and more North America. Back in the studio the band conjured up “Vertebrae” (’08) together with mixer Joe Baresi – an album that spread across the globe like fire with extensive promotion and extensive touring. More inspired than ever the band worked on a new album throughout 2009, and started recording during the first weeks of 2010. The band’s first co-operation with mixer Jens Bogren; “Axioma Ethica Odini” received Enslaved’s 4th consecutive Norwegian Grammy in the Metal category (“Isa”, “Ruun” and “Vertebrae” receiving the three previous awards). Enslaved continued to tour Norway, Europe and North America; and released two exclusive EPs during 2011 (“The Sleeping Gods” 10” and “Thorn” 7”). Never ones for resting, Enslaved worked intensely with an album throughout all of this – and in 2012 they inked a worldwide deal with leading label Nuclear Blast Records. This all resulted in Enslaved’s groundbreaking 2012-album “Riitiir”, followed up throughout 2013, which became a year of expansion for Enslaved - with North American and European tours, and of course more festival appearances around the world. It also became the year when Enslaved finally made its way down under to Australia, a highly memorable and successful endeavor. Upon returning at the end of the year, songwriting once again commenced and 2014 were set to be the year when Enslaved took yet another step up, out, forward and whatever directions there are. The year started with supporting Swedish brother-in-beards Amon Amarth. Then the summer and autumn two highly public commissioned pieces in Norway, and recording a new album. As 2014 draws to an end, there are storms brewing: festivals are being booked en masse, Enslaved’s own Ivar Bjørnson is curating Roadburn 2015 (where Ivar and the band will be involved in no less than four performances), and the new album “In Times” will be out worldwide early March 2015, accompanied by a North American tour starting March 5th! As with the two previous albums, the team of producers once again came from within the band: Bjørnson, Larsen and Grutle – with the addition of Iver Sandøy. Large parts of the recording were once again done in the band members’ own studios in Bergen and the remote village of Valevåg. The mix and mastering was handled by respectively Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren; both from Fascination Street Studios. One of Enslaved’s trademarks has been the magnificent paintings that adorn the covers, and “Riitiir” is no exception. Norwegian artist Truls Espedal, who has worked with the band since 2001, has done the impossible with topping his own previous masterpieces once again. Yob There's no doubt that Oregon's Yob is one of the most recognizable names in the underground metal game of thrones. Their 2009 LP 'The Great Cessation' saw them reunited for the first time in many years and brought them to heights of recognition that they'd always deserved but hadn't achieved. The world was finally ready for Yob. In 2011 Yob are now firmly back, tour ready and have delivered a striking 5 song statement in the form of Atma. Ecstatic Vision Trance inducing heavy psych/world music. Ecstatic Vision is Doug Sabolick, Michael Connor and Jordan Crouse. FFO: Hawkwind, Amon Duul 2, Olatunji Witch Mountain In 2009, Uta Plotkin added her voice to Witch Mountain in front of a triumphant sold out crowd at Portland, OR's venerable club Satyricon. Supporting Pentagram—East coast godfathers of American doom who also took far too long to receive their rightful due—Plotkin brought the necessary ingredient that Witch Mountain founders Rob Wrong and Nate Carson had been seeking since they initially formed the group back in 1997. Originally far out of step with the lazy, indie-rock scene in Portland, guitarist Wrong and drummer Carson sought to put their own stamp on the tradition of doom metal as laid down by Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Trouble, and Saint Vitus. Years of road work in support of peers such as High on Fire, Spirit Caravan, Electric Wizard, YOB, Weedeater, Eyehategod, and all the rest had granted Witch Mountain a solid footnote in the history of one of music's heaviest genres. And though real life careers took the band largely out of commission between 2003 and 2008, Plotkin's emergence kicked the band back into a high gear that shows no signs of waning. With renewed vigor, WM returned to the studio to capture the long-awaited sophomore album South of Salem. Produced by master "engine-ear" Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins), the record was self-released by the band on vinyl, and shortly thereafter recognized as the "#4 Best Metal Album of 2011" by NPR. With a SXSW showcase, west coast tours with Christian Mistress and Wino project Premonition 13, and a massively downloaded Adult Swim compilation under its belt, Witch Mountain proved its modern work ethic and soon signed up with dream label Profound Lore. Once South of Salem was unleashed on CD and properly distributed, it was time to follow up with all new material. 2012's Cauldron of the Wild was the answer, produced once more by Billy Anderson, and this time featuring a further matured sound and more immersive influence from Plotkin. Rob Wrong was writing the best, heaviest blues-metal he'd yet conjured, and Carson--as both manager and booker--kept the band grounded in a professional DIY ethic. New bassist Neal Munson fit like a glove, and overall the group has never fired on all cylinders so successfully. An invitation to play the main stage at Scion Rock Fest 2012 along with Sleep, Saint Vitus, and Down gave the band an opportunity to return to US stages, successfully headlining in the US and Canada for most of June. In August, Scion invited the band back to the studio to cut a brand new single, and sponsored the band's most extensive tour to date—a 5 week headlining trek around the US in Oct/Nov. The groundswell of new fans brought about by touring, social networking, real word of mouth, and heavy-handed press gushing from outlets like Pitchfork and SPIN magazine continues to gain the group new fans in an era when Doom Metal is no longer a synonym for obscurity. Following the release of the "Bloodhound" single, the next frontier was Europe. WM took the continent by storm, from Poland to Iceland in Spring 2013. Dates were shared with East coast sludge-masters Cough, with gigs centering around Holland's Roadburn event, as well as the Desert fests in Berlin and London. With a final stop in volcanic Iceland, the group flew home to work on the follow-up to Cauldron of the Wild, and play a few hand-picked support slots for the likes of Blue Öyster Cult and Candlemass. For a doom metal band that took the path of longevity, learned from other bands' mistakes, never signed the easy contract, kept in charge of its own destiny, and rightfully owns all its material to date--the future looks bright indeed. Get tickets: http://ticketf.ly/1ACzocQ