Enslaved Play Special Show in New York City Celebrating 25th Anniversary

Against odds, Norwegian band Enslaved have had a lengthy career and continue to thrive as they celebrated 25 years of music at Gramercy Theatre in New York City.

The night began with a showing of their documentary, which depicted the early years of Enslaved. The band came out onstage for a Q&A, during which they revealed their love of KISS and how they met. Singer Grutle Kjellson crowdsurfed at a show and landed on his friend and Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjornson when they were kids.

Downstairs, shirts made specifically for the special New York show were being sold. There was also an art exhibit by Kim Holm, who also hails from Norway and is known for drawing while headbanging in the front row of shows. His comic, sketch-like concert artistry was done live, side stage, during Enslaved’s performances.

Enslaved’s first set was comprised of a lot of the foundational, death metal songs that helped power their early years, including such tracks as “Loke” off of their 1994 album Frost, as well as “Fenris” and “Jotunblood” off of the same album. Heads banged to “Convoys of Nothingness” off of their album Monumension, released 15 years ago. Diehard fans were surprised and ecstatic to hear the favorite “Havenless” to round out the first set.

With a 15-minute intermission, smoke breaks, pee breaks and hydrating with booze were necessary for fans. The band returned with material from later in their career and started the second set with “Roots of the Mountain” off of their 12th studio album RIITIIR. Vocalist Einar Selvik of Nordic folk metal act Wardruna also graced the stage as a special guest to perform some songs with Enslaved.

After four hours of Enslaved the night came to a close with an encore that included “As Fire Swept Clean the Earth” and “One Thousand Years of Rain.” Enslaved stayed in New York for the weekend as they held a signing of their LP The Sleeping Gods – Thorn at Rough Trade record shop in Brooklyn.

Check out photos in our gallery of Enslaved’s show at Gramercy Theater and artwork by Kim Holm.