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Utgard
Studio album by Enslaved
Released	2 October 2020 (2020-10-02)
Recorded	2019
Genre	Progressive black metal
Length	44:46
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Iver Sandøy, Ivar Bjørnson, Grutle Kjellson
Enslaved chronology
E (2017) Utgard (2020) Caravans to the Outer Worlds (2021)

Utgard is the fifteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved, released 2 October 2020 by Nuclear Blast.

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. The album was originally scheduled for release in early 2020, but was delayed until October of that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The album is titled after a location in Norse mythology and includes some Norse lyrics and song titles. A video, filmed in Iceland, was released for the song "Jettegryta". Utgard continues to display some of the band's early black metal roots while continuing their experimentation with 1970s progressive rock.

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. Blabbermouth noted that the album "feels like the true culmination of Enslaved's ascendancy to the throne of modern prog-metal wizardry." 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. 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." Metal Hammer named it as the 9th best metal album of 2020.

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)

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
• Arve Isdal – 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

References

1. "ENSLAVED | Utgard - Nuclear Blast USA Store". shop.nuclearblast.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
2. Munro, Scott (June 2018). "Drummer Cato Bekkevold parts ways with Enslaved". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
3. Blabbermouth (2020-03-24). "ENSLAVED To Release 'Utgard' Album In The Fall; Cover Artwork Unveiled". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
4. "Enslaved Announce New Album Utgard, Unveil Artwork". news.yahoo.com. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
5. ^ Blabbermouth (2020-09-28). "Utgard - ENSLAVED". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
6. ^ DiVita, Joe (2020-07-10). "Enslaved's New Song 'Jettegyrta' Is Proof They Can Do No Wrong". Loudwire. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
7. "Album Review: Enslaved – Utgard". Kerrang!. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
8. Ewing, Jerry (October 2020). "Enslaved - Utgard review". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
9. "Album Review: ENSLAVED - Utgard". Antihero Magazine. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
10. "The 50 best metal albums of 2020". Metal Hammer. Future plc. January 8, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Enslaved – Utgard" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
12. "Ultratop.be – Enslaved – Utgard" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
13. "Ultratop.be – Enslaved – Utgard" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
14. "Enslaved: Utgard" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Enslaved – Utgard" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2020.

• 2020 albums
• Enslaved (band) albums
• Nuclear Blast albums
• Albums postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic