Album Review: Enslaved - Mið (Nuclear Blast Records, 2026)
21 minutes ago
7 min read
Written: 24th October 2026
Enslaved have spent more than three decades following a singular path through the worlds of black metal, progressive rock and Norse mythology. Emerging from the early Norwegian black metal scene before steadily extending their creative reach, the band have built a catalogue defined as much by evolution as consistency, each album expanding upon what came before whilst remaining unmistakably Enslaved. Now seventeen studio albums into their career, they return with Mið, an Old Norse word meaning ‘centre’ or ‘middle’, continuing a creative journey that has long explored the spaces between past and present, tradition and innovation, certainty and discovery.
Wind. Distance. Absence. Before a single lyric is sung, Non-Being establishes the world of Mið. Brief though it may be, this instrumental opener possesses a strange liminality, as though Enslaved are inviting us to step beyond the familiar and into somewhere older, colder and far less certain. A sense of desolation is beautifully woven into the carefully articulated guitar lines, while the rhythm lends the piece an almost nomadic feel.
Shattering the stillness, I Am Ice (which features traditional Sámi musician Johan Sara Jr) introduces one of the album’s recurring themes: transformation through adversity. The narrator descends into darkness before emerging altered by the experience. I am treasure, I am torment / In the wake of the wanderer / In withered dreams / Dwells the dormant doom. With jagged and abrasive riffs, Enslaved reconnect with some of the harsher elements of their past whilst refusing to abandon the breadth and sophistication they have developed over the decades. Grutle Kjellson’s rasp sounds utterly possessed, whilst Håkon Vinje provides the contrast that has become such an integral part of the band’s identity. Vinje’s keyboard solo highlights the progressive aspects of the band’s sound while the contributions of Johan Sara Jr bring a distinct tribal element to the track, adding an austere elegance that sits strikingly alongside its harsher passages.
Solar Will – one of the album’s defining statements – continues to use a balance of aggression, melody and progressive influences. Kjellson’s harsher delivery and Vinje’s soaring clean vocals collide to majestic effect, while Bjørnson and Isdal weave together melodies, tectonic chords and shifting textures without ever losing focus. Bjørnson states, “The Sun is a nurturing and terrifying parent that can grant as well as obliterate life totally. Such a classic and awe-inspiring object of our worship and myths requires classic and awesome riffs, Bonham-esque drum grooves and blistering melodic flares celebrating its horrific glory.”
An expansive track, Solar Will feels far more epic than its five minutes suggest, such are the panoramic qualities Enslaved bring to the fore. Drummer Iver Sandøy delivers a brilliant performance, his thoughtful yet relentless excursions around his kit adding an unbridled urgency. Enslaved have long drawn inspiration from the natural world and the relationship between humanity and the forces that shape our existence. As Kjellson explains, “Solar Will explores archetypal conflicts, those that manifest in nature, the cosmos, mythology, and, above all, within the human mind. The conclusion, or more precisely, the absence of one, suggests that, for human beings, chaos and dreams are at least as significant as the realities we perceive through our senses.”
Following the heavy salvos and rapid tempos of Solar Will, Mountain begins in quiet, gentle introspection with a slower, more considered feel that builds dramatically for the first two and a half minutes. Vinje's clean vocals are delivered with a mournful, almost yearning quality, drawing out each syllable as the lyrics reflect themes of life, aspiration and continuity. Primal, untamed will / Awakened in salty ground / Ever reaching, never conquered / Ever pulsating, never blinded. Following this, the song divides into two distinct halves, as a succession of truly monolithic riffs descends with a force that makes the track’s title suddenly seem entirely appropriate.
The vocals turn to formidable growls and the focus shifts from creation to the harsher realities that govern existence. Here, nature is no longer merely beautiful or enduring; it is indifferent, cyclical and, at times, merciless. In the tongue of aeons / In gravitas and might / The laws of duality / The consumption of volatility. The juxtaposition of these contrasting passages works delightfully, with the latter containing some of the album’s most punishing moments. Yet Enslaved never resort to blunt-force aggression for its own sake; there is a deliberateness to the way the riffs lock together and the intensity gathers. Balancing sheer sonic power with compositional intelligence has long been one of the band’s defining strengths and Mountain becomes more impressive with every listen.
Of all the songs on Mið, Spirit Helper perhaps possesses the most remarkable origin story, as Ivar Bjørnson explains. “Its origins lie in years of conversations, festivals, travel, and shared experiences that gradually connected people, traditions, landscapes and communities. During a later gathering in New York, attended by representatives from the Blackfeet community, Fire in the Mountains, the Firekeeper Alliance and Enslaved, Kevin shared a traditional morning prayer song with us - a deeply personal and spiritual piece that he generously entrusted to me and Enslaved as the foundation for a new composition.”
The result feels profoundly different from anything else on the album. Rather than simply incorporating an unfamiliar musical element, Enslaved have created a space where two traditions coexist naturally and respectfully. The music unfolds patiently, allowing Kevin Kicking Woman’s contribution to become part of the composition’s very foundation. Bjørnson has described the song as an exploration of the connections between people, traditions and the spiritual world and that sense of communion permeates every moment. Built around tribal-like chants and vocalisations- there are no vocals from the band - it unfurls through remarkably resonant textures and recurring patterns that gather momentum before retreating into more contemplative passages. The effect is deeply immersive, allowing the music to breathe and evolve rather than conform to conventional song structures. It is undoubtedly a piece that will divide opinion amongst fans, yet it feels entirely at home within an album that continues to push at the boundaries of their sound and embrace a remarkably wide musical compass.
At more than eight minutes, Parting feels like the album’s centrepiece, drawing together the many facets of modern Enslaved into a compelling whole. It opens with exquisite restraint, piano and clean vocals establishing a mood of quiet desolation before the song gives way to a more direct, muscular metal passage. Its colossal riffs and driving rhythms are balanced by the band's characteristic melodic instincts and progressive sophistication. Vinje’s keyboards lend the arrangement considerable depth, while an incisive central guitar solo forms an integral part of the song’s emotional trajectory. Lyrically, Parting contemplates endings and the disintegration that precedes renewal. The imagery of fading fertility, returning greed and the closing of the inner eye evokes a world approaching spiritual and natural decline. As the song progresses, its growing propulsion mirrors this movement from decay towards regeneration, culminating in the Old Norse passage from Völuspá, which depicts Gimlé, the radiant hall that survives Ragnarök. After so much turmoil, the closing vision offers the promise of a new world in which the faithful may dwell and find joy. A magnificent conclusion to one of the album’s most ambitious compositions.
Tales of Trees reintroduces some of the black metal intensity that old-school fans will relish, marrying it with the exploratory tendencies that have become such an integral part of Enslaved’s more recent work. Musically, the song occupies a fertile middle ground, bringing together black metal aggression, progressive ambition and folk influences with organic fluidity. Vinje’s clean vocals lend warmth and melodic contrast to the arrangement, whilst the guitars move effortlessly between harsher, more abrasive passages and moments of greater intricacy. Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson comments, “The winding time signatures of folk music and the adventurous spirit of classic prog are natural ingredients in my songwriting, and they feel particularly at home here.” Growth, decay, memory and responsibility all find expression through the song’s imagery. Will we once again remember / The dreams from the wake? / Will you once again let us / Tend to your roots?
Final track, I Miðju brings everything on the album into focus. Translating roughly as In the Middle or At the Centre, the title encapsulates the album’s broader preoccupations with balance, contradiction and interconnectedness. At seven-and-a-half minutes, the closing track has the space required to explore these ideas, moving between muscular riffing, more intricate progressive passages and moments of atmospheric restraint. The interplay between Kjellson’s harsher vocals and Vinje’s cleaner delivery provides a familiar point of contrast, whilst the guitars shift between imposing distortion and more delicate, acoustic textures. There is a genuine sense of forward momentum here but Enslaved are equally adept at allowing the music to breathe, the changing arrangements giving the song an ebb and flow rather than simply piling one idea upon another. With around a minute remaining, much of the instrumentation falls away, leaving a more exposed acoustic guitar passage that invites reflection on everything that has come before. The effect is striking, returning us to the desolate, windswept atmosphere of Non-Being and bringing the album full circle, albeit with a different perspective on the journey. It is a beautifully judged ending.
At just over forty minutes, Mið is a remarkably disciplined record. In an era when progressive metal albums frequently disappear beneath their own weight, Enslaved have instead chosen precision over excess, packing an astonishing amount of depth, atmosphere and musical variety into a running time that never outstays its welcome. Some songs arrive and depart in little more than four minutes, whilst others are afforded considerably more room to breathe, yet nothing feels misplaced or unnecessary. Every composition contributes something distinctive to the whole.
There are certainly moments that reconnect with different periods of the band's past, from the harsher black metal textures to the mythological themes that have long informed their work but Mið never feels content to simply revisit former glories. Instead, it carries the unmistakable sense of a band still searching, still questioning and still discovering new possibilities within a musical language they helped create. Seventeen albums into their career, Enslaved remain one of the rare groups whose evolution feels entirely organic. They continue to honour where they have come from whilst keeping their gaze fixed firmly on the horizon. Thoughtful, resplendent and consistently rewarding, Mið is another compelling chapter in a catalogue that shows no sign of standing still. Curious. Ambitious. Uncompromising.
Mið is released on 30th October 2026
Enslaved online
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