Below The Lights

"You'll have to ask the Australian promoters why it's taken so long,” laughs the exceedingly polite Norwegian. “We've always taken the attitude that Enslaved will play at any time, anywhere and we have actually planned to play Australia a couple of time but circumstances have always somehow got in the way. I know two years ago we were going to tour but there were too many other bands touring Australia at the same time so it didn't end up happening.”

Kjellson isn't being melodramatic. Even the band's current tour hit rough waters. Originally scheduled for June it got pushed back to early November. “That occurred because of problems with visas – or visa applications – but thankfully everything got sorted out and we're really looking forward to coming down. We've got four shows scheduled and I expect to see a lot of aeroplane and venue interiors when I'm in Australia,” jokes Kjellson, who does admit to wanting to also engage that most clichéd (and 'un-kult') of tourist events – meeting and greeting kangaroos and koalas.

Enslaved started their career as a rather non-descript black metal band. However, it didn't take them long to gallop ahead of the pack. Alongside enticingly epic Viking themes the band increasingly incorporated their love for '70s style prog rock into a blistering black metal assault. By the time 2003's Beyond The Lights arrived the band was as much King Crimson and Pink Floyd as they were Bathory and Immortal. “We've always incorporated different influences into our music,” says Kjellson. “But I actually think we weren't that unusual in the sense that all the 'second wave' bands – if you can call them that – followed their own path. I think there's a misconception that black metal bands in the early-'90s jealously protected some traditional sound when really all the bands developed in their own unique ways. We all had open minds – I remember way back in the early days when we'd all have parties we'd listen to everything from Bathory to Pink Floyd.”

Surviving for over two decades in the increasingly fickle world of metal is an achievement in itself. Kjellson is quick to pinpoint the key junctures that have kept Enslaved alive. “The Frost album, which we put out in 1994, was very important because we finally had worldwide distribution. It opened doors for us and we were able to tour Europe and America. Below The Lights was [critical] as well because we'd lost a lot of band members and there was only Ivar and me left. So it was like starting from scratch; it was 1991 all over for us. Since then we have really consolidated as a band and we're very proud of every album we've released. To come to Australia now means so much; that people on the other side of the world want to hear us play is amazing and validates the journey this band has taken.”