Ensuring that 2015 was off to a flying start Norwegian metallers Enslaved announced that they would be releasing their brand new album in March. Entitled In Times, bar a tour announcement , the band have remained pretty tight lipped about the new release. Until now! We now have a small preview clip detailing the album’s cover art.
Long time collaborator and “sixth member of Enslaved” Truls Espedal has been with the band for a long period of time. Creating each album cover for the bands ever growing releases,the album art is now synonymous with the band. With Espedal realising the album artwork, three different paintings were created, well within the realm of the abstract to represent the often surreal imagery that both Ivar and Grulte Kjellson come up with. Kjellson states further :
“I just love the album cover. I honestly think this is the best artwork I have ever seen. That is of course because Truls has developed the ability to transform me and Ivars often surreal concepts and ideas into an actual painting. This painting is the perfect projection of our lyrics, it even extends the written words. This is a picture of mythology, life, death and time. Truls has made a masterpiece, we have made the soundtrack.”
It has to be said that album artwork is fantastically crafted and represents all that Enslaved embody. From the darker tones of the painting to the ominous red it represents the harsher black metal style, whilst appearing Homeric to echo their more progressive growth. It’s a fantastic piece of work. Simplistic yet meticulous. A haunting beauty, with the abstract colossi roaming free retaining a imposing sense of the End Times. We should all get excited. Check the video below and see what you think!
