Below the Lights | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 5 May 2003 | |||
Recorded | September–October 2002, Greighallen Studios in Bergen | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:17 | |||
Label | Osmose | |||
Producer | Pytten, Jørgen Træen, Ivar Peersen, Grutle Kjellson | |||
Enslaved chronology | ||||
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Below the Lights is the seventh studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 5 May 2003. [2] Beyond it being their last full-length for production company Osmose (they would move to Candlelight for their next studio album), a few lineup changes would take place. This would be the last album Enslaved recorded with Dirge Rep on drums (he also co-wrote two songs), and the first album featuring Arve Isdal as lead guitarist. They would also enlist a full-time keyboardist in Herbrand Larsen (who helped engineer the record), bringing the band personnel from four to five.
AllMusic's William York wrote a positive review of the album, writing that "for all its variety, this is still a fairly heavy, meat-and-potatoes album with plenty of emotional nuance as well. There are a few spots where Enslaved's ambitions get the better of them, but the experimentation is welcome in any case, and most of it does work. Below the Lights will likely stand out down the road as one of the top black metal releases of 2003." [1] In 2016, About.com named it the best Enslaved album to date, highlighting it for being "everything the band had been slowly building towards was fully realized", fully unleashing the band's potential, and "their crowning achievement." [3]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth" | Peersen / Grutle | Peersen | 6:35 |
2. | "The Dead Stare" | Peersen / Husebø | Peersen | 5:37 |
3. | "The Crossing" | Grutle | Peersen | 9:12 |
4. | "Queen of Night" | Peersen | Peersen | 5:59 |
5. | "Havenless" | Peersen | Peersen | 5:35 |
6. | "Ridicule Swarm" | Husebø | Peersen | 6:18 |
7. | "A Darker Place" | Peersen | Peersen | 7:01 |
"Havenless" contains excerpts from Aksel Sandemose's "Vi pynter oss med horn".
Enslaved is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson in Haugesund in 1991. They are currently based in Bergen. The band's lineup has changed many times over the years, and Bjørnson and Kjellson have been the sole constant members. The current lineup also includes lead guitarist Arve Isdal, keyboardist/singer Håkon Vinje, and drummer Iver Sandøy.
Frost is the second studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released in 1994, through Osmose Productions.
Eld is the third studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 17 March 1997, through Osmose Productions.
Blodhemn is the fourth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 28 October 1998, through Osmose Productions.
Mardraum – Beyond the Within is the fifth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 25 September 2000, through Osmose Productions.
Monumension is the sixth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 19 November 2001, through Osmose Productions. It is Enslaved's first album to feature lyrics sung entirely in English, although some versions of the album include the Old Norse track "Sigmundskvadet" as a bonus.
Isa is the eighth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 20 October 2004 in Norway and 8 November 2004 in Europe by Tabu Recordings and on 7 February 2005 in the US by Candlelight Records. Several tracks segue continuously into one another and the majority of compositions are composed of multiple interlocking movements.
Ruun is the ninth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 2 May 2006 in the US, 8 May 2006 in Norway and 22 May 2006 in Europe. It was given Norway's 2006 Spellemann award for best achievement in the "metal" genre.
Winter Enclosure, the debut album by Norwegian gothic metal band Octavia Sperati was released on 14 June 2005 on the Candlelight Records label.
Kjetil Tvedte Grutle, better known as Grutle Kjellson, is the bassist and vocalist of the Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. Kjellson and guitarist Ivar Bjørnson are the founding and only constant members of the band, as well as the main songwriters. He has released sixteen studio albums with Enslaved and won five Norwegian Spellemann Awards with the band.
Ivar Skontorp Peersen, best known by his stage name Ivar Bjørnson, is a Norwegian musician and composer. He is a founding member and the main songwriter of the extreme metal band Enslaved, and has previously been a member of the metal band Borknagar and collaborated with Einar Selvik on several albums. Bjørnson has released sixteen studio albums with Enslaved and won five Norwegian Spellemann Awards with the band.
Grace Submerged, the second and final album by Norwegian doom/gothic metal band Octavia Sperati, was released in May 2007 via Candlelight Records.
Vertebrae is the tenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 29 September 2008 by Indie Recordings in Europe and on 28 October 2008 by Nuclear Blast in the US, Enslaved's first album on both labels. It was named as Album of the Year by Terrorizer and was awarded the Norwegian "Spellemannprisen" for best metal album. The album sold approximately 1,100 copies in its first week in the United States, reaching number 49 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
Arve Isdal, also known as Ice Dale, is a Norwegian musician and producer, best known as lead guitarist for the extreme metal band Enslaved and the hard rock band Audrey Horne. He owns and runs Conclave & Earshot Studio in Bergen together with former-Enslaved band member Herbrand Larsen. In addition to working as a musician and producer, Isdal also teaches music production at Noroff.
Axioma Ethica Odini is the eleventh studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on September 27, 2010, via Indie Recordings in Europe and on September 28, 2010, via Nuclear Blast in North America. The cover artwork was created by Norwegian painter Truls Espedal who has created all of the band's artwork since 2001's Monumension. The album received very positive reviews from music critics, and sold around 1,400 copies in the United States its first week of release, landing at position no. 16 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
RIITIIR, occasionally typeset as "RIITIIЯ," is the twelfth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on September 28, 2012 in Europe and on October 9, 2012 in North America. The name RIITIIR is Ivar Bjørnson's "Norse-ified" take on the words "Rites/Rituals", or "The Rites of Man", and rituals form the central concept of the album. The album received positive reviews from music critics, and sold around 2,300 copies in its first week of release in the United States, which made it their highest debuting album to date in terms of sales.
In Times is the thirteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on 6 March 2015 in Europe, 9 March 2015 in the UK and 10 March 2015 in the US by Nuclear Blast. As the title suggests, the album's central theme is that of time, considered philosophically, historically, and mythologically. The album sold about 2,950 copies in its first week of release in the United States, making In Times their highest sales debut to date. The album charted in some territories in its first week of release, including Norway and Finland. It is also the band's last album with keyboardist/vocalist Herbrand Larsen, who departed the following year.
E is the fourteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on October 13, 2017 by Nuclear Blast.
Utgard is the fifteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved, released 2 October 2020 by Nuclear Blast.
Herbrand Larsen is a Norwegian musician, record producer, mixer and engineer. He is best known for being a member of extreme metal band Enslaved from 2004 to 2016, and hard rock band Audrey Horne from 2002 to 2007. Larsen works primarily with acts in the metal and rock genres, including Immortal, Gorgoroth, Taake, Demonaz, Abbath and Gaahl, but has also collaborated with artists in the folk, ambient and pop genres, such as Wardruna, Lindy-Fay Hella, Michelle Ullestad and Hjerteslag.