The seventeenth album from long standing progressive black metallers Enslaved is Mið. It’s another diverse work and one that follows the trend since their 2017 album E that is in the 40-45 minute range, yet still feels as though the band’s sound gets to breathe.
After a quick intro track the band dives right into “I Am Ice,” which feels like many other recent Enslaved songs. However, this one has a tremendous keyboard solo courtesy of Hakon Vinje, one that lends itself to many of the great progressive rock keyboardists of the 1970s. It couples nicely with the rest of the sounds at the core of this collective. “Solar Will” brings in general warmth from guitars simply crying out after being suspended in ice on the previous track.
“Spirit Helper” is mostly instrumental as it features some vocals from Native American educator Kevin Kicking Woman of the Blackfeet Nation who also performed this track with the band at Fire In The Mountains this past summer. The song is a great combination of the band’s ability to tap into nature as well as combine their ancestral Scandinavian roots with those from the Americas, making for a truly powerful piece of music.
The band can play a bit more of a stripped-down version of their music, such as on “Tales of Trees.” The song is driven by Grutle Kjellson’s gruff vocals, while also giving way to some beautiful guitars from Ivar Bjornson and Arve Isdal. It makes songs like this feel all the larger, even though these are more of the bite sized variety when compared to previous works.
Ending with “I Miðju,” which translates to “In The Middle,” which could be conflicts, the need to help others or just a sense of community. It acts as a full circle moment for the band on an album that checks off most of their usual boxes and is able to get their point across in what feels like an instant.
The songs need much less time to hit this time around. With this record, Enslaved have successfully formed something new while leaning on the sounds of yore with a much more refined message that can only come with age and maturity. Mið shows that Enslaved are continually unsatisfied with the status quo.
(released October 30, 2026 on Nuclear Blast)
