Myth Congeniality

2020 has been a thoroughly ruinous year for just about everyone, but some parts of the world have weathered the coronavirus crisis with almost nonchalant ease. Still based in their native Bergen, Norway, Enslaved have had their plans for this year thrown into disarray like everyone else, from the delayed release of 15th studio album Utgard to the scuppering of the band’s traditionally hectic gig schedule. But as co-founder and chief songwriter Ivar Bjørnson tells Prog, Bergen was always well equipped to deal with a pandemic, if only on a cultural level.

“People live quite far away from each other here, so the whole social distancing thing is not that tricky to do,” the guitarist reasons. “You hear a lot of Norwegians say, ‘Well, I always thought it was weird to hug that much anyway!’ [Laughs.] So it kind of fits, in a sense. Of course it was strange, like everywhere else, to begin with, but it was fairly quick too. By the end of April they started opening schools and kindergartens. So I think we all feel quite grateful to be living here during these times.