Caravans to the Outer Worlds

With their third EP in 30 years as a band, Norwegian prog-metal sorcerers Enslaved unveil a psychedelic follow-up to their 2020 conceptual opus, *Utgard*. “Business-wise, EPs are a stupid thing to do in 2021,” Enslaved vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson tells Apple Music. “If you’re doing vinyl like we are, the costs are approximately the same as a full album. But the concept of the EP is very interesting, because they’re a stepping-stone between two full-lengths, so they give room for more experimentation. It doesn’t have to be connected to either the previous album or the forthcoming one.” Below, Kjellson discusses each track on *Caravans to the Outer Worlds*. **“Caravans to the Outer Worlds”** “This song somehow points in every direction. It points backwards to the Enslaved history, but it’s really contemporary at the same time, and you also have pointers to where we are heading. It contains progressive parts, mellow parts, avant-garde parts, thrash metal, extreme metal. It’s maybe a pompous thing to say, but it really sums up what Enslaved is, what it has been, and what it is about to become. In other words, it’s really schizophrenic.” **“Intermezzo I: Lonnlig. Gudlig.”** “This is an instrumental and our only title in Swedish. The reason for that is that it’s a tribute to our late friend L.G. Petrov from Entombed. If you translate ‘Lonnlig. Gudlig,’ it means something like ‘secretive, divine.’ Outwardly, L.G. seemed to be a very extroverted personality, but he had his layers. He was complex. He actually started out as a fantastic drummer in the band Morbid, but as a vocalist he had very good timing. Not all vocalists have that, actually. He was a unique musician and kind of an enigmatic personality, so this is a hymn to his importance in the history of extreme metal in Scandinavia, but first and foremost as a hymn to a good friend that is no longer among us.” **“Ruun II – The Epitaph”** “It’s more or less a continuation of the original ‘Ruun’ song that was recorded back in 2006. Essentially, there’s two parts and it’s based on two riffs in the original. But it’s more of a psychedelic song. Musically and lyrically, it deals with traveling into the world of dreams, mythology, runes, and chaos—all these forces you cannot control. It’s about accepting those circumstances and making your own path and maybe carving your own epitaph. It’s the continuation of a journey that started 15 years ago.” **“Intermezzo II: The Navigator”** “As the title indicates, it’s time to navigate into new territories. This is maybe the biggest indicator of our route forward to the next album. You could almost think of it as an introduction to what’s next.”

"Caravans to the Outer Worlds is a great EP and well worth repeated listens."