Interview with Ivar Bjornson from Enslaved

Enslaved - Vertebrae album 

Enslaved, progressive black/viking metal band from Norway, released their latest album 'Vertebrae' in 2008. They will begin touring May 1, 2009.

Hannah Pearson: What are your views on religion, including satanism?

Ivar Bjornson: Religion is perhaps the world's biggest problem; it gets in the way of reason and man's true potential. A good beginning would be to make religion illegal in public place. What people do at home should be their own business. Satanism is basically the negation of Christianity, not a lot more exciting to me to be honest. I think it is healthy to do with philosophy as with economic theory: you never know which one is closest to the point, so using a little bit of each at the time you need them is the closest you get.

HP: What was your inspiration for Vertebrae, and in what ways do you think it stands out from the rest of your music?

IB: The main inspiration was the link between mind and body, this symbolized through the backbone, the Vertebrae. The album has a lot of aggression, manifested more physically than our previous, more metaphorically-ridden albums. It deals with lack of reason in minds so full of potential for reason and sense.

HP: What frustrates you most about modern society?

IB: The way achievement and hard work is looked down upon, while everybody feels they 'deserve' all kinds of things. I'm not rich, but I do not hate the rich for it. I have achieved a lot and deserved, because  I have made it myself and worked for it. Religion is just a mystical cartoonish version of this way of thinking: How to get everything while doing nothing?

HP: In your opinion, what is true freedom, and is it possible in this world?

IB: Yes it is, I do experience it more and more frequently. It is to come to peace with the fact that everything you want can be had if you truly want it and are prepared to work for it. You have to produce and claim your right to what you make. I wouldn't feel sad if the world went up in flames around me as long as I knew I had done what I could to be what I can be. More and more I am becoming that. I don't feel bothered by the presence of religious fanatics and parasites as long as they stay away from me. If not, i'll be fighting them off! 

For Colorado fans: Enslaved will be playing with Opeth at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado on May 9, 2009.