Enslaved To Receive Honorary Award

As if celebrating the 20th anniversary of their existence this year weren’t not enough, progressive/psychedelic black metal band ENSLAVED from Bergen, Norway will be the first metal group to receive the Norwegian Artist & Songwriters Association's Honorary Award. Norwegian Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt – who is responsible for cultural policy, film, and the media - will present the 10th installment of this award to the band members on Monday, October 31st in Oslo, Norway.

In addition to winning four Spellemann awards (Norwegian equivalents of American Grammys), ENSLAVED’s interest, dedication and contribution to the Norwegian music industry and general debate was a significant reason for them receiving the award, which they received word of while on their recent anniversary tour through the U.S. and Canada that included several sold-out shows.

The Honorary Award is appointed by a jury consisting of the board at the Norwegian Artist & Songwriters Association. The award prize is a glass microphone made by glass artist Camilla Prytz and the inscription reads as follows: “The prize is presented to a person or group that has done a significant effort to promote Norwegian music within the genres of which the Norwegian Artist & Songwriters Association represent; Pop / Rock / Related.”

The nine previous winners of the Honorary Award include: 2010 - Hellbillies; 2009 - Marit Larsen; 2008 - Henning Kvitnes; 2007 - Anne Grete Preus; 2006 - Bjørn Eidsvåg; 2005 - Jan Eggum; 2004 - Åge Aleksandersen; 2003- Jahn Teigen; 2001 - Nora Brockstedt.

Nuclear Blast Records, in conjunction with Indie Recordings in Norway, commends ENSLAVED for the recognition they’ve earned & deserve and salutes the band’s continued dedication to the important roles they play as musical ambassadors of their genre and country.
ENSLAVED’s latest sonic masterpiece, Axioma Ethica Odini, won the 2010 Spellemann Award in the category “Best Metal Album,” won Terrorizer Magazine’s Reader’s Poll for “Best Album of 2010,” ranked #5 in Decibel Magazine’s “Top 40 Extreme Albums of 2010” list, and appeared on over 65 “Best Albums of 2010” lists in North America, repeatedly ranking in the Top 10. In Germany, Metal Hammer Magazine awarded ENSLAVED the “Album Of The Year” title and the Dutch magazine Aardschok ranked Axioma Ethica Odini at #9.

Axioma Ethica Odini debuted in North America at #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers (New Artists) chart, #40 in the Current Hard Music Albums chart, and #72 on the Independent Current Albums chart the week following its release in September, 2010.

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Tags:  Enslaved, Nuclear Blast Records   

Jason Fisher    October 26, 2011