Artist: ENSLAVED
Album: RETURN TO YGGDRASILL - LIVE IN BERGEN (DVD)

Year: 2005
Media type: DVD

Enslaved have just come up with another DVD, this time entitled "Return to Yggdrasill - Live in Bergen". As becomes clear from the title already this DVD was filmed in Enslaved's hometown Bergen at the Teatergarasjen on the 4th of may 2005. Just like their previous DVD "Live retaliation" also this new DVD looks absolutely great. Multiple cameras are used to give the best possible overview from all sides of the stage. The sound is really amazing and the gig is really interesting to watch. A lot of music DVD's which cover complete gigs become boring quite fast though with this one it is quite the contrary and even after watching it many times in just a few days time it stays interesting till the end.

On this DVD Enslaved mainly focusses on their latest album "Isa". The album, which is an album that needs to grow, is played really a lot here at home. Over the last months the album grew immensely and it nowadays definately belongs to the best recordings Enslaved'd ever done. Of course the old time classic "Jotunblod" is encluded in the setlist as well and with the current line-up it sounds even faster and more tight than ever before. Enslaved is accused a lot for betraying their own style and sound by using all these new influences but I actually want to say the complete opposite. I think it is still typically Enslaved and there are still similarities with the older Enslaved and with a 'trained ear' those similarities are quite obvious. Therefore I think the people accusing Enslaved from all this actually don't understand the music...and most probably never understood it at all. For me, as someone who follows this band since a very early stage, I think Enslaved is in their best line-up ever nowadays. And this live recording is a very good proof of that.

Besides the gig in Bergen this DVD also contains an interview with the complete band, immediately filmed after the aforementioned gig. Furthermore the promotional video clip from "Isa" is included and I have to say I like this video a lot. On top of that also footage from their European tour 2005 together with Vreid is included. Besides humouristic moments also soundchecks and fragments from gigs are shown. It was actually fun to see myself back on this DVD, filmed at Doornroosje in Nijmegen.

"Return to Yggdrasill - Live in Bergen" is in my eyes one of the better music DVD's out on the market. It shows a gig which remains interesting all the way and it furthermore includes lots of other interesting footage so therefore this DVD is a mandatory purchase for all Enslaved fans out there!

DVD contents:

Live in Bergen
1. Bounded by allegiance
2. Ascension
3. The voices
4. Lunar Force
5. Isa
6. Jotunblod
7. Return to Yggdrasill
8. The crossing

Bonus material
- band interview
- footage from the European tour 2005
- Isa music video clip