Norwegian black metal avant-gardists ENSLAVED have announced a co-headline European tour with Californian sludge-tinged riff masters HIGH ON FIRE. The string of dates will run from late September through to mid-October, and is set to include 14 shows across seven countries. Two of the U.K. show dates — Milton Keynes and Leeds — will be ENSLAVED headline shows. ENSLAVED frontman Grutle Kjellson commented: "Salute dear friends and foes! We are happy to announce some more tour dates for you — we are going to share stage with legends in HIGH ON FIRE! I can guarantee you that this will be a tour for the books, so get ready for some excessive indulgence in heavy music madness!" "Cometh the conquerors, to break all beliefs!" added HIGH ON FIRE frontman Matt Pike. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, June 21 at 9:00 a.m. local time. Tour dates: Sep. 30 - U Bazyla, Poznan, PL Oct. 01 - Proxima, Warsaw, PL Oct. 02 - UT Connewitz, Leipzig, DE Oct. 03 - Kulturfabrik, Esch-sur-Alzette, LU Oct. 04 - Mezz Jupiler Zaal, Breda, NL Oct. 06 - Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms, UK *Enslaved only Oct. 07 - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, UK *Enslaved only Oct. 08 - Academy 2, Manchester, UK Oct. 09 - Tivoli, Dublin, IRE Oct. 10 - Limelight 2, Belfast, UK Oct. 12 - The Mill, Birmingham, UK Oct. 14 - SWX, Bristol, UK Oct. 15 - The Dome, London, UK Oct. 16 - La Machine du Moulin Rouge, Paris, FR ENSLAVED's latest album, "E", was released last October via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015's "In Times" was recorded at Duper & Solslottet Studios in Bergen and was once again mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden. ENSLAVED songwriter and guitarist Ivar Bjørnson stated about the "E" title: "The concept of the album lies in both its meaning as a letter in the latin alphabet and its runic reference: the rune 'Ehwaz', that is depicted as an 'M' when drawn as rune (just to make sure it gets really confusing) — the runes are drawn to look like what they literally mean. Ehwaz (pronounced and used as what's known as E, but drawn as an 'M') looks like and means 'horse.' Which is closely linked to its esoteric meaning; which is 'trust' and 'co-operation.' One of mankind's oldest and deepest pairings/collaborations with any 'outside' entities is with the horse. When they were first tamed and utilized, there must have arisen the notion of some esoteric link between the two; now we could move swiftly, escape faster and even eat and drink from the animal (both horse milk and horse blood), and of course show off and brag before our enemies and peers with the most spectacular horses. "So, no, it is not about horses! It is about the symbioses that surrounds us; which are vital to our existence, to our development — on all scales: man and vessel (for instance horse, yes), a person and its significant other, child and parent, musician and instrument, chaos and order, subconscious and conscious, Oden and Sleipnir — wisdom and communication. There are many levels and variations of this concept on the album; the duality of man and nature, present and past personalities within one self, the conscious fear and the subconscious drive. And other symbiosis."
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