Norwegian progressive trailblazers unveil deeply personal track rooted in years of cultural exchange and mutual trust
Norwegian progressive trailblazers ‘Enslaved‘ have revealed “Spirit Helper,” a unique and deeply powerful collaboration with Kevin Kicking Woman, an Elder of the Blackfeet Nation. The track and its accompanying video are available now, representing one of the most meaningful musical journeys the band has undertaken in their three-decade career.
Kevin Kicking Woman described the purpose behind the collaboration:
“Songs are the Blackfoot way of knowing. Expressing relationship and responsibility, belonging and accountability. The purpose of this song is having the performative expression giving meaning to life. Connecting to the universes through the cosmos, earth beings, water beings and spirit beings. Spirit helper is the physical documentation in this process.”
The origins of “Spirit Helper” stretch back years before the song itself existed. Guitarist and founding member Ivar Bjørnson explained that the path toward the collaboration began in Colorado in 2019, through shared connections with ‘Wardruna‘, the band’s management, and the community surrounding Fire in the Mountains, a festival that takes place each year within the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. What began as conversations around performances and artistic collaboration slowly evolved into something far deeper, an exchange of perspectives, histories, and spiritual traditions shaped by many people along the way.
Those connections continued to grow through Fire in the Mountains and the wider community surrounding By Norse Music, the label and artistic platform founded by members of ‘Enslaved’ and ‘Wardruna’ together with their manager Simon Füllemann. When Fire in the Mountains returned in 2025 on Blackfeet land in East Glacier, Montana, those relationships deepened further, bringing together artists, organizers, elders, and community members in an environment centered around dialogue, music, and cultural exchange.
It was during this period that Bjørnson was introduced to Nick Rink of the Blackfeet Nation, and through him to Kevin Kicking Woman, whose presence became central to the development of the song. During a later gathering in New York, Kevin shared a traditional morning prayer song with Bjørnson and ‘Enslaved’, a deeply personal and spiritual piece that he generously entrusted to them as the foundation for a new composition.
Bjørnson reflected on the weight of that moment and the process that followed:
“I immediately recognised the responsibility carried within that gesture. Rather than simply building around Kevin’s contribution, it became important for me to allow the music itself to adapt to the pulse, rhythm, and spirit already present within his song. Over the following months, we worked to find a musical language where these worlds could coexist naturally, allowing Enslaved to remain fully itself while honoring the cadence, emotional core, and spiritual energy of Kevin’s prayer.”
“For us, the song represents far more than a collaboration between artists from different backgrounds. It reflects what can happen when people meet openly, listen carefully, and allow themselves to be changed by the encounter. Ultimately, ‘Spirit Helper’ is a song about connection, between past and present, traditions and people, and the spiritual and human worlds. For Enslaved, it stands as one of the most meaningful musical journeys we have undertaken,” Bjørnson added.
The artwork for “Spirit Helper” was created by Nicholas Rink, who described the symbolism behind each element, including a light blue wave representing the ocean between the collaborators and the background vibration of existence, a red line connecting them across the globe representing shared humanity, a yellow spiral representing the song itself moving through all of these things, and an old map of Norway that his grandmother had saved from a National Geographic magazine, chosen because land is so important in shaping humanity and how people express themselves.
‘Enslaved’ will return to Fire in the Mountains later this month to perform at the festival where this collaboration first began to take shape. Upcoming live dates include:
23-26 Jul 2026 – US, Montana, Blackfeet Nation – Fire In The Mountains
18 Sep 2026 – NO, Sortland – Sortland Jazzfestival 2026
31 Oct 2026 – NO, Oslo – Oslo Spektrum (with ‘Dimmu Borgir’ and ‘Satyricon’)
Formed in 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, ‘Enslaved’ released their first demo “Yggdrasill” in the summer of 1992, followed by the legendary mini-album “Hordanes Land” in 1993 and their debut full-length “Vikingligr Veldi” in the spring of 1994. Over three decades later, the band continues to exist as one of the most original and dependable forces in extreme music.
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