There's always been a development in our band. When you create the songs, you have aims. And these aims are something you reach for when you shape an album. It means a lot to reach our aims. When we did "Mardraum", it meant a lot to us to reach our aims. It felt great to listen to the pre-recordings of the album, as these were something we worked hard for. So, you can say that each and every album means a lot in their own way. It means a lot to release an album.
Grutle Kjellson / Enslaved interview, Eternal Terror, 2000
ENSLAVED released their fifth album, Mardraum (Beyond the Within), on this day in 2000 through Osmose.
We did Mardraum and some people were coming up to us and saying, 'I will never listen to Enslaved again'. Why? 'Because what you did on Mardraum destroyed everything'. Destroyed what? Is there something that you like? And they're like, 'Yeah I loved the first album'. I said, 'There you go, you shouldn't stop listening to Enslaved, just make sure you listen to what you like and you'll be a happier person'. So that went on for a little while so I think around Mardraum in 2000 we knew that we were going in a different direction and it's been fun ever since.
Ivar Bjørnson / Enslaved interview, The Rock Pit, 2020