Norwegian masters of progressive/experimental metal ENSLAVED have been confirmed for the Hole in the Sky festival (a.k.a. Bergen Metal Fest X), set to take place August 26-29, 2009 in Bergen, Norway.

Commented promoter Torgrim Øyre: "Wow, it's been 10 years already. Who would have though that when we first started planning the first festival in 1999 as a tribute to our late friend Erik 'Grim' Brødreskift. It's been a phenomenal ride, with lots of great memories to cherish, fantastic concerts and an incredible audience that shows up in numbers each year. This calls for celebration. We've always paid much attention to tradition, but we've also tried to look ahead at the same time. With the 2009 edition having the strongest focus on the local scene since the inception of this event, it feels like we've come full circle. To prove that Bergen scene is as vital as ever, we've invited ENSLAVED to host the birthday bash of the century. A band that helped set the bench mark for what Norwegian extreme metal was all about and what it has grown to become. 'A Blaze in the Northern Sky' will be a perfect reflection of just that, cutting edge and progressive together with a dive into the historic vaults of what defined the Norwegian scene together with prominent guests from (among others) DARKTHRONE, EMPEROR and MAYHEM.

"Having a good part of the Norwegian black metal royalty sharing stage with ENSLAVED in a historic lection of Norwegian black metal history must be the ultimate celebration for ourselves and the fans. I'm sure the band will elaborate about the content, but we're confident that it will be more than spectacular."

Added ENSLAVED's Grutle Kjellson: "2009 is indeed a special year. This year we will celebrate the 10th anniversary for, in my humble opinion, the greatest metal festival in the world. It is not the biggest festival in size, not even in Norway, but definitely in atmosphere. Just ask the metal heads travelling from all over the world once a year to a small town on the west banks of the pile of rocks called Norway, just to absorb the atmosphere of this unique event. I think most of them will agree.

"Since this is a big event for both of us, we figured that we wanted it to be more than a convential ENSLAVED gig (if that is considered conventional?). Therefore we decided to ask some great friends to join in on the celebration. We have asked legends in the extreme metal scene, that has supported us, inspired us and have been partying with us over the years. Every single one of them had just as little doubts as we had and are honoured to play their parts on this very special evening."

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

AURA NOIR
ENSLAVED
NECROS CHRISTOS
PENTAGRAM
PORTRAIT
TAAKE
VOIVOD