ENSLAVED, EL CACO and NEKROMANTHEON have been nominated in the "Metal" category at the 41st annual Spellemann awards (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show will be held March 23 at Konserthus in Stavanger, Norway and will be broadcast live on the Norwegian channel NRK1.

The nominees in the "Metal" category are as follows:

* EL CACO - "Hatred, Love And Diagrams"
* ENSLAVED - "RIITIIR"
* NEKROMANTHEON - "Rise, Vulcan Spectre"

Commented ENSLAVED (pictured below): "By the hammer, saw, and grinder of Thor! What an incredibly pleasant surprise to be getting on the road, being nominated for Spellemannsprisen! Having that many people interested and versed in music liking our album is simply overwhelming. We'll miss the party, but feel confident that others will take care of the scandalous behavior. Thank you jury, this means a lot to us no matter the outcome of the 'final!'"

This is the seventh time ENSLAVED has received a Spellemann award nomination. They have won four consecutive times for their previous four studio albums:

2010: "Axioma Ethica Odini" - Winner
2008: "Vertebrae" - Winner
2006: "Ruun" - Winner
2004: "Isa" - Winner
2003: "Below The Lights" - Nominated
2000: "Mardraum" - Nominated

Last year's Spellemann award in the "Metal" category went to ÅRABROT for the band's "Solar Anus" album.