AFTER

The thirt solo album from ex-Emperor frontman and guitarist Ihsahn. In Emperor's horde Ihsahn demonstrates an interesting symphonic black metal, especially in the last two albums. In group Peccatum, he sought more experimental sounds, which could hardly be incorporated into the Emperor's sound. So, in his solo career, Ihsahn continued with musical experimentation, but although he had released two interesting albuns, this is more experimental in my opinion. Ihsahn's caracteristics are present, like his rispid riffs and vocals, and the black metal atmosphere. This album, in general, sounds like the two previous albums. Drummer Asgeir Mickelson (Spiral Architect, Lunaris, Vintersorg, Borknagar, etc) and bassist Lars Norberg (Spiral Architect) need no introduction. Their work, in their respective instruments, sound perfect and in harmony with Ihsahn's music. But the introduction of the saxophone was a further step, and made their music even more interesting. The sax lines were incorporated brightly in the musics. Overall the album is interesting, but I highlight the beautiful passages of saxophone on the songs "The Grave Inversed", "Undercurrent" and "Heavens Black Sea". In addition, the closing song, "On the Shores", is just phenomenal. Certainly, this album is an Extreme Progressive Metal masterpiece.

What a surprise!

I actually dislike his 2 first albums, The Adversary and angL, I think they have a lack of cohesion, and they're very monotone too. But After is quite different. This album is more mature, cohesive and progressive than his previous albums. The incursion of the sax, provided by Jorgen Munkeby, gives the album a different and fresh sound. Every song of this album is flawless, being On The Shores the best song on the album, and probably the best song he ever made. I think that fans of extreme metal will find this album really awesome, and classic progheads will find it at least interesting. The truth here, is that this album deserves your listening, you won't be disappointed.

5 stars.

When I first started listening to this CD I was iffy on the vocals. I decide to stick with it and I am glad I did. When the second song A Grave Inversed came up, I was shock to hear the sax in a extreme metal album but it was so well done it blended nicely with the track. I completed the album and after my first listen I gave it 4 stars. Then I re listened to the CD again and it just clicked.

Each track in this CD is just great. It has a very mature sound and each track feels like it was given the highest attention. The inclusion of the sax gives an almost dark side of the moon sound in a few areas. Overall this is a fantastic album and highly worth a listen.

My first Ihsahn record (and apparently the final one), in short I found this to be a quality prog metal album but not that much to write home about.

It explodes out of the gates with a pair of granny scarers. First up is The Barren Lands which has ferocious energy and some nice, complex, riffing and blistering guitars. However, there's a pervading sense that it's not anything we haven't heard before. Cue second track A Grave Inversed where things go nuts. Not only does the band increase the energy/ferocity/anger by a factor of ten for a brutal, almost excruciating sonic assault that makes The Barren Lands seem like tea with the vicar, but then a saxophone part The Mars Volta might deem "a bit much" comes howling in. BONKERS.

With the third track Ihsahn wisely calms down because to keep up the spirit of A Grave Inversed might lead us to Unexpect (a name to me synonymous with excess in prog metal) territory. On that track, the title one, Ihsahn's commercial side makes itself known as this and a few other tracks (Frozen Lakes On Mars, Heaven's Black Sea) feature choruses that wouldn't be out of place on the radio. This might turn off some of PA's demographic but I think it works- Ihsahn's voice suits these strong hooks and they help give the songs memorable forms and make things catchy. I especially like the dramatic vocal effect used on Heaven's Black Sea' chorus but I do not like the opening part of Austere which is a bit close to Staind/Cold and co for me.

However, while the album doesn't do anything horribly wrong, it also doesn't do much spectacular. A lot of this doesn't seem especially progressive to me and though decent, feels a bit old hat. Particularly culpable is the ten minute closing epic On The Shores which creates a sense of drama but ends up plodding along fairly uneventfully. Things are balanced out by the other epic Undercurrent which engages with nice vocal work and more shifts in tone.

Honorable mentions for Ihsahn's above average lyrics and also to a heroic performance from drummer Asgeir Mickelson whose work here reinforces the notion that you have to be a masochist to drum for one of these outfits.

Nothing special.

This album isn't exactly bad. It just seems unnecessary, especially if you already are familiar with both Emperor and Peccatum. Ihsahn's solo project is much closer to the latter as far as melodies and production goes. The melodies, however, is the biggest drawback. Repeatedly I feel that this is something I have heard before.

There are some exceptions. Especially the track A Grave Inversed appears fresh, much due to the saxophone. The utilizing of sax on this album gives it a dimension that gives it an extra star. I also found the clean vocal parts to be well executed and enjoyable. But as with Peccatum, the production isn't really up to date. It sounds a bit uncoordinated in the more intense parts of the album, while the calmer parts tend to work better.

The album is all over not a bad effort, it just isn't that interesting either. I really like it when the songs get jazzy from the very well executed sax playing, but it is not enough to make me want to put on the album again. The melodies didn't stick after multiple listening, and those parts that did, only seemed to remind me of Peccatums earlier endeavors.

It's a neat trick to use noise as the background of music and to build this progressiveness on it. Because most bands ends by this "noise" thing and it's not Prog then. But what actually is Prog ? Well, hard questions and I unfortunately don't have answers that will please you. Answer is 42 then.

I'll also not go if Ihsahn (name to prevent correct spelling?) deserves better place in charts, that's irrelevant. Important question is whether these additional elements are enough to justify higher rating, or so bad to justify bad rating.

I sometimes review in style that I don't know what rating will I give to the very last moment. This is the case.

I can't listen most hardcore Death Metal / Avantgarde bands, but I can listen "After", so it's somehow weaker in ho/terror bringing than their more unpleasant brothers. It's nothing mellow of symphonic either, but that doesn't matter as long as you can take trash riff style and weak growls.

Anyway, it's interesting how every growl sounds different, but not just a little bit, but quite a lot.

These songs have melody, sometimes good one, but the important thing is that when we mix all these things that you have for sure heard in previous reviews (I don't want to go through this again), add how I like this (a little bit), end with counter argument that it's not so bad (better average), you're on

4(-) position that means: "Marty like it, you're free to try it too, why not after all. You'll probably like it too, but it's not extremely interesting (I wouldn't kill for this music)."

This is my first expirience with ihsahn, and i must say it is quite a good first imprsession. I found them on the list of best prog albums of 2010 and got the album right away. At first i was not impressed and had very little intrest in the extreme metal they performed, i gave up after the first track vowing to give it a second try some other time. I woke up today and listened to it and was stunned by the incredible musicianship the band had,and was shoked to hear a saxaphone jamming along with the rest of the band, although it seems out of place (a sax in a extreme metal band i mean) i assure you it's a very intresting added texture giving the band a very progressive and unheard of sound.a definite must buy album for any progressive fan. They slightly resemble Gojira, and their music is just as good as any Gojira album. 4 out of 5.

When I saw After, Ihsahn's third solo release, in the stores, I was both pleasantly surprised (It was the first time I'd heard of the album) and slightly worried at the same time. I had enjoyed both The Adversary and angL upon their release, but didn't know whether or not Ihsahn could maintain such good quality in songwriting. The first listen quickly brushed off any doubts I once had. After is, without question, among the best music I've yet to hear created by Ihsahn.

After contains several strong guitar riffs, including the riff in the verse of "The Barren Lands", the intro to "Frozen Lakes on Mars", and the main melody in "Heaven's Black Sea".

It's tough for me to list standout tracks on this release. There is a fine balance of tracks with Ihsahn's brand of metal ("The Barren Lands", "Heaven's Black Sea"), and tracks driven by melodic and clean instrumentation and vocals ("After", "Austere"). No matter what form the track takes, they often have rather majestic, progressive qualities. Some are even epic beyond their running time.

There is a good blend of Ihsahn's growling and melodic vocals like on his previous solo work. I'm a fan of his clean voice and am glad he uses his solo albums to showcase it.

Spectacular use is made of the saxophone on this recording, not sounding out of place at all within these metal songs. Whether used in the up-tempo "A Grave Inversed" or the marvelous theme shared by both "Undercurrent" and "On The Shores", Jorgen Munkeby's sax work gives this album an additional splash of colour. The rhythm section of fretless bassist Lars K. Norberg (Nice solo in "Austere"!) and drummer Asgeir Mickelson play quite tastefully.

After is easily worth the investment. The album has qualities that should please Emperor's black metal fans, progressive rock/metal aficionados, and most in between. After is essential listening!

I would say that angL is my favorite album(because of Unhealer).But this album is the best for me(and my favorite).Because is more progressive and the Akerfeldt's influence on Ihsahn's vocals is here.Ihsahn's vocals are peaceful and soft.His screams is characteristic and unique.There are very good riffs(on 8-string guitar!),nice acoustic parts and wonderful saxophone playing by Jurgen Munkeby.

The artwork is mysterious but very good.I think that symbolises the afterlife.But I'm not sure.

My favorite tracks are:The barren lands(my 3rd favorite track),After,Undercurrent,Austere(my 2nd favorite track),On the shores(my favorite track,it has great sad saxophone leads).

This album is an extreme prog metal gem!Maybe the screams will bother some people.But I recommend it to all music fans.

My grade:10/10

I am not a regular prog metal listener, but usually am trying to listen at least most interesting releases when possible. This year I was really pleasantly surprised by Enslaved release. But this ex-Emperor frontman's third solo release is really better!

Ihsahn plays 8-string Ibanez guitar and occasionally keyboards on this album, but this music isn't axe-guitarist album. With his roots on symphonic black metal of Emperor, music on this album is very different from it, and being vary various, shows the trend to post-metal sound.

Compositions strongly differs between each other (for good for sure) and are sounding somewhere between a bit lazy black metal, some trash, melodic prog and some post-metal with free jazz (!) elements. Almost every song has its melody, tempos differ from slow to almost fast trash. Most important is album's atmosphere - differently from many modern metal albums with energy and rhythm absolute dominance, this album is melodic! Possibly,some prog metal fans could be disappointed by plenty of softer and not so heavy moments on the album, but such structure makes it much more interesting and attractive.

Vocals vary from growl and scream to clean voice, but its always sound good. Possible, most attractive and really positive element in all album's music is use of many sax solos, sometimes even free-jazz sax attacks! Far not very usual, but very successfully used on this album combination!

Not radically experimental, this album is more well balanced release,based on best components of modern progressive metal of last few years. Album of modern heavy music, but for pleasant listening, not for being shocked by unusual sounds or radical experiments. And very successful album!

As I mentioned above, it's very possible I missed few more really interesting prog metal releases of this year, but from what I listened of that genre, this album is absolutely the best one!

My rating is 4,5 rounded to 5! Very recommended not only for metal fans, but for every open ears prog lover!

2010 and the majority of releases in the metal field have become faceless troll-cloning affairs, but the old pioneers from the 90s keep surprising me with fresh and inspired albums. And just like Enslaved, also the project around mr. Ihsahn (from their Norwegian soul brothers Emperor) released an inventive and powerful album.

After contains technical modern metal, it's somehow similar to Enslaved's Axioma Ethica Odini but Ihsahn has moved further away from their black metal roots then Enslaved. The hoarse shrieks are still chilling as of old, but the music is more diverse, often rooted in thrash metal, sometimes in black metal, and quite often in Voivod prog metal. Ihsahn even incorporate some elements from jazz and avant, mainly evident in the tasty addition of saxophones and fretless bass. Also the production is fantastic; in an age of overstressed production values this album avoids the constant and deafening loudness of your regular modern metal album.

As usual the vocals are split between clean vocals and vile black metal screams. Both work perfectly on this release and accentuate the great dynamics and diversity on this album. Obviously, the shrieks and growls are a notorious acquired taste and for sure we can expect a negative review pointing at that element any day soon.

This album is comparable to Enslaved's Axioma Ethica Odini but it is more technical and innovative, while Enslaved's album is more atmospheric and intense. I have a slight preference for the intense and atmospheric angle but in fact both albums are equally fantastic. Hail Norway for releasing not less then 3 five-star albums for me in 2010!

Sorry, Ihsahn and metal fans, this album doesn't do it for me. This music seems best when executing a murder or other violent crime (except for maybe "After")--I really find no globally or spiritually redeeming outcomes of this type of music--except as an outlet and release for angst, frustration, anger and rage. personally I'd rather save my hearing and go chop some wood. The occasional soft, slow, or "pretty" melody ("Undercurrent," "After" and "Austere"--and even "On the Shore") is still not enough to make this album one that I would recommend as excellent, but the aforementioned three--along with the instrumentalism and, at times, strong compostion will allow me to rate this with three stars--"good (more like, 'okay'), but (definitely) not essential.

'After' - Ihsahn (8/10)

Best known as the frontman for the legendary black metal band Emperor, Ihsahn's solo work takes quite a different approach than anything we might have heard from his former flagship band. As can be readily heard on his third studio album 'After', the man now takes equal sound from progressive music as he does with black metal, and the end result is an inventive brand of black metal that far outweighs his earlier work in terms of complexity and diversity, but equal in feeling and atmosphere. While not holding as much of a personal significance as his second solo album 'Angl' does, 'After' shows the man developing his progressive metal sound to incorporate more experimental and unpredictable elements, resulting in an excellent album altogether.

With 'Angl', I was greeted with intelligent performance, some technical riffs and proggy elements, but the focus was always around the songwriting and the thought put into it. With 'After' now, the songwriting is fleshed out into a more epic scope, allowing for such longer compositions as 'Undercurrent' and the closer 'On The Shores' to take their place on the album. With greater room for experimentation, Ihsahn lets the songs build on their own time, and the end result is usually very effective musically. However, it does feel as if the songwriting has taken a bit of a toll here when compared to 'Angl'. Despite added complexity to the arrangements and more involved pieces of music, it does make me miss the to-the- point and tight experience the second album had to offer. That being said however, 'After' features some points that could easily surpass almost anything 'Angl' had to offer.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference here when compared to Ihsahn's earlier work is the incorporation of heavy jazz elements, primarily the common use of a tenor saxophone, played brilliantly by Jorgen Munkeby. Although this is certainly a progressive black metal record by and large, it is the saxophone that drives the music quite often, becoming most noticeable with the most frenetic song 'A Grave Inversed', and on a solemn theme that is repeated throughout much of the latter half of the album. On top of the overt jazz influence in the use of saxophone, there is also a fretless bass used that gives Ihsahn's sound an added depth of class to it, proving that he is not an artist that is simply talented in, or limited to the genre of metal.

The production and performance here are both the best Ihsahn has ever done, which only adds to the intensity of the music. Were it not for a few still great, but less interesting moments on the album such as 'Frozen Lakes On Mars' or the greater part of 'Heaven's Black Sea', Ihsahn would have a real masterpiece on his hands.

Surprisingly Textured, Progressive and Rocking Album

While preparing my 2010 year-end best of list, I scanned through alot of youtube clips from albums that I hadn't heard and wasn't all that interested in. Black metal has never been my cup of tea, and what little I'd heard of Ihsahn had been a bit bland to my ear. But the tracks I heard from AFTER were quite promising, and I found myself actually listening to the album 3 times through using this unwieldly format. I finally got the album, and after continuous listening I have to concur that it was one of the best of 2010. I've collected a bit more progressive black metal since then, and I think I finally have some perspective in order to review properly.

As has been noted by other reviewers, AFTER is not black metal with progressive tendencies. It is decidedly progressive metal that just happens to use some black elements. In fact, some of Ihsahn's choice are truly unique, or at least within this genre. Most obvious is the use of saxophone so prominently, and in varied settings. While the meloncholic wail of the sax during "On the Shores" reminds me of Queensryche's "Promised Land" the chaotic whirling lines on "A Grave Inversed" represent one of the few true musical surprises I'd heard in a long time. The sax doesn't sound like misplaced jazz styling or blues, it fits the music and is, well, metal.

Similarly, Ihsahn's 7-string (and 8 I believe) guitar tones are wonderfully rich and aggressive. Screaming harmonics abound, and the combination of growl and bite makes for one of the best modern tones I've heard. Ihsahn also writes good riffs. In a day where virtually every riff in metal can be traced to previous work, the guitar here not only is intellectually interesting, but emotionally evocative. The opening track's behind the beat grind makes my spine want to twist, while "A Grave Inversed" (my favorite track on the album) sports a frentic sixteenth note riff that is simply brilliant. Vocally, Ihsahn's cleans are better than most metal singers with the refrain of "After" being particularly good. He actually has a sense of melody and AFTER features several singable choruses. His black harsh vocals sound crazed while keeping the lyrics comprehendible, but are a bit thin at times. The lyrics are typically gloomy and violent, but are appropriate to the music. He's no Mikael, but uses what he has quite effectively.

Bottom line: Great riffs, great instrument sounds, mature and effective songwriting. A few new twists and new recombinations of familiar aspects of metal. Excellent but not masterpiece.

Ihsahn's post-Emperor projects have never quite gained the prominence of the mighty Emperor, but albums like After might be worth a reappraisal if you happen to like the more progressive direction his work has taken. As with much of his post-Emperor work, it's a mixture of progressive metal and black metal influences, and I'd say it's more on the prog metal side of the equation than black metal (blackened prog metal rather than progressive black metal), with really only the vocals steering towards a more black metal direction a lot of the time. Jørgen Munkeby of Shining's saxophone is an unexpected addition - for better or worse, the mighty sax hasn't had much of a presence in metal - but a welcome one. Still, I can't help but think that as far as experimental progressive metal with a black metal aesthetic goes, both Shining and Ihsahn's unleashed apprentices in Leprous kind of outshine this.

Ihsahn, formerly the lead singer of legendary Norwegian black metal band Emporer, has stated that After was the final album in a trilogy, the first two albums being the prior two releases, the first of his post-Emperor solo career. While the musical or lyrical connection between these albums is flimsy (perhaps nonexistent?), they did serve to prove that Ihsahn's musical ambitions were greater and more varied that what Emperor could have possibly supported within the confines of the Norwegian black metal scene. On After, Ihsahn showcased his ability to craft experimental and unconventional progressive death metal that was still relatively engaging and accessible.

On After, pain and sadness are pervasive. The periodic saxophone lead symbolizes both the soul's cry but also, given that its sax lead on a death metal album, the absolute absurdity of it all. Ihsahn may no longer be making black metal, but black metal still permeates his soul.

"After" is the 3rd full-lengh studio album by Norwegian progressive metal artist Ihsahn. The album was released through Candlelight Records in January 2010. It´s the successor to "angL" from 2008. All instruments and vocals are handled by Ihsahn, except the drums which are played by Asgeir Mickelson and session musicians Lars K. Norberg and Jørgen Munkeby who perform fretless bass and saxophone.

Stylistically "After" is a natural continuation of the progressive metal sound on "angL (2008)". Ihsahn sings both raw blackened vocals, but also performs strong clean vocals, and the instrumental part of the music is a sophisticated and very dynamic combination of progressive metal/rock and various more extreme metal oriented elements (and the occasional nod towards avant garde). Both the vocal and the instrumental performances on the album are of a high quality and generally just reek class. References to artists like Opeth, Enslaved, and Leprous are valid.

While Ihsahn certainly isn´t the most extreme of artists, there are still some relatively hard-edged moments, and his raw snarling vocals are also pretty rough and probably wouldn´t be easy to appreciate, if you´re not accustomed to extreme metal vocals. The music also features both melodic sections, and some melancholic atmospheric moments though, which should please fans of atmospheric progressive metal/rock. So it´s safe to say the material is varied and loaded with contrasts. Dark/light, loud/quiet, hard-edged/mellow. Ihsahn masters most elements to perfection.

All material on the 8 track, 53:04 minutes long album are well written and memorable. While all tracks are equally strong and nothing is sub par on the album, the 10 minutes long "Undercurrent" is to my ears one of the highlights. "After" features a powerful, clear, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, and upon conclusion it´s another high quality release by Ihsahn, showing both enough development to keep the fans excited, but also consistency of sound and quality. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)