IHSAHN

— First review of this album —

'Scarab' - Ihsahn (N/A)

Being a big fan of both Emperor and the solo work of Ihsahn, it should come as no surprise that I like this song a good deal. Melding the primordial rage of black metal with the intelligence and complexity of progressive rock and metal, Ihsahn's work makes for excellent listening if you're not opposed to black metal. In any case, this song 'Scarab' is a great chapter in the 'Angl' album and although it is far from my favourite (and certainly not the best choice of single) it is a great metal track, and I am sure I would be attracted to the album after having newly listened to this.

It is my personal belief that the track 'Unhealer' would have done the best job as a single for Ihsahn's sophomore; alot of melody and strong songwriting (not to mention; a guest vocal appearance by none other than Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt) would have made for the perfect song to get people to explore more of the man's solo music.

I can see why 'Scarab' was chosen however. It revolves around a progressive metal riff, coupled with some competent growls and even a melodic, atmospheric bridge to tie the knot. Certainly not my favourite Ihsahn track, but a fine addition to the man's growing list of penned songs.

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!

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.

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)."

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.

'Angl' - Ihsahn (8/10)

Once the front man of Emperor, guitarist and vocalist Ihsahn has come a long way from the primal times of early black metal. Now a respected individual in both the black and progressive metal circles, he is certainly one to impress with this; his second release. While 'Angl' can feel a bit pressured at times, a good performance and great songwriting takes Ihsahn's blackened roots and projects it to a whole new level of creative spirit.

One of the first things that the typical metal fan will notice with this album is appearance of Opeth vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt on the third track; entitled 'Unhealer.' As one of my personal favourite vocalists, Akerfeldt does a great job of using a warm, clean voice to counterpoint Ihsahn's screams. While I wasn't a fan of Emperor before getting 'Angl' (I am now,) hearing that Akerfeldt was on this album was a great way to convince me to buy the album, and the performance works out to be much more than just a sales pitch.

The songwriting is kept under pretty average song lengths and structures, although there are instances- such as in the song Elevator- where the music trails into something soft and different. There are amazing riffs aplenty here, which makes the fact that there isn't a whole lot of technical experimentation work with the album instead of against it. That said, this is not the most ground-breaking piece of metal in the world. Instead, it takes existing black metal conventions, and transforms it into something fresh and layered. While the majority of the vocals are 'extreme' in nature, it's a nice change for him to go clean for a bit, which adds another dimension of melody.

Ihsahn has done something here that is just short of being a masterpiece. Had it been for a little more detail to album flow and continuity and one or two more highlight tracks (there are already plenty to mention) 'Angl' would have surely become a landmark in the history of metal. While the mark might have been hit here, I have no doubt that in the future, Ihsahn has the potential not only to hit, but absolutely demolish the barriers of what black metal can do. A great, rocking progressive metal album.

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.

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.

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.

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.