Prog Recommendations/Featured albums - Listen to the music of today / #8 Ihsahn

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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)."

Review by ../Collaborators.asp?id=25551" rel="nofollow - snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR ZART & JR/F Team

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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!

Review by ../Collaborators.asp?id=25702" rel="nofollow - Bonnek
COLLABORATOR Prog Metal Team

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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!