Ihsahn – After – 2010

Release date 25 January 2010

The third release of Ihsahn solo-project will be After. This is already one of my most anticipated releases of 2010. As a fan of Emperors work and also the previous releases of this band (though I hardly listen to those albums) it is hard to stay objective but I will try anyway. First of I must say the album did not disappoint me. It is still has the highly progressive/avant-garde sound of the first 2 albums. Actually I cant say I see any real flaws in this album. It has the extreme metal riffs common in earlier work of Ihsahn in other bands (mostly Emperor) combined with previous avant-garde projects like Peccatum. Most noteworthy on the album is the addition of a saxophone on certain tracks (‘A Grace Inversed’, ‘Undercurrent’, . With its free range and highly improvised sound it gives the album twists and parts you don’t expect. It also has the power to actually give me goose bumps on the track I like most on the album namely, ‘Undercurrent’. This song is also a breaking point in the album (its track 5) as it is a lot slower and less groovy than the first few songs and leads to ‘Austere’ also a slower song. After these minutes of more progressive sound the music turns to a more epic/aggressive style in the songs ‘Heavens Black Sea and ‘On the Shores’.

Conclusion:

I must say the whole album gives me hope for other releases planned this year. The album has a lot of good features like great build ups, solo’s of the highest quality, awesome clean vocals and of course the use of a great saxophonist. I would highly recommend this cd to people listening to bands like Solefald and Opeth. I cant wait to see Ihsahn live as they have already confirmed a few dates (hopefully I will be attending)

1. The Barren Lands
2. A Grave Inversed
3. After
4. Frozen Lakes On Mars
5. Undercurrent
6. Austere
7. Heavens Black Sea
8. On the Shores

Ihsahn – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Asgeir Mickelson – Drums
Lars Koppang Norberg – Bass
Jorgen Munkeby – Saxophone

Reviewer: Roel