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RELEASE DATE: 2010-01-26
LABEL: Candlelight Records
TRACKLIST:
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
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After
Ihsahn
THE REVIEW:
The master of melodic metal Ihsahn, is back with his most prolific solo effort to date, finally moving away from the overly experimental sound of albums past, Ihsahn has returned to his roots. Awaiting you is a masterful exploration of the heavy metal genre, which will take you from a low sludge filled melody, to a in your face explosion of sound. Vocally Ihsahn has never been stronger, his signature rasp filled growl never once wavering in its intensity as it dominates each and every song. For years people have been saying that once Ihsahn retired from Emperor, he went off the deep end by experimenting too much, and whatever else they could come up with. Truth be told, so what if he experimented a little bit, to me it’s all part of growing as an artist. I’ll admit that I went through the same thing when Katatonia went from doom, to mediocre melodic rock. But the truth is once I realized I was being irrational, I was able to put my distaste aside. For all of you that might feel this way, I am asking you to do the same as me and put aside your distaste and give this a solid chance.
“After” rides the musical gamut from soft melodic heavy metal, to in your face black metal with the intensity of emperor. To me “After” feels like Ihsahns take on Opeth, whether it’s good or bad choice on his part is a call that you’re going to have to make on your own. You are either going to love this, or hate it with a passion, but I do ask that you at least give it a chance. I feel that Ihsahn has included a little something for everybody on here. Whether you are a fan of him in “Emperor” or a fan of his solo efforts, “After” should provide enough variety to keep you interested. The guitar work on “After” is exactly what you have come to expect from Ihsahn, extremely technical and extremely fast. But there is one thing I just cannot stand, and that is the random saxophone solos that seem to pop up out of nowhere only to ruin the song. Just picture yourself listing some awesome kick ass metal song, only to be interrupted by some gay saxophone! I really do not know what in the hell Ihsahn was thinking including them on “After”, it almost ruined the whole album for me. Experimentation can lead to magical music or it can lead to utter crap, whichever the case it is a very fine line. For the past few solo albums Ihsahn has strayed from that line and ventured too far out into the unknown. Thankfully on “After” he has fallen back in line and created a masterful example of music for those who are willing to listen. Look for “After” to hit store shelves via Candle Light Records on the 26th of January, so get off your high horse and get it.
POSTED BY: kanwulf on 2010-01-05
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