Black Metal History Month - Ihsahn : "s/t"

The Emperor frontman returns for his 8th solo album, taking his black metal past and running it through a wild, wandering filter of progressive rock. This is not to say there is not black metal in and of itself. The second song is a more venomous excursion in that. There are symphonic elements but also hefty syncopated punches, as his knack of labyrinth arrangements continues to create winding passages that twist and turn in odd time signatures. He is not just hitting you with blast beats, and he still uses plenty of clean vocals to contrast his impressive snarl that has not lost any of its power. This is a two-disc set that also offers a symphonic version of the album that I need to review here. There are enough symphonic elements in this version to get the point across. 

"Twice Born" is an example of how he blends the symphonic elements, without compromising the aggression. Things ebb down to a more melodic tone for "A Taste of the Ambrosia".  Midway into the song, things get more dramatic.  "Blood Trails to Love" finds him employing the kind of harsher cry that reminds me of King Diamond. One of his earlier influences. This bleeds over into the riff that opens "Hubris and the Blue Devils" which also sounds like something from a King Diamond album. Which coming from me is more of a compliment. The meat of the song is a mathy angular tenque sion. 

The is a more opaque prog sheen over the more melodic 'The Distance Between Us". It works as a song but is not as gripping as the previous songs. The last actual song and not the symphonic outro is a display of cinematic grandiosity.  I think he has proven he would be capable of scoring movies. I will give this album a 9.5, as he lived up to his ambitions. I do not think it is his best solo album, but when measured against metal music as a whole certainly more thought-provoking than most. 

 

pst79