IHSAHN – new album out

Norwegian progressive metal visionary IHSAHN has released his new self-titled album on February 16. He has dared to push the realms of creative expressionism even further with his eighth studio offering. The release will embody two melodically interlinked versions of the same album: one metal, one fully orchestral, both creating a cinematically influenced masterpiece that is simply, definitively entitled Ihsahn.

More than any other artist to emerge from the fertile black metal scene of the early ‘90s, Ihsahn has firmly established himself as an unpredictable maverick. Frontman and chief composer with the legendary Emperor, he re-wrote the rulebook on epic extreme music across a series of albums that are still widely regarded as classics. 

Ihsahn’s unique approach and liberated musical ethos ensured that when he embarked on a solo career, fans were primed to expect the unexpected. Ihsahn has created his best and most unique and powerful album to date.

“With this release, I wanted to dig deep into the core essentials of my musical background; black/extreme-metal and my love of orchestral music and soundtracks. I approached the writing with the intent to present the material in its full-blown metal expression, but also to arrange the orchestral parts in such a way that they would work independently. Somehow an attempt to write a soundtrack within the structures of the full production, allowing me to explore different, and sometimes contrasting, variations of essentially the same music. In line with the cinematic inspirations, music and lyrics follow two parallel narratives with recurring themes throughout.  The main story is presented in the metal version, whereas the secondary story is rooted in the orchestral version, although bleeding into the main story.”

Self-produced and scored over the course of three years, the metal version has been mixed by Jens Bogren, the orchestral version mixed by Joel Dollié and both versions were mastered by Tony Lindgren. Ihsahn freely admits that the process pushed him to his limits. It began, simply, with a piano.

Joining Ihsahn on this album are Tobias Ørnes Andersen and Tobias Solbakk on drums and percussion, with Ihsahn‘s son Angell Solberg Tveitan adding additional percussion and violins by Chris Baum. Artwork for the album was created by Ritxi Ostariz.

Not satisfied to only create a dual-record, there is also a conceptual story which underpins both sides of Ihsahn – a pair of separate but interwoven Wagnerian narratives revolving around the traditional hero’s journey, and while Ihsahn is reticent to tell all, he is confident that meaning will soon emerge for listeners willing to show equal commitment.  

“To create something worthwhile, you can’t aim for what an audience might expect, but you can aim to make something the best that it can be. When given the opportunity to make a record, it’d be arrogant to assume it’d be another Dark Side Of The Moon, or OK Computer, or Black Album, but somehow it’d be arrogant not to try!?! Admittedly, this is the hardest and most complex musical project I have ever done, and in the end, on a personal level, also the most gratifying. I really had to step up, and I learned so much in the process.”

And from the orchestral grandiosity of opening track Cervus Venator-whichever side of Ihsahn you choose to sit down with first -the epic, soundtrack qualities and richly hewn textures of Ihsahn are immediately apparent. It is a masterwork by any standard, and the definitive expression of Ihsahn’s boundless capabilities as an artist. It’s a journey he’s eager for his dedicated fans to join.

“It’s a privilege that I get to make music and travel the world to play my music. And when I say this is subjectively my greatest musical achievement so far, it has nothing todo with ego or prestige, but rather to do with gratitude for the experience. Art taps into the metaphysical and the archetypes of our existence-it lets us experience loss, death, love -it prepares us for all of those things in some way. That’s the value, that’s the perspective I wish to create from.”