Ihsahn: After

Continuing the exploratory tradition set forth on his first two solo albums The Adversary and angL, ex-Emperor frontman Ihsahn has delivered his most diverse offering to date with his latest opus entitled After. While he certainly hasn't forgone his symphonic black metal roots as there are still plenty of examples of pure, unbridled aggression, this album feels like more of a breakthrough as he continues to evolve further and put just a bit more distance between himself and the past.

Utterly compelling from first icy, sounding guitar stabs of "The Barren Lands" the track quickly surges forward into a gloriously heavy and melodic epic full of his trademark crisp soaring leads, coupled with the trade off snarling and clean vocal approach. No sooner does this sterling opening number reach its conclusion before the listener is launched headlong into the swirling, densely layered, chaotic maelstrom of "A Grave Inversed", the first track to take advantage of the squonking sax work of Jorgen Munkeby from the Norweigian jazz / metal outfit Shining. While Munkeby's almost free jazz method of playing is used sparingly throughout the album he waves his tapestry of sound flawlessly, and in such a way that it brilliantly compliments the crushingly heavy guitar riffs on "Heaven's Black Sea" as well as adding to the distinctly melancholic aura set forth on the two epics compositions "Undercurrent" and the slamming final anthem "On The Shores".

The stellar contributions of bassist Lars Norberg and drummer Asgeir Mickelson should also be noted as they once again provide the requisite muscular bottom end and deep rhythmic grooves to drive these anthems forward. As for the man himself, well he's taken both his music and performances to a completely new level on After. Vocally he deftly slides back and forth between his harsh, demonic and tortured delivery, with a forlorn clean style on the inward musings of the title track, and the post-black metal feel of "Austere", which highlights a heaping dose of swelling, psychedelic sounding organ playing amid Norberg's, meaty, fretless bass work and the delicate acoustic guitar passages. He also puts the organ to work on "Frozen Lakes On Mars", another track which is chock full of rapidly shifting tempos, soaring leads and complex guitar melodies.

After is nothing short of a masterpiece from beginning to end and it cannot be viewed as anything less than one of the first, if not the first 'must have' metal albums of 2010. The gauntlet has been thrown down and the bar has been set pretty damned high; it will be interesting to see if anyone else is up for the challenge of putting together a collection of music that is as convincing and diverse as this within the metal genre.

Track Listing
1) The Barren Lands
2) A Grave Inversed
3) After
4) Frozen Lakes On Mars
5) Undercurrent
6) Austere
7) Heaven's Black Sea
8) On The Shores

Added: February 6th 2010
Reviewer: Ryan Sparks
Score:
Related Link: Candlelight Records
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Language: english

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