Band's List Progressive Black Ihsahn AngL

Ihsahn can comfortably be defined as a musical genius, a virtuoso and progenitor of 4 of the finest metal albums ever to appear on the radar of this writer’s musical experience.

Every Emperor release was a masterclass in technicality, atmosphere, arrangement and inspiration. ‘In the Nightside Eclipse’ is a cornerstone of my listening evolution, the black metal album that got me into it, as its scope and delivery was just so impressive to me.

But what since Emperor’s self-inflicted demise ?
Samoth and Trym went on to form death metal juggernauts Zyklon who also appear to get better with each subsequent release, showing that there was an excellent creative collaboration in Emperor, but Ihsahn’s first solo album, ‘The Adversary’ was met with mixed reactions and disappointment by many as it appeared to be as if Ihsahn was free to reign, but he was almost unwilling to fully release his visions.

And yet it was still an excellent album of potent material, which always begged that question :
what if it went further ? Well, thankfully he has returned with his second proper solo work, and what a work it is. Not only has he fully released his incredible talents, but Ihsahn has that uncanny ability to go into all regions of extreme metal, from harsh black to progressive and yet it never feels disjointed.

Opener ‘Misanthrope’ unleashes with a bombastic roar and Ihsahn’s instantly recognisable vocal stylings remind you of prime Emperor album openers like ‘Curse You All Men !’ Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt makes a passionate appearance on ‘Unhealer‘ and adds depth to a melancholic, powerful track that could go down as one of the great collaborations in extreme music.
It contains beautiful pastoral clean guitar sections, great death vocal interplay between the two men and comes across as an essential mix in the album, not just a showy collaboration intent on bringing in Opeth fans (etc...)
‘Thredony’ possesses a vulnerability in its acousticness, and Ihsahn’s progressive streak appears in full force in ‘The Alchemist’. His hired hands on bass and drums, Lars Norberg and Asegir Mickelson from Spiral Architects, keep the performance tight and and natural, and play admirably. Its important not to forget that contribution but the star as always is Ihsahn. His performance is nothing short of magnificent, his impassioned vocal work on the verses of ‘Emancipation’ and his technical, flowing guitarwork that punctuates every song on the album is a delight to behold.

Finally, we have the kind of work anyone who knows what he can create has expected, and it has been more than worth the wait. Long may the Emperor reign…

Ihsahn's 2008 solo LP, "AngL" is a highly polished, well produced work of both classic and progressive black metal. Although there are some tracks that interweave both styles within, most of the songs are either one or the other. "Misanthrope", "Malediction", and "Monolith" feature all of the classic elements of black metal including playing style and arrangement. "Monolith" is the exceptional track due to its full bodied bass lead that kicks off a cool rhythm riff that stays on top all the way to the outro. From the progressive side of the metal fence lies the best cut from the album: "Unhealer". It's not enough that the guest vocalist is Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, but that the track musically bears his signature as well with sweeping soft interludes and an advanced solo section makes it that much better. Out of that the sonic high point is the chorus itself with the two vocalists trading off lines in an unholy alliance of black and death. Another great track high in variety is "Elevator". Four parts with three movements of different speeds, the lead work is impressive including the underlined phrasing at its refrain. Hard or soft, fast or slow, a common writing stance on "AngL" is a minimum of embellishment with appearances both short or restricted to breaks. "Scarab" has a piano break, "Threnody" is introduced with accoustic guitar, and any synthesizer that appears is usually relegated to back up chorus duty like "Alchemist" and "Elevator". That means that the songs in general are not complex, although they are advanced by design. What "AngL" is in essence is a well recorded, slick, sterling silver work of art with an evolved level of songwriting. The only negative observation that could be made about "AngL" is that its split personality leaves no imprint of dominance. Ihsahn's "AngL" is not a spectacular record, but it is very, very good.