Ihsahn has been out there playing music for coming up on 30 years, but he has not limited himself to just one genre of music. His upcoming release, “Pharos”, explores a dark and heavy side of music, but it’s nowhere near the darkness and heaviness that he became known for producing under the moniker Emperor. One doesn’t perform in this genre of music to become a favourite, according to the press for this release.
Since 2006 Ihsahn has been flying solo in genres such as his foundation black metal, prog, avant-garde jazz, electronica, darkwave, tech-metal, and ambient meditations. His fans have always experienced various creative muses from the man as he delivers something entirely new each time. How better for an artist than to produce something as far out of left field as to be coming from outside the league altogether? Certainly a back-catalogue to get lost in.
“Pharos” is the second of two dark / light works; “Telemark” was due for release in time for Norway’s Inferno Festival, but the pandemic put paid to that. We can still enjoy that today, and Ihsahn still has the props and effects he bought for the show. Enjoy on your stereo or headphones in the meantime.
Until then, come September, we have “Pharos” to enjoy: Losing Altitude starts this record with Phil Collins/In The Air Tonight / Moody Blues/Knights in White Satin / Alan Parsons Project/Eye In The Sky with heavy, heavy bass and deep vocal overlays with intricate instrumentation like that to which I have been listening recently (Carmilla, Unveil, Victim Of Illusion) but especially Peter Hamer.
Spectre at the Feast starts out all laid back by comparison but, sure enough, kicks in after a short intro with dark quasi-Roxette minor-progressions. Then the title track delivers deep, dark Alan Parsons with augmented minor chords, a huge gothic choir, and two heavier styled interlude in which I truly expected some death growls for emphasis at the first. Certainly knocked me for a “Wow!” when it kicked in!
There are two cover songs at the end of this EP. With the twin-reverb running on full, Roads is Portishead as you would expect it, featuring an uncredited vocalist who could well be Beth Gibbons. And then there is the hat-tip to Aha– featuring Einar Solberg of Leprous. This cover sounds for all the world like Morten Harket with the addition of those now-familiar seering Ihsahn guitars. A self-proclaimed fan of the 80s-Norwegian popsters, Ihsahn has pulled this one out of obscurity for those iof us who don’t know Aha beyond their biggest hit. A choice closer for this five-track exploration of mostly-dark but also popesque musings.
I am certainly looking forward to diving down the Ihsahn rabbit hole, but for those who are familiar with his work, expect the unexpected, as always! How far can one expand their creativity? Only Ihsahn fans will know.