Ihsahn - After review
| Band: | Ihsahn |
| Album: | After |
| Style: | Extreme progressive metal |
| Release date: | January 25, 2010 |
| A review by: | BitterCOld |
Disc I
01. The Barren Lands
02. A Grave Inversed
03. After
04. Frozen Lakes On Mars
05. Undercurrent
06. Austere
07. Heaven's Black Sea
08. On The Shores
Disc II [Limited Edition DVD - Live At The Rockefeller Festival In Oslo]
01. Intro
02. Invocation
03. Called By The Fire
04. Scarab
05. Emancipation
06. Unhealer
07. Misanthrope
08. Thus Spake The Nightspirit [Emperor cover]
09. Outro
+ Interview
+ Studio Reports
After marks the third solo release of the former Emperor front man. I think, as the saying goes, "the third time's the charm" is fitting here. Ihsahn's prior two solo efforts were cerebral affairs that at times seemed perhaps too heady and just didn't click. This one seems to have fallen into place quite nicely.
The musical approach varies from track to track. In some, such as "A Grave Inversed" and bits and pieces elsewhere, as in sections of "Undercurrent," you can clearly hear the similarities with Emperor (the later years), whereas others are of a less frantic and frenetic pace and show off a proggy approach. The title track, "After" is damn near a ballad? though, fortunately, not in the cheesy hair-metal sense.
Vocally, Ihzzy's approach varies as well, depending on the music. His familiar screeching is present on the faster, harsher tracks and passages, though he shifts to a flat-out pleasant "clean" voice where warranted - namely the slower sections. Frankly, both approaches work and fit within the framework of the music.
"Frozen Lakes On Mars," my favorite track on the album, is a good showcase for the varying approaches. The build up and verse riffs are quite Emperor-esque, aggressive complex riffs with screeched vocals, giving way to a slower, catchy, clean-voiced chorus.
The production is great, each component is audible, clear, and with adequate "space" ? it is almost sterile, in a way. Not the bad, bland, overdone sterile that some black metal bands have adopted - but rather coldly clinical, cerebral. This approach is fitting, given the nature of the artist.
The use of an eight string guitar gives the music additional depth. And, as is oft mentioned, there is also a saxophone present on many tracks. Zomg! A saxophone! How unique. How outside the box! How progressive of him!
I kid, I kid. Despite being possibly the most mentioned/talked about part of the album from what I've read elsewhere, it does bring a great element to the music that is (almost) worthy of the hype. For the most part, it fits in quite nicely, whether adding texture over some of the more mid-paced, open riffs, such as in the midsection of "Undercurrent" and "Heaven's Black Sea" or chaotically blowing away in place of a guitar lead over ripping riffs as in "A Grave Inversed". The sax does seem clumsy and awkward, however, when chugging along trying to match along with the intense Emperor style riffing in "A Grave Inversed." Overall it's a welcome addition, though, lending additional atmosphere and peculiarity to the tracks which feature the instrument.
Sure, some of the songs take a while to develop and seem to lag a bit, particularly "After", which at times makes me want to hit the 'next' button to see what is, well, after? but these are minor quibbles. All in all this is a fairly mammoth album with lots of different facets to keep the listener enthralled.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 25.02.2010 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. |
Comments
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Comments: 46
Visited by: 450 users
| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
8.0 is an overall rating and not entirely based upon solely those four components. it's a general feeling score. to me, it was a very good album, i'm glad i spent the $15 on it, but not one that i'd find leapfrogging the bulk of my cd collection in the royal rumble for play time on my stereo. also those subscores can only take whole numbers, so if something is in between an 8 or 9, i generally rounded up. i can separate whether or not a song is well crafted or shows good musicianship from whether or not i actually like the song itself. for example, "After" might be well composed and well executed, sure, but that doesn't mean i don't want to skip it when it comes up. as far as originality goes, there was nothing that was jawdroppingly unique. different approach than past albums? sure. better put together? undoubtedly. but nothing that surprised me or blew me away. i find it a very good album. hooray. you might find it your album of the year thus far, that's great. i'd give the nod to High On Fire. hooray for different tastes.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
I really should listen to this, I am a huge Emperor fan after all.
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| Itoc Trønder Posts: 70  |
10/10 easy  It's good to hear something new & mixed with the old: Ihsahn delivers a better packaged than last time!
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| BudDa Elite Posts: 887  |
"there is also a saxophone present on many tracks. Zomg! A saxophone! How unique. How outside the box! How progressive of him!"Haha Anyway, I loved the saxophone on this album. Its the sole reason why I keep coming back to After..
---- Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
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| Clintagräm Shrinebuilder Posts: 5773  |
From what I've heard, the instrumentals sound much better than before. Of course, I've only heard two songs, but I liked those more than other Ihsahn songs I've heard. I actually really enjoyed the clean vocals on "After." It reminded me of a Devin Townsend/Garm type song. Really good, unfortunately I'm not a fan of his harsh vocals, so most of material never really hits home for me. Good, revealing review.
---- The force will be with you, always.
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| RimV Posts: 5  |
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| Konrad Mormon Storm Posts: 707  |
I respect the review and think BitterC0ld was fair in giving Ihsahn an 8. I gave the album a 10, because I think it helps the metal genre enter an entirely new area. The sax was also used in the drowned at sea 3 pt. epic from nachtmystium...so it isn't anything new...but as a jazz fan who has always thought the instruments, musicianship, and overall song structure were similar b/t jazz and metal...this album is the beginning of the two genres starting to merge. I respect Ihsahn for what he has done throughout his entire career. He not only produced what is arguably one of the best black metal albums of all time (welkin...) but has now arguably written, recorded, and mastered an album that carries metal into the new decade. Coming from someone who lives in the city of jazz, what Ihsahn has accomplished here is far from pretentious. He was innovative with his concepts and has invited countless musicians to enter the world of metal. Thank you Ihsahn!
---- Brujerizmo!
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| finenecroshine Posts: 6 |
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| Eddie Misery Posts: 96  |
I gave the album a 10, but I thought this was a great review. More importantly, a FAIR review. I was nervous that we'd get someone to review this album that fit right in with all those people who hated Emperor's "Prometheus" album, and thinks of all of Ihsahn's solo work as somehow "overindulgent", bla bla, etc. etc........I actually read that somewhere yesterday, somebody saying that. How can a solo project be OVERindulgent?? It's a SOLO project, which people do for the chance to INDULGE themselves, to do something they might not otherwise have the time or the opportunity to do with other bands/artists. Haha -- anyway -- awesome review. Great album. Anyone who's curious should just cave in and pick it up, it's WELL worth it. It has quickly become not only one of my most favorite recent albums, but also one of my favorite albums period.
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
I hate brass instruments. I think I was let down by how un-Emperor it was. Not that I expected it to be "Prometheus Mk II" or anything, but I wouldn't say any of this album reminded me of Emperor apart from his vocals (obviously).
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| frankeli Account deleted |
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
In regards to solo projects being over indulgent - that's easy. the musician could be one of those types that needs band members to try and rein them in when they go overboard. without the counter, they could easily overdo it and just make a sonic mess. as for the Emperor comparison, it's not an overwhelming or overarching similarity, but an occasional one. it's clear in "An Inverted Grave" (sax aside) and sporadically elsewhere, like around the 5:38 mark of "Undercurrent"
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| annodomini Posts: 784  |
Written by Baz Anderson on 26.02.2010 at 15:00 ANd why does it have to remeber Emperor. Insahn is not Emperor.
---- the riddle wants to be...
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
Written by annodomini on 26.02.2010 at 19:44 Obviously... Black metal I like... half extreme progressive metal with a saxophone, not so much...
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| finenecroshine Posts: 6 |
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| Slyfang Posts: 409  |
Written by Baz Anderson on 26.02.2010 at 20:13 stop whining baz, he's not making music to please your narrow minded ilk. if you want black metal, go listen to black metal instead of expecting Ihsahn to grant your wishes
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 14:14 It's a shame to see how people throw this ridiculous 'open-mindedness' argument at your face each time someone states he doesn't like something. The most stupid, shallow, void argument one can find. Like I said on the Helloween album thread, I'm proud of being 'close-minded' for some reasons. And one of those reasons is I can defend what I like without using the lamest argument of all that only puts the blame on the other person without solving anything.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 14:14 I have not once claimed that he is making music for me. I know how things work, I know he's doing his own thing - and I knew that it wouldn't be my ideal album before I even heard it. Come on, give me a little more respect than that.
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| Slyfang Posts: 409 |
Written by Baz Anderson on 27.02.2010 at 15:30 give some respect for the musician at least. your comment basically like you dislike the album because it doesn't sound enough like emperor.. it's ridiculous to expect black metal from Ihsahn when he hasn't been doing it for years
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 15:36 You're not understanding me. I didn't expect black metal from this. Like I said, I knew it wouldn't exactly be my cup of tea before I even heard it...
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 15:36 It would have been much better to explain things this way right from the start, instead of blaming Baz for his supposed narrow-mindedness, isn't it? Now it's easy to understand your point of view. And it really makes sense.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Slyfang Posts: 409 |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.02.2010 at 15:24 don't get all dramatic now. it's clearly not a stupid or shallow argument BECAUSE open minded people can actually see music for what it is instead of CONSTANTLY comparing everything to their unchanging expectations. there's nothing to be proud of about narrow-mindedness, and by this i don't mean conservativism. don't confuse the two. i'm assuming that you're a conservative in this case, because narrow-mindedness is just ignorant
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 15:57 Most of the time, when I see people use the open-mindedness argument, it's from fanboys who can't find anything better to defend their beloved bands even when those bands are quite shitty, so they blame others for their close-mindedness.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Slyfang Posts: 409 |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.02.2010 at 16:48 i hope you're not insinuating that i'm a fanboy, and Ihsahn is shit.. i was defending him against meaningless criticism
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 18:57 No, no, no. I wasn't talking of you. It was a general comment. I don't know if you're a fanboy or not, so I won't make accusations. As for meaningless criticism, however, I would say that it can appear meaningless to you but it has a meaning for the person who posts the criticism.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Slyfang Posts: 409 |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.02.2010 at 19:34 criticism is only valid when it's objective. when it's subjective, it becomes meaningless. but i can admit that what he said might have not been meant as criticism, but as a comment
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
Written by Slyfang on 27.02.2010 at 19:39 in regards to music, isn't it all subjective, based upon the listener? and golly, he admitted it wasn't HIS cup of tea... but please continues useless keyboard pounding.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Slyfang Posts: 409 |
Written by BitterCOld on 27.02.2010 at 19:49 i STOPPED already, so shut up. and no it isn't all subjective
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