Thursday, January 28, 2010

Ihsahn: After

From the day I started listening to Emperor, I knew Ihsahn is a genius in his turf. He is blessed with exceptional musicianship & the technicalities to manifest his ideas. He is now living a shadow of his former establishment, which was quite a fraction of his true capacity.
After is Ihsahn's 3rd solo adventure since laying down his Emperor cloak. This is the punter's favourite album because it showcases the individual at his best. We all know 'best' is subjective because the materials laid down in After involve trace amounts of his musical past, it's a subsequent development which arguably peaked here. The layperson out there would label this 'progressive' as oppossed to treating it in isolation of preconceived opinions but that is beyond control relating to the nature of the music. After is a peerless effort. The music per se is a melting pot of intensity & exceptional taste. It is also peppered with beautiful quirks- would you expect some saxaphone solos? Or perhaps some chapman stick overtones.? We know Ihsahn recently associated himself with an 8-string guitar (Ibanez) & that makes its presence well heard here. This is a fresh acquisition for me but I've listened to the entire album more than 5x... Hauntingly beautiful.

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