Ihsahn
angL

For this new album, Ihsahn surrounds himself with some of the best members that the Metal scene can currently offer. Firmly established in his role as a vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist, the former Emperor recruits into his project Lars K. Norberg on bass, famous for his dazzling participation in "A Sceptic Universe" by Spiral Architect, and the drummer Asgeir Mickelson, who has worked with Borknagar and Vintersorg among others. An all-star lineup is not always synonymous with great work, and even in this case, it is not a great work we are discussing. This goes beyond that, great would mean underestimating this work. At the moment, this is the best metal album of 2008, Ihsahn and his crew deliver a true masterpiece of music.

The genre is described as "Extreme Progressive Metal," but I find it reductive to describe it that way. In this album, there are fusions of multiple genres, music for every taste, and everything is perfectly united, giving the album its own soul. The instrumental performance of all the members is superb; the keyboards create atmospheres sometimes dark, sometimes dreamy, Norberg on bass proves to be one of the best around, really making his instrument speak both in situations where the music is more violent and when he has to create sulfurous atmospheres, Jazz-Fusion touches are of course not lacking, recalling the work done by Lars in Spiral Architect, Mickelson on drums is a metronome, he doesn't miss a beat, the use of the double bass drum is swift and skillful, and every break is studied and executed perfectly, the guitar riffs are varied and original, and acoustic parts that occasionally peek through the tracks are not frowned upon, the solos are truly high level and blend musicality and technique in a unique way. The vocal parts are divine; Ihsahn uses his typical Scream and more than willingly also indulges in clean vocal parts, multiple times the two styles alternate in one song and the effect is nothing short of marvelous, up until now only Opeth had united Clean Vocals and Growl parts so perfectly. Speaking of Opeth, I want to highlight the third track, "Unhealer" in which Mikael Åkerfeldt participates. A wonderful song, a semi-ballad where the verses are cleanly sung by the frontman of the Swedish group, while in the chorus the violent Growl of Mikael and the acidic Scream of Ihsahn intertwine creating dark atmospheres with strong references to Death and Black Metal, a masterpiece within a masterpiece.

Among all the other tracks, it is really unnecessary to point out one in particular, it ranges from songs of devastating violence to sweet and atmospheric pieces, you are faced with a Magnum Opus that must be experienced in its entirety, where technique abounds, but despite this the emotional aspect is not neglected, there are no self-serving compositions here, everything is in service of the listener's auditory and emotional pleasure, virtuosity and reflective parts are meticulously measured, it is impossible not to be dazzled by such a work.

Whether you listen to Prog, Death, Black, or who knows what else, make this album yours and listen to it, listen to it and listen to it again, until you internalize it because very few albums like this come out. Fantastic.