Ihsahn – After
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Candlelight Records
This is one of the coolest sounding albums I’ve heard in awhile. It’s got everything here, and it’s just so damn good. A little bit of death metal riffing, some black metal, a touch of electronics, tons of progressive influence, and some classic pure metal. Finishing his “A” trilogy with After, Ihsahn is not pulling any punches. It’s a classic and it’s only a week old as I write this.
Ihsahn’s voice, despite the great music, is the true star of this album. He’s got such amazing strength and power in his vocal delivery, whether it be the deep blackened style in “Undercurrent” or the sorrowful, plaintive delivery in the same song. He honestly kind of reminds me of Mikael Åkerfeldt at times, while still keeping his own sound.
Saxophone and eight string guitars bring another level of depth and heaviness to the album. The drums are awesome, with a nice pop on the snare and deep kicks, the bass rumbles perfect lines that both compliment the song and progress it.
Metalheads, listen up. Get this album. It’s not Emperor, it’s not Thou Shalt Suffer, it’s not Peccatum, and it’s not Zyklon-B. It’s all of them. And none of them. It’s wonderful and amazing.
10 out of 10.