Ihsahn - After (2010) #Review

Hi people, in this occasion I present to you for the first time, this incredible and impressive Norwegian musician, who calls himself Ihsahn. On this occasion I am going to present my favorite album of him. As many of you already know, Ihsahn has a long multifaceted career, initially in bands like Emperor and Peccatum, with some more epic touches and with black metal sounds. It was then in 2006 when he decided to start his own band, titled as he calls himself, where he started and has evolved majestically.

The album was published in 2010, and is the third in Ihsahn's discography. If we compare it with the two previous albums we can observe a very radical change, leaving a bit black to experiment with the progressive sounds of metal, one of the important changes is the incorporation of Jørgen Munkeby into the saxophone, an instrument that gives it another air to the music of ihsahn. It fills her with a special and magical aura.

The album starts with "The Barren Lands", some very harmonic notes and we can say how rusty they start this wonderful album. With a few fast and powerful solos, I emphasize enough in this song the voices of ihsan, especially the really good aspects and characteristics of him. Then follows "Grave Inversed" a theme that seems in principle to be simple and common, when suddenly breaks all the schemes and predictions with the saxophone creating impressive rhythmic textures. Then one of my favorites, much more sensitive and atmospheric as I like it, arrives "After" song called like the album, where clean voices are the main ones, along with some keyboards that make up the atmosphere and slow guitar riffs.

The next cut is titled "Frozen Lakes Of Mars", follows the perfect path of the previous after, with a slightly darker evolution, where the solos shine in the dark, very good song. The next song "Undercurrent" is my favorite without a doubt, the first you must listen, below I leave the link. It is a very experimental song where the saxophone takes us to fly during 10 minutes of intense experimentation, where every minute is perfectly taken care of. A beautiful mix between arpeggios and the distortion that characterizes metal. Who would think that the saxophone would fall perfectly in this genre. Note in this subject the powerful moments with the guttural characteristics of ihsahn.

The last tracks of the album begin with a jewel, titled "Austere", where the guitars create a beautiful semi-acoustic harmony. This song immerses us in a beautiful environment, with its keyboards and sounds. Highly recommended, below the link. Then "Heaven's Black Sea" a little heavier, with the sound that Ihsahn is characterized, offers us a mix of punteos, heavy guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboard and as the saxophone can not miss. The album finally closes with "On The Shores", where Jørgen Munkeby shows all his virtues with the saxophone. In a song where the atmosphere is mainly calm, in minutes we can notice heavy guitars. This piece ends little by little to close this great work

This album is undoubtedly my favorite of Ihsahn, surprised many followers of black metal with this beautiful experimentation. I think it's a linear album where each theme fits perfectly with the next and the previous, creating an atmosphere that resembles the sea, many miles of coastline. A beautiful trip Where moments of calm and moments of storm shine but in the end everything is a beauty.