boysmithers Ihsahn strikes out on his own after the demise of his old band, Emperor. This is less extreme than that band but it's still got plenty of welly. Not much could be described as black metal but a couple of songs sound like less carnivorous, chaotically spiralling material from Emperor's last album "Prometheus".

Like "Prometheus", many of the best songs have weird convoluted riffs and harsh vocals before erupting into magestic cleanly-sung choruses or mid-sections, e.g. "Called by the Fire", "Panem et Circensis" and, most spectacularly "Will You Love Me Now?". Despite its title, this song is a towering epic of hatred and disgust. The highlight is the call and response section between the clean and harsh vocals, the clean asking "Will you love me now?" And the harsh spitting venom at the society who will never accept the free-thinker... That's the dominant lyrical theme of this album, disdain for society, using Satan (The Adversary) as a metaphor for those who do their own thing and don't accept the bullshit foisted upon them by the majority. Errr, well that's what it sounds like to me anyway!

The final track "The Pain is Still Mine" deserves a mention too, it's a complex multi-part epic weighing in at over 10 minutes. It mixes brain-busting riffs with a truly bizarre section that sounds like it should be in a musical and Ihsahn going overboard with his synth orchestra.

I came back to this five years after I bought it and I like it a lot more than I did when it came out. Definitely recommended to fans of Emperor, just don't expect it to sound exactly like Emperor!

Originally posted on http://basstunedtodead.wordpress.com

ProgSphere It’s a crime that the dictionary definition of “musically talented” isn’t “Ihsahn”. Vegard Sverre Tveitan, widely known as Ihsahn of Emperor, Peccatum, Hardingrock and many other projects (which are too numerous to be mentioned here), has released his 3rd solo album this year, named After. After presents a new form of the music from his previous two releases, The Adversary and angL, containing all the elements from these two records, but strictly rounded inside, with even more experimentation and originality.

Ihsahn’s experimentation, which began with Emperor’s Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise, is expanded upon greatly in this album. Who would imagine the appearance of saxes in the music of a former Emperor member? Well, it happens, and happens to work out very well. Jørgen Munkeby, a fellow Norwegian and member of Shining, does some sax work on this record and with of Asgeir Mickelson (Borknagar, Spiral Architect) on drums and the addition of Lars Norberg on bass, the tradition of having guest musicians on Ihsahn’s albums has continued.

When I say The Barren Lands is one of the weakest songs on the album, I mean that in the best way possible. This track is amazing, but the rest of the tracks are even more amazing. I just think they have more to give. A Grave Inversed is probably the only song on the album which is pleasing for strict black metal fans, but I guess that tons of other bands can be a substitute for that. Other than that, After gives us a clear understanding of the term “progressive”. It is most evident in his guitar playing, which is incredibly complex. Undercurrent is the first of two lengthy songs and it’s one of the pillars of this album, the other one being On the Shores. Characterized by a calmer opening with Ihsahn’s clean vocals, it soon becomes a real rocking hit, with blastbeats, dark keyboards and strong guitars. I find second half of the album to be more interesting than the first four songs and the absolute best is left for the very end. The last two pieces, Heavens Black Sea and On the Shores are my favorites. I must, however, praise the very nice proggy keyboard solo in Austere which reminds me a bit of Per Wiberg’s playing in Opeth. Heavens Black Sea is an interesting piece because of its rhythm changes and great guitar solo. Jorgen’s saxes without doubt fit best on this and the following track, which is the aforementioned On the Shores. This song is definitely the climax of the album. At least, I like to think so. It features all of the good elements this album carries. Well done sax parts, guitar playing and vocals with a remarkable bass section.

No matter of how much this album IS interesting, I can’t say it’s my favorite, simply because I find that it doesn’t top the first one. If nothing else, this album shows us very good, well balanced song structure that consists of calm to furious parts fly all over the record.

After all, this album needs to be listened and you will simply like or dislike it. No other options. One is sure, Ihsahn has not disappointed with this record. Still, we have to see what comes after After.

Conor Fynes 'After' - Ihsahn (8/10)

Best known as the frontman for the legendary black metal band Emperor, Ihsahn's solo work takes quite a different approach than anything we might have heard from his former flagship band. As can be readily heard on his third studio album 'After', the man now takes equal sound from progressive music as he does with black metal, and the end result is an inventive brand of black metal that far outweighs his earlier work in terms of complexity and diversity, but equal in feeling and atmosphere. While not holding as much of a personal significance as his second solo album 'Angl' does, 'After' shows the man developing his progressive metal sound to incorporate more experimental and unpredictable elements, resulting in an excellent album altogether.

With 'Angl', I was greeted with intelligent performance, some technical riffs and proggy elements, but the focus was always around the songwriting and the thought put into it. With 'After' now, the songwriting is fleshed out into a more epic scope, allowing for such longer compositions as 'Undercurrent' and the closer 'On The Shores' to take their place on the album. With greater room for experimentation, Ihsahn lets the songs build on their own time, and the end result is usually very effective musically. However, it does feel as if the songwriting has taken a bit of a toll here when compared to 'Angl'. Despite added complexity to the arrangements and more involved pieces of music, it does make me miss the to-the- point and tight experience the second album had to offer. That being said however, 'After' features some points that could easily surpass almost anything 'Angl' had to offer.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference here when compared to Ihsahn's earlier work is the incorporation of heavy jazz elements, primarily the common use of a tenor saxophone, played brilliantly by Jorgen Munkeby. Although this is certainly a progressive black metal record by and large, it is the saxophone that drives the music quite often, becoming most noticeable with the most frenetic song 'A Grave Inversed', and on a solemn theme that is repeated throughout much of the latter half of the album. On top of the overt jazz influence in the use of saxophone, there is also a fretless bass used that gives Ihsahn's sound an added depth of class to it, proving that he is not an artist that is simply talented in, or limited to the genre of metal.

The production and performance here are both the best Ihsahn has ever done, which only adds to the intensity of the music. Were it not for a few still great, but less interesting moments on the album such as 'Frozen Lakes On Mars' or the greater part of 'Heaven's Black Sea', Ihsahn would have a real masterpiece on his hands.

Conor Fynes 'Undercurrent' - Ihsahn (Single)

Released digitally as an exclusive promo for the then-upcoming album 'After', progressive black metal musician and former Emperor frontman Ihsahn has picked a rather irregular single here. At ten minutes long, it is one of the longest, most involved tracks on the record, and the biggest grower. However, while certainly not a typical choice of promo for an album, the song 'Undercurrent' stands as being one of the highlights of the album, and a great piece of music all its own.

Beginning with some mellow yet haunting guitar picking and smooth vocals from Ihsahn, 'Undercurrent' takes its time to get going. Building very steadily from a melodic and laid-back approach to a darker, heavier sound a few minutes in, the song's gradual build can feel a bit inconsequential at the first few listens, but it does do wonders for the song once it finally hits its stride. A good four minutes into the track, 'After's defining tenor saxophones kick in with the track's main theme, an apocalyptic melody that is repeated throughout the album, and is quite beautiful, although very sad.

As with all great longer tracks, 'Undercurrent' also has a fantastic climax and finale, where Ihsahn's clean vocals have never sounded so powerful, ironically sounding a bit like a blues or gospel singer in the sheer passion and intensity of the voice and ad-libbing. Although the song is fairly mid-tempo and moreso a composition based in development of ideas over mere energy, there are a few parts towards the end that feature great soloing from Ihsahn and rapidfire drumwork to break up the pace. While not my personal favourite track from 'After', Ihsahn's 'Undercurrent' would certainly be a great track to be introduced to the album with, featuring virtually all of the things that made the album a success.

Prog Geo I would say that angL is my favorite album(because of Unhealer).But this album is the best for me(and my favorite).Because is more progressive and the Akerfeldt's influence on Ihsahn's vocals is here.Ihsahn's vocals are peaceful and soft.His screams is characteristic and unique.There are very good riffs(on 8-string guitar!),nice acoustic parts and wonderful saxophone playing by Jurgen Munkeby.

The artwork is mysterious but very good.I think that symbolises the afterlife.But I'm not sure.

My favorite tracks are:The barren lands(my 3rd favorite track),After,Undercurrent,Austere(my 2nd favorite track),On the shores(my favorite track,it has great sad saxophone leads).

This album is an extreme prog metal gem!Maybe the screams will bother some people.But I recommend it to all music fans.

My grade:10/10