siLLy puPPy PECCATUM was one of the side projects of Ihsahn formed in 1998 two years before he finally broke up Emperor and was one of those husband and wife team things that he did with his significant other Ihriel which she initiated as her first musical project and of course how could Ihsahn refuse getting involved. The band was basically Ihsahn and Ihriel although her sister Lord Pz added vocals on the first two albums. PECCATUM lasted for eight years and released three albums before Ihsahn embarked on a solo career and Ihriel went more in the folk metal direction with Hardingrock and solo as Starofish.

Although this debut STRANGLING FROM WITHIN prognosticates much of what would constitute the average solo album from Ihsahn in the following decade and beyond, there are a few key elements that differentiate the PECCATUM project. While the gnarled progressive black metal riffs and gothic underbelly evoke the following Ihsahn albums, STRANGLING FROM WITHIN is more like a symphonic classical compositional album that is dressed in black metal clothing. The opening “Where Do I Belong” insinuates a less metal experience than anything Emperor churned out and the album is brought more into the realms of opera by Ihriel’s high pitched vocal style however it’s her one trick pony screeches that bring this album down a few notches.

“The Change” and its rampaging progressive black metal attack charges at a furious tempo with blastbeats and sounds like something that should’ve been on an Emperor album but the following “The Song Which No Name Carry” displays a very avant-garde swagger that would become one of Ihsahn’s signature styles once gone solo. “The Sand Was Made Of Mountains” brings back the symphonic elements with feisty keyboard heft and jittery guitar parts along with a more jazzy drumming style. This tailor made progressive song brings out some of his most knotty workouts before the album slows down a bit and culminating with the more classically infused lengthy “The World Of No Worlds” and “And Pray For Me.”

Overall there’s some great moments on this album but Ihsahn’s bestial black metal vocal style along with Ihriel’s airy fairy high wails just don’t jive together very well making this beauty and beast approach sound like two beasts duking it out in the gender wars. Compositionally speaking the album flows fairly well but the mix of the black metal and classical elements does feel a bit clumsy at times. Once again, i cannot stress how irritating Ihriel’s vocals are on this album but luckily they don’t dominate and can be forgotten, well, at least until they leap back into the scheme of things. For being a first offering, this album isn’t horrible by any means but it certainly isn’t Ihsahn’s swan song either especially considering this was released while he was still in Emperor.

Gallifrey Mother of the New Prog Order

I will forever give full credit to Heidi Solberg for creating the Ihsahn of today that I know and love. As much as I can respect and admire his efforts with Emperor, most of them are due to his massive impact on the world of black metal, particularly the melodic and atmospheric brand that I am so fond of. But of the man himself, it took his partnership and relationship with Heidi Solberg (aka Star of Ash, aka “Ihriel” on this album) to really bring forward anything that would impress me greatly. And as much as Peccatum may now be dead, there is no denying its spirit lives on with Ihsahn solo albums, the ambitious and demented progressive metal sounds of records like After and Das Seelenbrechen being direct offspring of this album, although with less contribution from Heidi, which I honestly miss.

You could always see this project happening. I kind of love the pseudo-romance of husband-and-wife albums, because when two musicians are in a relationship, it just seems logical for them to have some form of musical output that is a pure combination of their styles, regardless of how diverse. And as strange as it seems, Lost In Reverie is just that. This isn’t a Blackmore’s Night ‘quirky and romantic’ marriage project, this is a dark beast of intensity, which somehow perfectly balances Ihsahn’s dark and twisted black metal past with the experimental and oddly sexual electronica of Ihriel’s StarOfAsh albums. This fused together comes out as a sort of twisted pseudo-gothic experi-metal album with equal amounts of intense blast beat-ery and solemn downtempo-inspired soft sections.

I say pseudo-gothic, because although the music here may be far from the gothic rock of The Cure or gothic metal of Type O Negative, there is a strangely gothic vibe to Heidi’s vocals here, especially when combined with the dark romanticism of the lyrics. The midsection of “Parasite My Heart” is one of the best examples of this, with Heidi solemnly singing deep beneath piano ambience, but I feel I’m making the unfortunate mistake of female vocals=gothic metal. This section is an obvious counterpoint to the obviously not-gothic metal intro to this song, with Ihsahn flaring out his characteristic new style of harsh vocal over a flurry of blast beats and tremolo riffs. Ihsahn’s new vocals are somewhat of an acquired taste, and if I might say so, I still really haven’t acquired it. His harsh vocals are a minor appearance here, most frequently opting for his cleaner baritone croon (also done with a little gothic tinge), which are a bit different from his recent cleans in his solo albums, which have been very reminiscent of Mikael Åkerfeldt. But of his harsh vocals, I can’t say I enjoy the way he sounds as if he’s straining the entire time he screams. They’re not used frequently enough here to annoy me, but Ihsahn’s harsh vocals have always been a drawback, and have actually ruined a couple of Leprous songs entirely for me.

And speaking of Leprous, I really must make a brief note here about how this record acts not only as a precursor to the Ihsahn solo albums, but to Leprous themselves. Einar Solberg was only nineteen years old when Lost In Reverie was released, and Leprous was but a blip on the world’s metal radar, but he must have certainly been closely involved in it. Witnessing his big sister and one of the greats of the black metal genre produce a record in his presence that was so innovative and new, yet somehow not quite enough, must certainly be part of his devotion to finishing it. No one quite knew how brilliant of a vocalist or composer Einar was back then, but the Leprous sound is definitely imprinted in Lost In Reverie, particularly in the bursts of lush piano and contrasts with dark and demented black metal riffing.

But Lost In Reverie is in no way without its imperfections. Like a lot of Ihsahn’s solo records, I often wonder just what the hell they’re really trying to portray in sections. Opener “Desolate Ever After” consists of four distinct sections, alternating between quiet and noisy, but the bridging between them is so meandering and sloppy. Although I do enjoy the industrial-like sampled percussion of the heavier sections, as well as the piano and horror-film soundtrack screeching violin in the softer parts, they really don’t meld together all too well, and by the time the second loud section comes back in, I’m half asleep. In my ears, the problems with this record lie not with the duo’s songwriting abilities, but more with how they present them.

It’s certainly a record ahead of its time, and perfectly blends the eccentric with the melodic in a way that many artists that would come have emulated (and improved on). I’m still really waiting for a new collaboration between these two, because since this, Heidi has more or less kept to StarOfAsh, and Ihsahn has more or less kept to his solo records. Lost In Reverie is somewhat of a landmark album for a lot of modern progressive metal, but is also well written and produced in itself. Although I do prefer a lot of the music it inspired, it is not without its merits.

7.1

Originally written for my Facebook page/blog: www.facebook.com/neoprogisbestprog

Warthur Husband and wife duo Ihsahn and Ihriel's Peccatum project will probably be a disappointment to those who are hankering for something resembling Emperor's work - although there are still metal influences in the mix on Lost In Reverie, there's nothing as direct and furious as Emperor at their darkest. Instead, the atmosphere aimed for is more reminiscent of somewhat melancholic post-rock. It's a competent album which is certainly worth a try; if the experiments they try here work for you, you'll probably dig it a lot, though if it doesn't resonate with you then odds are you'll get bored partway through - I know I tend to.