IHSAHN — angL (review)

IHSAHN — angL album cover Album · 2008 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'Angl' - Ihsahn (8/10)

Once the front man of Emperor, guitarist and vocalist Ihsahn has come a long way from the primal times of early black metal. Now a respected individual in both the black and progressive metal circles, he is certainly one to impress with this; his second release. While 'Angl' can feel a bit pressured at times, a good performance and great songwriting takes Ihsahn's blackened roots and projects it to a whole new level of creative spirit.

One of the first things that the typical metal fan will notice with this album is appearance of Opeth vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt on the third track; entitled 'Unhealer.' As one of my personal favourite vocalists, Akerfeldt does a great job of using a warm, clean voice to counterpoint Ihsahn's screams. While I wasn't a fan of Emperor before getting 'Angl' (I am now,) hearing that Akerfeldt was on this album was a great way to convince me to buy the album, and the performance works out to be much more than just a sales pitch.

The songwriting is kept under pretty average song lengths and structures, although there are instances- such as in the song Elevator- where the music trails into something soft and different. There are amazing riffs aplenty here, which makes the fact that there isn't a whole lot of technical experimentation work with the album instead of against it. That said, this is not the most ground-breaking piece of metal in the world. Instead, it takes existing black metal conventions, and transforms it into something fresh and layered. While the majority of the vocals are 'extreme' in nature, it's a nice change for him to go clean for a bit, which adds another dimension of melody.

Ihsahn has done something here that is just short of being a masterpiece. Had it been for a little more detail to album flow and continuity and one or two more highlight tracks (there are already plenty to mention) 'Angl' would have surely become a landmark in the history of metal. While the mark might have been hit here, I have no doubt that in the future, Ihsahn has the potential not only to hit, but absolutely demolish the barriers of what black metal can do. A great, rocking progressive metal album.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Surowica / Slavenkust Hardcore Punk
SLAVENKUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Surowica / Slavenkust Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nie Wydarzy Się Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Repulsive Forms Sludge Metal
UMA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Voidkind Sludge Metal
DVNE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 13 hours ago
In Sulfur - Parasite (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 13 hours ago
In Sulfur - Abysmal Grave (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 13 hours ago
In Sulfur - Windchaser(OFFICIAL VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 13 hours ago
In Sulfur - From Green/To Grey (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 13 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed