Ihsahn - The Adversary

[Liu]

Ihsahn - The Adversary
Candlelight

Its been a good 5 years since Emperor called it quits and in that time Ihsahn, the band's main songwriter, has been rather busy. Whether working in Peccatum and Star Of Ash with his wife or doing guestwork with other bands (such as on Arcturus' The Sham Mirrors), the man has continually flexed his creative muscle, making sure that his talents aren't tainted by rust. Add now his first official solo album to his impressive resume, which thankfully doesn't sway from the multi-faceted music he is known for.

The first question most people are going to ask regarding The Adversary is that if it sounds like Emperor. The answer is yes and no. If you are among those who only swear by Emperor's demos and In The Nightside Eclipse, then turn back now and go listen to something else. On the other hand, if the band's later output was to your liking (particularly the near-progressive black of Prometheus), then The Adversary will provide much to whet your appetite.

The album can be described as being one-half Prometheus, one-fourth Peccatum and one-fourth something totally different from what he has done before. And He Will Walk In Empty Places, Invocation and Citizen will bring to mind Emperor's swansong while Homecoming and The Pain Is Still Mine keeps everything in check with their atmospheric pacing. Called By The Fire has a main riff that sounds directly lifted from the 80's hard rock scene which will no doubt get a few weird glares. Will You Love Me Now? begins in an expected Emperor fashion but halfway through everything changes with its unusually memorable chorus. Homecoming features guest vocals by Kristoffer G. Rygg (known by most as Garm) and is easily one of the album's highlights. Ihsahn's own vocals won't win many over, particularly his clean singing that tends to warble and sound just plain odd. He still does that King Diamond high pitched thing to change it up a little.

I recall several years back when a black metal friend of mine told me that Ihsahn is the black metal Dave Mustaine. At the time I didn't quite see the comparison, but that's mostly because there were so many layers to Emperor's music that it was hard to just concentrate on the man's guitar playing. Seeing as how The Adversary's production provides more space to let everything breathe, one can easily garner a newfound appreciation for Ihsahn's guitarwork. My one complaint with The Adversary has to be with the only other musician working alongside Ihsahn, drummer Asgeir Mickelson. I'm not quite sure why this guy keeps getting hired, his drumming usually feels underwhelming and tends to be the low point in any project he's involved with. The Adversary is no exception. At first I thought he was banging on some toddler's drumset, generally not the sign of stellar drumming.

Many have treated it as such, but The Adversary can't be seen as another Emperor album. There are far too many things here that the general black metal populace would frown upon and as Ihsahn himself probably is aware of, trying to write with these people in mind would be self-deprecating. Taken on its own, The Adversary is an remarkably well made album. Even though Emperor has now reunited, I'd rather Ihsahn spend his efforts on another solo album with the high qualities shown here.

Or he could try to do another Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. I'd like that too.


01. Invocation
02. Called By The Fire
03. Citizen
04. Homecoming
05. Astera Ton Proinon
06. Panem Et Circenses
07. And He Shall Walk In Empty Places
08. Will You Love Me Now?
09. The Pain Is Still Mine

Score: 8/10