Ihsahn - Amr (2018)

Few artists in modern heavy music have created such an extraordinary and unique body of work as Ihsahn.
Having refined and redefined black metal with the now legendary Emperor, Norway’s foremost musical extremist has spent the last decade establishing himself as a fearless and wildly idiosyncratic solo artist, but even by his own remarkable standards, another bold stride into uncharted territory, Ihsahn’s seventh solo album is the legendary Norwegian’s most eclectic and challenging to date. Morphing fluidly from mellifluous art rock ambience to vicious extreme metal, covering all points in between, the likes of grandiloquent opener Lend Me The Eyes Of The Millennia and the wild, melodic melancholy of Samr blend seamlessly with ornate, progressive metal monoliths like In Rites Of Passage and the immaculate, climactic Wake. Drenched in evocative synthesizers and brimming with skewed but irresistible riffs, Ámr is both Ihsahn’s most accessible record to date, and, his most extreme departure from his black metal roots.