With Emperor’s pant-wettingly anticipated return coming next year, you could be forgiven for giving Ihsahn's latest solo outing a miss. Forgiven for being an absolute fool. Not constrained by the brutal black metal trappings of the band that brought him to the attention of make-up clad misfits worldwide, Ihsahn continues to do things his own way.
Teaming up with Leprous drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen, the nasty Norwegian sets about moulding a collection of truly terrifying tunes. Opener Hiber kicks off in morbid, typically Ihsahn fashion, which lasts for all of 40 seconds before descending into a flurry of creepy keyboards and grandiose orchestral sections.
Ihsahn's vocals are on top form as always, his biting, trademark scream covering the opening track in a layer of spite and frost, while his haunting cleans during NaCl could be sampled in a trance song. It's this idea of complete and utter artistic freedom that makes 'Das Seelenbrechen' such a glorious affair; he's served his time in Emperor, and now Ihshan is doing whatever he bloody wants.
Doing what he wants also produces, to the dismay of the 'that's not metal!' crew, an electronica-tinged tune. Pulse is a mid-album highlight, serving as a break from the progressive extreme metal that came before. Tacit features a section that sounds like something from Chicago; a cheeky blast of saxophone rears its head for a few seconds before the song descends into its death throes.
Towards the tail end of the album, it all starts to get a bit weird. The brain-slappingly bizarre time signature and peculiar tune of Rec sounds like Devin Townsend alone in a forest, while the ambient guitar lines on M and Sub After reek of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.
'Das Seelenbrechen' isn't one for the narrow-minded. If you like your metal thick and fast, you'd best just stick with your Pantera CDs. With this album, Ihsahn mixes the belligerent black metal he's known best for with a healthy dose of experimentation, progressive nuances and a fat dollop of wackiness. People may forever know the man for his work with Emperor, but hell, if he keeps going like this, Ihsahn's solo career could soon overtake the glories of his former band.
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