Back when the term “progressive” began to pop up in genre tags, it was associated with bands that were evolving, experimenting, and changing with every release. In the modern metal scene, bands are often called progressive because they introduce foreign elements to a metal template, such as folk music, clean-sung vocals, and keyboards. Sadly, due to the pressures of the industry and the oft-unforgiving demands of their fans, many of these artists become mired in formula, re-using the ideas that were at first revolutionary on multiple releases until they develop into clichés.

This is not the case however for Norway’s celebrated metal wizard Ihsahn. Even during the years he fronted Emperor (1991 to 2001, plus reunions), his writing evolved from pure Satanic black metal on In The Nightside Eclipse to avant-garde, some would say revolutionary, metallic orchestration on Prometheus. Now with After, his third solo release, Ihsahn is approaching the same quantity of output he released with Emperor, and still shows no sign of slowing down his exploratory metal quest. With each subsequent release he exhibits self-reflection, corrects mistakes, tweaks formulas, and always adds new ingredients into the mix. This time around, the main embellishments come in the form of 8-string guitars and the introduction of the saxophone.

The addition of yet another string to the axe is mainly efficient in opening up riff opportunities where a gigantic low-chug can be followed by some much high and sweeter chord picking. It’s not all that noticeable if you don’t know beforehand, but it does go a long way towards explaining the diversity within the songs.

The sax however… I can honestly say I’ve never been a fan of the saxophone. Hearing it on After though, where it is not used as a gimmick but as a vital load-bearing element of the writing, has changed my feeling towards the instrument in a significant way. Ihsahn uses the saxophone in place of other instruments such as lead guitars or keyboards instead of in addition to them. This makes all the difference and widens the emotional spectrum of the entire album from maniacal fury at times to desperate melancholy at others.

These elements, combined with the upper-tier abilities of Ihsahn and his session musicians, are molded into truly progressive songs that raise the bar for any band or composer attempting to break the mold.

I only wish this project was taken out on the road more often! Here’s to an amazing start to 2010.

5.0/5