BW&BK Exclusive: IHSAHN - "I Needed To Distance Myself From The Whole EMPEROR Thing ... I Don’t Deny Myself That Part Of My Career Anymore"
June 23, 2008, 16 years ago
BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai recently caught up with former EMPEROR frontman to discuss his new solo album, angL. The following is an excerpt from the in-depth interview.
Ihsahn’s previousy album, The Adversary, was a conscious push away from the monolith that is Emperor, while angL sees him embracing his past to a degree. He explains:
“After Emperor, when we quit in 2001, I was already busy with Peccatum, which is far more experimental. That kind of became less and less metal over the years. I think firstly I needed to distance myself from the whole Emperor thing, because Emperor as a phenomenon was kind of living a life of its own and it was something I really couldn’t control. As an artist I think I unconsciously and consciously drifted apart from it for a while. The Adversary was very different from what I did in Emperor, but I think I’ve come to terms with that part of my musical background again. I’ve taken it back to a point where I’m not conscious of whether or not the material is similar to what I did in Emperor. Now I’m thinking if there is a similarity, it probably isn’t that strange. I wrote the majority of Emperor’s material in the first place. I don’t deny myself that part of my career anymore.”Watch for the complete story in BW&BK; #112.
angL was released May 27th through Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records in North America. An e-card for the album is available at this location.
angL tracklisting: 'Misanthrope', 'Scarab', 'Unhealer' (featuring OPETH's Mikael Åkerfeldt), 'Emancipation', 'Malediction', 'Alchemist', 'Elevator', 'Threnody', 'Monolith'.
