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NORSECODE
HislatestEPTelemarkwasnodifferent.As witheveryrelease
sinceEmperor,it startedwitha blankpageintowhichtitles
arewrittenbeforea notehasbeencomposed.Thistime
aroundit wasIhsahn’swifeandco-collaborator,HeidiSolberg
Tveitan,akaIhriel,whosuggestedthetitle.Oncethetitlesare
down,themusiccanfollow.“I willalwayshavetitles.Telemark
is thecountyI comefrom,andit wasnaturalthenfortheriffs
to be veryinspiredby traditionalNorwegianmusic,especially
fromthiscounty,theHardangerfiddleandfolkelements.
Thetitle,in thatrespect,reallyinfluencedmeusingthose
kindsof voicingsandriffsforthatsong.”
Ihsahnwilltypicallysketchoutwhathe wantsfroma song
andhowit fitsintotheconcept,whatinstrumentationhe
wantsto use,whattonesmightservetheconcept.Thisisn’t
aboutputtinglimitationsonwherehe mighttaketherecord
butinsteadallowshimto focushismindandkeephis
compositionstetheredto thewhole.Andit allowshimto
thinkbigger.This,if anything,is whatIhsahnbelievesis
whatdefines progressive music. It’s not a questionof
technique, melodic abstraction, or awkward timesignatures.
Progressive music is a state of mind, a sensibility.
“I have never tried to be progressive, as in beingtechnicalor
difficult,” says Ihsahn. “It was just my fascinationfortryingto
bring new sounds and new colours to what I do,andI kindofT
heactofsongwritingis muchlike
tellinga story.Whenit works,
themusicalonecandomuch
oftheheavylifting,creating
atmospheres,buildingworlds
anddrawingtheaudiencein.
Thatis how Ihsahnseesit now,
seven albums and oneEPintoa
solocareerthathasseenhim
pursuea progressiveextrememetalsoundthat’splaced
ata remove from the tempestuous, quasi-Wagnerian
black metal he pioneered with Emperor. Thatis howhe
hasseenit sincethebeginning,when,asa boylivingon
hisparents’farmneartheNorwegiancityofNotodden,
helearned guitar by jamming along to Iron Maidensongs
while playingbassonthepedalsofhiselectricorgan.
“Iguessbyinstinct,allthroughmycareer,as
a subconsciousinfluence,Ihavejusttriedtorecreate
SeventhSonOfA SeventhSonbyMaiden,”hesays.
“Because,inmyhead,justbynature,I knowhowI want
afull-length album to feel. And in particular,thatalbum.
It’s conceptual. It’s folklore. I practically learnedplaying
guitar from that album. Another album thatwashugefor
me was King Diamond’s Them, and consequently
Conspiracy– bothfull-storyconceptalbums.”
Ihsahnfoundtheseconceptstotallyimmersive;the
ebbandflowofthesealbumsinterpretedasdramatic
arcswithinthesong-craft,eachtrackessentialtothe
next,thesequencing similarly vital. Are thelikesofIron
Maiden and King Diamond prog? Maiden’s latter-period
soundhasevolvedtowardslong-formprogressive
compositions,buttheKing?No.Thatseemstoo
muchofareach. Ihsahn, however, for his sinsandtohis
bemusement, has found himself a paragonofprogressive
extreme metal. He sees progressive music asa stateof
mind, one that guides his process.IHSAHN
MARCH 2020 TOTAL GUITAR