Arktis.

The frontman of one of Norway’s most influential black-metal bands (Emperor) continues to forge ahead with his solo career. 'Arktis.' has more in common with British traditional metal (especially Judas Priest and Holocaust) than with Scandinavia’s black-metal hordes. Ihsahn favours clean singing and guitar tones these days, with only occasional growls harking back to his vocals of old. I enjoy Emperor when the mood takes me but I can listen to Ihsahn’s solo material anytime. It follows no fashion and there’s no evidence of artifice. 'Arktis.' is just over an hour of pure metal. You can’t go wrong with it.Favourite track: 'Until I Too Dissolve'.

As always Ihsahn has done amazing job another masterpiece, great melodies, lyrics and arrangements. A must have album for progressive black metal fans.

Hail Ihsahn. This is a masterpiece of modern metal. Brutal at times but equality whimsical and melodious at others. I can't pigeon hole this album but obvious elements of emperor and progressive metal combine.

My opinion won't be a popular one but I think this is the worst Ihsahn album so far. The last album was very progressive, very avant-garde, very experimental and very weird. For me, this is great. For others, not so much. I think this new album is Ihsahn taking into consideration some of the discontent of the last album and he's decided to make a more conventional and accessible (for Ihsahn standards) album. To me this is his "Black Album", so an album with good tracks but the simplified style doesn't do so much for me when the last album was so promising. Leprous have done the same on their last two too, and it's frustrating. I only really like the album from "Frail" onwards, the bonus track, "Til Tor Ulven (Søppelsolen)" is great, but that's because it's a weird track that would've fit on the last album fine.

This album is a complete masterpiece. It has everything and it goes places others wouldn't even think of visiting.... yet it makes complete sense.

Good album, Ihsahn's best!

I've been a huge fan of Ihsahn's solo work since day one, so I maybe slightly biased - to those of you who are familiar with his previous solo efforts, then you'll know what to expect and this latest instalment perfectly carries on where Das Seelenbrechen left off, to those of you new to him - Ihsahn used to front Norwegian Black Metal Legends Emperor, these solo efforts are a departure from those days, but not a huge one, some of those traits are still present (the raspy vocals, blasting drumming) but unlike the Emperor days he is now a hell of a lot more experimental, incorporating 7&8 string guitars, more clean vocals, better production, female vocals, saxophones, keyboards etc - overall we're talking dark menacing Metal, that somehow lifts you up, some ideas at first seem wrong, but with further listens you find that they couldn't be more right - this is a must buy!!!

Nach dem eher sperrigen Seelenbrechen, sind die Songs von Arktis wieder viel eingängiger und richten sich mehr nach Eremita und auch den ersten beiden Solo Alben. Schwachpunkte gibt es quasi keine. Der Mix aus Black Metal, Rock, Elektrospielereien, Prog und allem möglichen was Ihsahn schon immer ausmachte, ist immer noch faszinierend wie eh und je. Jeder Song ist einzigartig und trotzdem passt alles zusammen. Wer Fan der ersten vier Alben ist, wird auch hier meiner Meinung nach begeistert sein! Anspieltipps u.a.: Disassembled, Mass Darkness, Until I too Dissolve, In the Vaults, Pressure.

Bei der Bewertung dieses Albums greifen Klischees einfach zu kurz. Zwar kann und will Ihsahn seine Black Metal-Vergangenheit nicht verleugnen (die heiseren Growls und genretypischen Passagen-siehe Pressure-bezeugen das), doch verwebt er diese Stilelemente mit Prog- Ambient-und Fusion-Passagen, so dass am Ende etwas ganz Neues entsteht, das zarte Passagen und musikalisch/inhaltliche Härte miteinander vereint. Die "Arktis" wird dabei zum Sinnbild der geistlichen Kälte, die den menschlichen Ängsten entgegensteht und sie besiegen hilft. Ihsahn wird auch nicht müde, den organisierten Religionen den Kampf anzusagen ("South winds"), oder die menschlichen Schwächen anzuprangern ("In the vaults", "Frail"). Der Weg durch die Arktis ist somit der Lebensweg des Menschen, der über real existierende Gefahren zum Erfolg führen kann, wie im wundervoll relaxten "Crooked Red Line" illustriert. Ihsahn und Saxophon? Wer es nicht glaubt, höre den Track. Der Schluss-Track "Celestial violence" schafft nochmal den Spannungsbogen vom Filigranen zum Rau-Rebellischen und zurück, bevor mit dem Bonus-Track "Tor Ulven" der längste und extremste Track des Albums einsetzt. Beginnend als Spoken-Word-Passage mit dezenten Klavierklängen untermalt, entwickelt er sich über eine Ambient-Brücke zur morbiden Raserei-schade nur, dass uns keine Übersetzung der norwegischen Lyrics zur Verfügung steht..Vom Ihsahn aus Emperors "Into the nightside eclipse" bis zum Arktis-Forscher der heutigen Tage ist ein langer Weg zu gehen-und dennoch scheint es mir, als grüße der Rebell von einst zwischen den Zeilen..Wie immer: Fünf arktische Sterne sind hier mehr als nur verdient...

Living legend Ihashn continues forth on his solo journey. The great thing about all of his albums is that while there is a root, a foot in or a skeleton of his black metal past, Ihsahn always broadens the scope of what he can do. This album takes things to new places both in style and presentation. Overall, more streamlined, but not simple, things get direct with the riffs and the arrangements. Making this easier to digest then the previous two. For me, the fact there is more guitar here to enjoy is a major plus. Not sure if Ihsahn sometimes he feels he must play down this aspect of his talents but I for one love to hear him solo and riff more. Always a pro, always honest, and always creative. Its not Nightside or Equilibrium obviously. Its metal from one of the best to ever lace up the boots. Songs to Nordic Track to: Until I Too Dissolve, Mass Darkness, and Celestial Violence.

Thanks!

Not his best...

Groupe au style unique.

Cet album est magnifique, il est nettement plus accessible qu'eremita et das selebrechen mais pas par simplicité, il est juste différent dans son melange de passages catchy et d'ambiance. Il reste aventureux et extremement singulier.

By far the greatest album by Ihsahn in his solo career. Different beats, plenty of styles without losing his characteristic feel.

前作からの路線を踏襲しつつも、よりアルバム全体を通してクールでスタイリッシュな曲調が深化しており聞き易くもあり、メロディックであるが、激しさは若干後退しているような感がある。しかし、それがマイナスに作用している訳ではなくHMというジャンルには収まりきらないIHSAHNの才能をより表現出来ているからに外ならず'今現在’のIHSAHNの等身大を最大限表現出来ているアルバムであると思う。素直に’カッコいい’音楽である。エクストリームメタルの芯を微量に残しつつあらゆるジャンルを吸収し、全体を包む’物悲しい’メロディが何ともいえぬ甘美な世界へ誘うような音。個人的にはEMPEROR以降のソロ作品では’最高傑作’です！

Man darf immer gespannt sein, wenn der Emperor-Frontmann Ihsahn ein neues Soloalbum auf den Markt bringt. Zwar kann man sich sicher sein, dass das Songmaterial progressiv ausfällt, doch weiß man trotzdem im Vorfeld nicht, wie genau es klingen wird. "Arktis" ist für Ihsahns Verhältnisse schon regelrecht zugänglich ausgefallen, trotz der Vertracktheit sind die Lieder nie konfus oder überladen. Man findet auf dem Album Progressive Metal, Rock sowie Death und Black Metal. Die ersten beiden Lieder "Disassembled" und "Mass Darkness" überraschen mit hochgradig eingängigen Refrains, "Crooked Red Line" kommt mit relaxter Atmosphäre daher, "Pressure" erinnert mit seinen Blastbeats und epischen Melodien etwas an Emperor. Ihsahn pendelt zwischen schwarzmetallischem Gekeife und Cleangesang, als Gäste treten unter anderem Einar Solberg (Leprous) und Matt Heafy (Trivium) in Erscheinung. Nun könnte man tatsächlich jeden der abwechslungsreichen und komplexen Songs anslysieren und sezieren - man kann aber auch einfach sagen, dass "Arktis" ein wahnsinnig spannendes Stück progressiver Musik ist, das man nur schwer in eine bestimmte Schublade stecken kann. Muss man halt einfach gehört haben.

元EmperorのフロントマンIhsahnのソロ6作目です。前作、前々作が実験的な作風であったので今作がどういった作品になるか気になるファンも多いと思われますが、ハッキリ言って過去最高の出来です。Ihsahnが長年蓄積してきたProgressiveBlackMetal的なリフワークを多様なアレンジで緻密に練り上げてあり、更にクリーンパートを効果的に用いることで今までにない洗練された作風となっています。本人曰くnorth poleをイメージさせる作品を作りたかったんだ！とのことですが、確かに今までのBlackな作品からより透明感のある作品に仕上がっていると思います。Amazon USAではcatchyになって聴きやすくなった!?というような評価も見られますが、寧ろ、よりProgressiveな在り方を追求した結果としてそうなったと見るべきですね。最近はソロでの来日がないので、是非このArktisを引っ提げて来日してほしいものです。2016.12/2,3 東阪来日講演決定おめでとう(^o^)

Ihsahn is of a rare breed. He seems to be able to make gold out of mud and Arktis. is no different. It's a truly great record from start to finish. Some might find the diversity of the album (featuring electro/dance, traditional progressive, even end era Emperor black metal) to be distracting or too inconsistent, but that isn't the case. The album picks a motif and stays on that theme just long enough that it makes a memorable impact without overstaying its welcome. My only complaint is with the track "Crooked Red Line". It is easily the weakest track in the album and if it weren't in the record it would be a perfect album, sadly it is and therefore brings the album down to a 9.5.

Ihsahn's greatest since "After"! He takes the insane experimentation of "Das Seelenbrechen" and tames it to profoundly emotional effect with the superb songwriting we all know he is capable of. A contender for album of the year!

Ihsahn is really doing something unique here. This music is definitely not for a mainstream audience. Challenging, but also rewarding.

I have been aware of Emperor and Ihsahn for some time, but have just now took the time to listen to this guy on youtube and realize I've been cutting off my nose to spite my face. Oh, well, you can't get everything out there when your budget and my eccentric tastes for music are literally all over the musical map. I dig lots of different stuff and like life itself, it makes my personal musical world full of variety, emotions, experimentation and catharsis. The most immediate comparison usually attributed to this amazing artist is Opeth, and that association isn't without merit. Where Opeth started out mixing death metal and progressive, Ihsahn has approached the progressive and experimental world from black metal and his first legendary black metal band Emperor, whom, I admit, I haven't really listened much to. But what a triumph "Arktis" is! Ihsahn is simply too talented, visionary and intelligent to stay put in one genre. On "Arktis", we get some black metal vocals, very nice and impressive clean vocals, and I'll tell you I would love to see him do like his buddy Mikael Akerfeldt and ditch the screaming full time, and astonishing in his breadth and variety. He truly takes the metal template and stretches it into territory that proves that despite the genre's sometimes self constricting mind set, metal can be brilliant, tuneful, and utterly unique. There are some points to his music that I find most important - despite the orchestration, rich tapestries and awesome playing, he does not, at least on this album get into overly long pieces. Rather, these are true songs with the refinement that prevents the boredom that can go with the territory. If Opeth has any musical faults, it may be that they construct songs that are sometimes too long. That's prog for you. But after a couple rocking numbers, we come to one of my favorite tracks, "South Wind", a semi-industrial track that has an absolutely great hook, spoken word vocals and a beat that truly shows us Ihsahn could easily be as effective in this dare I say catchy mode. We get saxophone on "Crooked Red Line", a song that is panned for the instrument's very presence by some. However, it works perfectly, and just adds further evidence that this performer has an uncanny talent for utilizing the right elements at the right time. The album ends with symphonic black metal fury, but like the rest of the album still retains incredibly melodic passages. While the sounds are not alike, I must attest that perhaps the Blue Oyster Cult, in their 1970's heyday, were one of the very few heavy bands that was just as good writing very strong melodic songs as they were bashing out "Godzilla" or "The Red And The Black". It's a very good thing we have Opeth, Ihsahn, Katatonia and some others who insist on musical integrity and show fans who were not brought up loving the variety of bands I did (I'm 57). "Arktis" is a brilliant passionate album, with superb EVERYTHING. Ihsahn plays great lead guitar, too, and the production is fantastic, with bass that really sounds like bass. I regret not having checked him out much earlier, but that mistake will be rectified.