With a new solo album out, Das Seelenbrechen, Ihsahn has given an interview speaking at the new album and discussed an upcoming reunion with Emperor. In the interview on soletron.com, the Norwegian black metal singer spoke about the band’s rekindling and also about the direction he took for his latest solo album, .
When asked if ideas of Emperor reuniting influenced the creative process for his current solo work, he responded:
This was finished before those talks came about, but I have always been reluctant to do Emperor, it’s no secret I have been rather stubborn as I want my current music to be as relevant as what I have done in the past, though by embracing the attitude of not being in control it took me back to the place from when we were 19 and recorded in the Night Side Eclipse. We just had the intense drive to create with having any experience, so it will be easier from that place to relate to old Emperor and hopefully I feeling so that it can be preformed with the needed intensity.
And while there’s a marked difference between the his previous solo albums and the more esoteric Das Seelenbrechen, Ihsahn explains the difference.
The previous albums were heavy, with 8 string guitars and sax, so this time I wanted to stay inspired and out of my comfort zone and go about this like many of the artists I have had an admiration for who express themselves spontaneously. For the more metal albums I have always worn so many hats on the production side of things, all the control leaves little space. So I wanted to go backwards, bring back the black metal atmosphere and try different musical forms. I wanted to explore different chord colors. I would go into the studio in the middle of the night with two lyrics and took them to the drummer and just picked up my guitar and improvised. It is how I imagine Diamanda Galas might create with some of her more vocal works.
For more of the uncovering interview visit soletron.com.
