Review by Saxy S for Ihsahn - After (2010)

As a complete pleb when it comes to the band Emperor, I had to go into Ihsahn's solo project with a pair of fresh ears. I had no expectations as to what to expect from Ihsahn at the start of the decade. And what I found is that Ihsahn has a metric f*ck tonne of achieved potential that I feel like was never tapped into under the Emperor name. 

Oh they came close with Prometheus, but unfortunately for the band, it would be their final official studio album before the calling it quits. And it's clear to me that Ihsahn was the primary songwriter behind Prometheus because this album is beautiful. The way in which this album effortlessly transitions back and forth between harsh and clean vocals, atmosphere and technicality, soft and aggressive; this album has it all and set the benchmark for Ihsahn as well as black metal in general at the turn of the decade. The way in which saxophone is incorporated into these compositions is brilliant. Even when it is used over a heavier passage, it is still prominent in the mix. This is about as close as I've heard to a saxophone shredding like its guitar counterpart.

Without all of the additional madness taking place in the instrumental, Ihsahn's vocals take center stage and they are prominent. You can literally hear every word on this album. You don't need to have the lyric sheet in front of you to understand every word and what these lyrics are saying, which is itself a glorious achievement.

All in all, Ihsahn's 2010 epic is a magnum opus to behold in the black metal community. Almost everything is tuned with the finest brush. It takes a lot of work for me to call both 10 minute tracks my two favourites on the album. Ihsahn proceeded to have a very solid decade, but never lived up to the sky high potential that was put on display with After. This is something truly special. If you enjoy progressive black metal, you are doing yourself a disservice by omitting this from your collection.