Norwegian extreme metal patriarch IHSAHN (ex-EMPEROR) has released the lyric video for the song “NaCl,” which comes from the man’s fifth solo album, Das Seelenbrechen, which will be released on October 21 in North America via Candlelight Records. The video can be viewed below.
Recorded at Ihsahn’s own studio in Norway in collaboration with drummer Tobias Ornes Anderson (LEPROUS), Das Seelenbrechen will be available on compact disc, limited edition digibook (with expanded graphics and liner notes), and double 180-gram clear vinyl and is an adventurous recording that is a musical contrast to the progressive shades and saxophone augmentations of the EMPEROR vocalist/guitarist’s previous two albums (2009’s After and 2011’s Eremita). The album exists in an entirely unfamiliar sonic world as Ihsahn draws upon his most esoteric influences, fully embracing the spirit of the avant-garde.
“Musically, this album is a very deliberate sidestep to what I have been doing; a necessity to reset the creative parameters so not to fall into formula,” comments Ihsahn. “I think I do my best work slightly outside of my comfort zone and I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time. Free form and improvisational can be scary for a musician but it is very liberating at the same time.”
Ihsahn notes further: “Even though my music has changed over the years, I feel there is a source of inspiration at the bottom of it all that is constant. The general idea for this album was to try and dig deep into this raw source and express it without too much refinery and do so within a less familiar musical landscape. It is the reason for several purely improvised songs and parts on this album. I spontaneously performed with just lyrics and the idea of the atmosphere I was wishing to create. While many will feel it sounds different, I don’t think it is necessarily different from my previous album. And in my head, it will fit in perfectly with my plans for the sixth album.”
“Of all my albums, my goals for this one have been the most abstract,” says Ihsahn. “I’ve had quite a rollercoaster ride putting it together but now that it is done I must say I am very pleased.”
Das Seelenbrechen track listing:
1. Hilber
2. Regen
3. NaCl
4. Pulse
5. Tacit 2
6. Tacit
7. Rec
8. M
9. Sub Alter
10. See
11. Entropie (bonus track)
12. Hel (bonus track)