Ihsahn (Emperor) has announced his seventh solo effort, titled Ámr. The record is scheduled for release on May 4th through Candlelight and Spinefarm Records. Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson will be making a guest appearance with a guest solo on the song “Arcana Imperii. Ihsahn commented on the solo and working with drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen:
“It’s just lovely to work with Tobias. I know that he can technically handle anything I throw at him. But more importantly, when I say like; ‘I want this to feel like the vacuum between words in a conversation with Hannibal Lecter,’ he will say, ‘Yeah, I get that!’ [Laughs] So for him, it’s not about showing off, it’s always about relating to the vibe.
With Fredrik, we met first time in Oslo, when I did my debut solo show as support to Opeth and later we’ve hung out on different festivals when we happen to play the same day. Last time in Japan when we played there with Emperor and Opeth. We were talking about guitars and I said, ‘Not to kiss up to you or anything, but you’re absolutely one of my favourite players, so some day I might call you for a guest solo…’ and he says, ‘I’m in!’ He did a fabulous job.”
Additionally, he spoke of the album itself:
“Knowing that the form would be somewhat similar to what I did on the previous album, and given that I write stuff in a certain way, I wanted to change the wrapping this time. So instead of going with my go-tos of strings and orchestration, I focused on analog synths and more in-your-face sounds.
It goes back to the beginning of Emperor, when we brought in strings and horns inspired by orchestral movie scores by John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, but at the same time we loved all those eerie synth soundtracks of, for example, John Carpenter’s Halloween.
I’ve also been listening to some contemporary R&B and hip-hop stuff with those deep, deep 808s. It’s just somehow darker than a lot of metal or black metal. It has a depth and an energy to it that I find captivating, so I wanted to explore those arrangement styles as well.
Every album I intend to make the darkest album ever. I never set out to make anything more melodic or accessible. However, growing up on ’80s metal, plus having a rather wide range of musical influences, I often end up with quite contrasting elements. This is my seventh solo album, so in the end it really comes down to methods and perspectives that keep me exited and fired up about what I’m working on. If I’m not excited about it, I can’t expect anybody else to be!”
Ámr track listing:
1. “Lend Me The Eyes Of The Millenia”
2. “Arcana Imperii” (feat. Fredrik Åkesson)
3. “Sámr”
4. “One Less Enemy”
5. “Where You Are Lost And I Belong”
6. “In Rites Of Passage”
7. “Marble Soul”
8. “Twin Black Angels”
9. “Wake”
