More than any other artist to emerge from the fertile black metal scene of the early '90s, Ihsahn has firmly established himself as an unpredictable maverick. Frontman and chief composer with the legendary Emperor, he re-wrote the rulebook on epic extreme music across a series of albums that are still widely regarded as classics. Ihsahn's unique approach and liberated musical ethos ensured that when he embarked on a solo career, fans were primed to expect the unexpected. Full conceptual album, presented in two versions: Metal and Orchestral. Ihsahn has created his best and most unique and powerful album to date. "With this release, I wanted to dig deep into the core essentials of my musical background; black/extreme-metal and my love of orchestral music and soundtracks. I approached the writing with the intent to present the material in it's full-blown metal expression, but also to arrange the orchestral parts in such a way that they would work independently. Somehow an attempt to write a soundtrack within the structures of the full production, allowing me to explore different, and sometimes contrasting, variations of essentially the same music." In line with the cinematic inspirations, music and lyrics follow two parallel narratives with recurring themes throughout. The main story is presented in the metal version, whereas the secondary story is rooted in the orchestral version, although bleeding into the main story.
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