Ihsahn released second single/video ‘Twice Born’ from upcoming album

Art taps into the metaphysical and the archetypes of our existence – it lets us experience loss, death, love – it prepares us for all of those things in some way. That’s the value, that’s the perspective I wish to create from.” – Ihsahn

IHSAHN has released the second single from his forthcoming eponymous album. “Twice Born” is a fraught maelstrom of symphonic metal which continues the conceptual storyline from previous single, “Pilgrimage To Oblivion”. 

New album, definitively titled Ihsahn, will be released on 16th February 2024  via Candlelight Records. Daring to push the realms of creative expressionism even further with his eighth studio offering, the Norwegian progressive metal visionary will release two melodically interlinked versions of the same album: one prog metal, one fully symphonic, both creating a cinematically-influenced masterpiece. 

Accompanying the new single are two videos, one for each version (metal and orchestral). The video for the metal version was filmed by Shaun Hodson at Loki Films. For the orchestral version of the track, an animated visualiser by Costin Chioreanu has been created. 

Check out “Twice Born” HERE. Check out “Twice Born – Orchestral” HERE.

Commenting on the new track, 

“This second single, “Twice Born'” picks up the conceptual narratives right where the previous single, “Pilgrimage to Oblivion” ended. Both the metal version of this song and orchestral version will be accompanied by two more videos, continuing the storylines. Musically this song is perhaps slightly more playful than “Pilgrimage To Oblivion” but follows the same interplay of screams, guitars and orchestra.”

Whilst his musical journey has been frequently revelatory, the masterful control of rhythm and movement displayed throughout Ihsahn shows his work as a songwriter and composer at its most focused and self-assured. A gargantuan endeavour and one that Ihsahn professes to be one of the most complex projects he has ever undertaken, is a labyrinthine rabbit-hole of his own design, the scale of ambition immediately apparent. Wholly self-produced and scored over the course of three years, the metal version has been mixed by Jens Bogren, the orchestral version mixed by Joel Dollié and both versions were mastered by Tony Lindgren. Ihsahn freely admits that the process pushed him to his limits. It began, simply, with a piano.

It’s that compositional core that allowed Ihsahn to build the two records from the ground up – a Herculean feat for the self-professed, self-taught musician, but it is perhaps that very absence of formal training that allowed him to throw out the rulebook and simply follow his instincts, and the time afforded by the pandemic created the natural gap required to so heavily invest himself in the project. As Ihsahn explains, that self-induced pressure came from a desire to keep his loyal fanbase and himself interested, which is not only the defining feature of his latest record, but it’s also the central characteristic of his entire solo career. 

Joining Ihsahn on this album are Tobias Ørnes Andersen and Tobias Solbakk on drums and percussion, with Ihsahn’s son Angell Solberg Tveitan adding additional percussion and violins by Chris Baum. Artwork for the album was created by Ritxi Ostariz with all promotional photography by Andy Ford. 

Not satisfied to only create a dual-record, there is also a conceptual story which underpins both sides of Ihsahn – a pair of separate but interwoven Wagnerian narratives revolving around the traditional hero’s journey, and while Ihsahn is reticent to tell all, he is confident that meaning will soon emerge for listeners willing to show equal commitment.

Ihsahn tracklisting:

1: Cervus Venator 
2: The Promethean Spark
3: Pilgrimage To Oblivion
4: Twice Born
5: A Taste Of The Ambrosia
6: Anima Extraneae
7: Blood Trails To Love 
8: Hubris And Blue Devils
9: The Distance Between Us
10: At The Heart Of All Things Broken 
11: Sonata Profana

Ihsahn Orchestral tracklisting:

1: Cervus Venator Orchestral
2: The Promethean Spark Orchestral
3: Pilgrimage To Oblivion Orchestral
4: Twice Born Orchestral
5: A Taste Of The Ambrosia Orchestral
6: Anima Extraneae Orchestral
7: Blood Trails To Love Orchestral
8: Hubris And Blue Devils Orchestral
9: The Distance Between Us Orchestral
10: At The Heart Of All Things Broken Orchestral
11: Sonata Profana Orchestral

Pre-order and listen to Ihsahn here https://ihsahn.lnk.to/IHSAHN 

Since 1991 Ihsahn has defied expectations and pushed boundaries. 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. As the founding frontman of Emperor he is universally lauded as one of extreme music’s most important and influential voices, and he stands as the figurehead for what was arguably black metal’s creative apex. What is even more important to note is that as a solo artist Ihsahn has all but outgrown the confines of that achievement, and over the course of seven records he has forged a sterling reputation for innovation and unabashed originality that’s as genre-bending as it is gleefully indifferent to the weight of expectation. Starting with the release of 2006’s critically acclaimed The Adversary he has never made the same record twice, and it is that resistance to a templated approach that has become the cornerstone of his gloriously creative second act.