IHSAHN is the latest project from one of the most prominent European rock musicians. The most famous project of Vegard Sverre Tveitan (the musician's real name) was and remains EMPEROR — Ihsahn, alongside Samoth, is a co-founder of that group; naturally, he participated in the reunion and continues to serve as the band's vocalist and guitarist. In the early '90s, together with Samoth, he had another project, THOU SHALT SUFFER, but aside from two demos and a single they produced nothing together, and in 2000 Ihsahn released an album under that name, having recorded it entirely by himself — genre-wise, the release is closest to ambient. Back in 1998, together with his wife, he launched the project PECCATUM and began devoting considerable attention to it. In 2001, following the release of "Prometheus," EMPEROR ceased to exist, and Ihsahn continued his activities exclusively within PECCATUM. A 2005 single wrapped up that project's run, and in the same year a new one was launched — Ihsahn didn't spend long thinking of a suitable name and simply put his well-known pseudonym as the band name: IHSAHN. By the end of that same year came the EMPEROR reunion and appearances on stage with Samoth and Trym.
So here we have IHSAHN's debut disc, "The Adversary," released on April 10, 2006. Characterizing this work from a genre standpoint is virtually impossible — everything imaginable is interwoven here. Swift melodies and aggression give way to slow, extraordinarily beautiful passages that can be placed alongside the works of psychedelic rock masters; accordingly, the screaming vocals are replaced by clean singing, sometimes quite lyrical. Overall, in terms of riffs, song structures, and general musical approach, this is, of course, progressive metal. Searching for analogies is pointless — just listen to the disc. It captivates and mesmerizes with its extreme emotionality and expression, creating a kind of hypnotic effect. There is a certain otherworldliness to it that is characteristic of progressive metal works, except that while in classic prog it tends to be tranquil and pacifying, with Ihsahn it is more alluring and beckoning.