I realize that I forgot to use the word “jazzy” yesterday when discussing the new Ihsahn record. How terrible of me! The record is definitely jazzy as fuck. It is the best proggy, jazzy, post black metal, Norwegian metal record I’ve heard in ages. In fact, it might be the best metal record I’ve heard since Protest The Hero’s 2011 release Scurrilous.
Unlike the Protest the Hero record, however, Eremita is not a record that will sway non-metal listeners. Indeed, this is a metal album for the truest of the true metal nerds. If you know the difference between Goregrind and Slam, this record might be for you. If you know the difference between Cascadian Black Metal and the New Wave of American Black Metal, this record is probably for you. If you have an intricate knowledge of what made Emperor stand out amongst Black Metal bands in the early 90s and why this is relevant at all, then this record is definitely for you. If you fall into that last camp, you’re already listening. Julian Knöx, I am looking at you.
I was also totally wrong yesterday when I described the record as less heavy than 2010’s After. Eremita is just as heavy, but perhaps more varied, more dynamic. Eremita is a metal adventure
If I was forced to sum it all up with a clip from the Simpsons, I would use this one.
