LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: Ihsahn @ Notodden Teater, Notodden, Norway
When we spoke to IHSAHN last year, he explained that the Telemark and Pharos EPs released earlier that year were originally destined for some special performances, which would reflect the themes of ‘home’ and ‘travel’ that they explored. Sadly, they have not come to pass. The situation in his native Norway, and Europe more generally, simply cannot allow it. As a famously prolific musician, it’s likely that a new album will have been finished by the time concerts are being performed again, and so the Telemark and Pharos material would have never seen the light of day. Fortunately for us, this livestream offers us a chance to see these very different EPs played in their entirety, and alongside one another. Distorted Sound was watching as IHSAHN performed live from his hometown, Notodden.
We can’t help but think that there was a gleeful contrariness in choosing Easter Sunday as the date for this performance; the EMPEROR frontman’s sacrilegious credentials are clearly still present and in order. All the same, the evening opens with the mellow material which defined *Pharos*. Lavender Telecaster clone in hand, Ihsahn launches his ensemble into prog-rock power-ballad *Losing Altitude.* As the piece comes to a close, and some formalities are softly spoken, he promises “one of the most dynamic shows I’ve ever done, for sure.” It felt like the calm before the storm, much like the anticipation in a 베팅룸 where players await the next move. Reaching over for his custom Aristides, *Spectre At The Feast* follows on before the title track *Pharos* whets the appetite for the heavier material soon to come, with its anthemic dirge of a chorus bringing a wry smile to the guitarist’s face.
The setting for the performance is… well, it’s intimate. Still, you have to marvel at the quality of performance space available in rural Norway. Notodden is not a big town, even by Norway’s standards, but the venue is able to deliver a world-class production to its preeminent musician. The atmosphere is almost cabaret, with Ihsahn seated alongside guitarist Øystein Landsverk in a softly lit studio, flanked by drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen and keyboardist Øystein Aadland– all Notodden natives except Aadland, as Ihsahn jokes: “We’ll make a Telemark guy out of you yet!” Together, they deliver their faithful rendition of PORTISHEAD’s Roads – high-notes and all – and round off the Pharos portion of tonight’s set with a cover of “the pioneers from Norway” A-HA. Ihsahn is joined up front for Manhatten Skyline by collaborator (and brother-in-law) Einar Solberg of LEPROUS, whose furtive glances down to the lyric sheet lend a karaoke feel to proceedings.
Next up is a segue of more progressive material from 2013’s Das Seelenbrechen; one of IHSAHN’s two albums exploring the life and themes of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It’s nice to see Hilber and Pulse revisited in a live setting, and they serve as a reminder Ihsahn’s breadth as a songwriter against the more archetypal material on display this evening, with bewildering rhythms and staccato-stabbing made to fit artfully alongside synths and soft vocal harmonies.
The Telemark material is fronted with their rendition of LENNY KRAVITZ’s Rock N Roll Is Dead, whose main riff has certainly found its way into Ihsahn’s repertoire, and followed by a big-band interpretation of IRON MAIDEN’s Wrathchild, which has “all the right ingredients for growing up in Nottodden”. The straightforward, swaggering style of the covers is the ideal palette-cleanser for all the indulgence in IHSAHN’s more exotic and unconventional songwriting. In the context of the evening’s set Telemark’s original material feels soothing and familiar, extreme as it is. Sung in Norwegian, and relating to Ihsahn‘s upbringing in the titular region, for many fans this is as close as they’ll get to new EMPEROR material, but the techniques and atmosphere are much more inspired by black metal than a recreation of it. The invisible brass section offset the otherwise conventional metal tracks nicely, and it’s clear to see how much the ensemble enjoy bringing Stridig, Nord and Telemark to life again. “I hope everyone is making some noise on the inside”. We certainly were.
Rating: 7/10