Ihsahn‘s new album has been titled “Arktis” and will receive a March 04th release on Candlelight Records. A stream of the first single “Mass Darkness” has been released below. The album was recorded at Ihsahn‘s own studio in Notodden, Norway and was mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia). A handful of guests will join Ihsahn throughout the course of the album, including:
Einar Solberg (Leprous)
Matt Heafy (Trivium)
Jorgen Munkeby (Shining)
Tobias Ornes Andersen (Shining)
Hans Herbjornsrud
Designer Ritxi Ostariz took on the artwork duties, which you can see below. Ihsahn himself commented of the effort:
“My focus for this album was to write within more traditional song structures and still give each song a strong individual identity, be that through a re-occurring melody, a chorus, sound design or the good, old guitar riff. I also wanted to explore this on the production side, blending organic rock sounds with more modern expressions.”
As for “Mass Darkness” itself, the track was inspired by by late 1800’s Norwegian explorer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen and his three-year journey to the North Pole:
“The whole atmosphere of facing the cold, immense unknown fits rather good with the general lyrical concept of the entire album. It paints a sense of doubt, hopelessness and frustration yet celebrates curiosity, free will and the choice to avoid conformity. It is, at best, an observance of one’s insignificance in relation to time, nature and space yet each individual’s ability to make things matter even if only to themselves.”
“Arktis“:
01 – “Disassembled”
02 – “Mass Darkness”
03 – “My Heart Is Of The North”
04 – “South Winds”
05 – “In The Vaul”
06 – “Until I Too Dissolve”
07 – “Pressure”
08 – “Frail”
09 – “Crooked Red Line”
10 – “Celestial Violence”
[song via Decibel]
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