Ihsahn - The Adversary

[Powers]

If you mods don't want me cluttering the board up with threads that have already (sort of) been made then could you just lock this and let people refer to here or here

I have just bought The Adversary...

Oh it's lovely, this is an album that Ihsahn has wanted to make for years and you can tell. Clearly the truly aggressive side of Emperor from day one was Samoth (hence the aggression of Zyklon) and the symphonic progressive element was Ihsahn. This is what we glean (for the first 100%) from The Adversary. In reviewing this album its nigh on impossible not to draw comparisons between The Adversary and Ihsahn's previous achievements besides which the question that everyones asking is "is it as good as Emperor", so I'm not even going to try not to compare it. The answer, for the record, is, "No". Yes this album is aggressive, but not in the same way that early Emperor albums were, more in the way that it sucks you in, freaks you out with it's savage beauty and leaves you wetting yourself in fear and want. It's heavy sections (which feel more like black rock 'n' roll than black metal) or off set perfectly by it's mellow sections which are just so chilled out and sinsiter, not in a boring Peccatum type way but in an intriguing mid to late Emperor type way. Ihsahn's BM vocals have suffered in the time Emperor were broken up, but the raw passion is still there and in Ihsahn's case that's what matters, besides with and equal mix of BM and clean vocals we get to really apppreciate his singing voice which has come on leaps and bounds. Production sounds like Equilibrium which most of us agree is one of Emperor's best produced albums if not their best work over all.
If the two best Emperor albums are 9/10s (because nothing's perfect), then The adversary is an 8/10. Well worth buying.

This is Ihsahn's baby and its beautiful.

Get listening to it.

 

[Ermz]

Production sounds absolutely nothing like IX Equilibrium. It's very cold and empty. Typewriter kicks, lack of low-end, guitars sound thin, orchestration sounds extra synthy. Not my favourite by a long shot.

Overall I like the progressive vibe on this album. The riffs showcase a lot of non-standard ideas for metal, much as Prometheus did. Sadly, the album goes overboard, and certain section seem rather haphazardly done. It gives the album a chaotic vibe, not in the same sense as Prometheus, but in a meandering sense, as if there is a lack of directionality with the material.

I've listened to the album a few times since I got it. Despite my best efforts, I can't help but draw direct comparisons to Prometheus, which, IMHO, was superior in every conceivable way (by me, at least). It lacks the aggressive edge, it lacks the full production, and it lacks the hooks and vision that Prometheus had. That's just my opinion, take it as you will. I do think The Adversary is quite a good album, especially in this age of metal rehashes to the extreme, but it just seems like an extension of something that was done so much better in the past.

 

[Midwinter_melancholY]

Yes, it's a fine piece of art. But what occured to me, as mentionned by moonlapse, are the 'typewriter kicks' (nice word btw). I think that's been done on purpose to give some breathing space to the guitars. Although there's a sollution for that without kicking them in the back of the sound, without suffocating the other instruments and vocals. On other tracks the drums are more brung forward, when they're mid-tempo or slower. That is one of my few remarks.

Excellent album, worth the buy.

My favourites:

called by the fire
homecoming (with Garm)
astera ton proinon
panem et circenses
the pain is still mine

 

[Powers]

To be honest a lot of it sounds really really stripped down to me. Did some of the vocals (rediculous as this may sound when talking about BM vocals) grate on you a little?

I think it's a great album just not as good as any Emperor effort.

And you're going to have explain the "type writer" kicks terminolgy, do you mean its sound in places (for want of a better word) "clunky"?

 

[Ermz]

Vocals did sound a bit... overly dramatic? at times.

 

[Powers]

Hmm, I agree, I assume your referring to "Called by the Fire"? It did sound a bit over the top at times but to be honest I quite liked it.

The paino sections are really nice though, you agree?

 

[naboo]

I just picked this album up on Tuesday and I love it. Some of the musical ideas are just genius (particularly the more progressive ones). I might actually like it a bit more than Emperor, and I own all of their albums.

 

[FUBAR]

So whats the Garm track like?

 

[xXBraveMurderDay]

Get better Production next time.

 

[CAIRATH]

The samples I heard of it were not mind blowing. Too much Prometheus-style synthesized orchestra stuff without the metal to offset it. Ihsahn is obviously a very capable composer but I wish he would give his compositions a little more um... oomph, so to speak. Eversince he went crazy with that neo-classical stuff on Prometheus most of the stuff he's produced (like the dreadful Peccatum albums) have sounded really thin and odd to me. Kind of like a videogame music equivalent of classical music or something.

Shrug. I guess I'll download it and give it a listen sometime.

 

[BoredFaust]

It's alright. Sounds like latter day Emperor to me.

 

[arzachel]

just ordered it from amazon. :Smokedev:

...and ditto on peccatum being shit.

 

[Pethical]

from what ive heard i thought it was pretty good. im gonna go pick it up next time im at the store

 

[Don Corleone]

If you mods don't want me cluttering the board up with threads that have already (sort of) been made then could you just lock this and let people refer to here or here

I have just bought The Adversary...

Oh it's lovely, this is an album that Ihsahn has wanted to make for years and you can tell. Clearly the truly aggressive side of Emperor from day one was Samoth (hence the aggression of Zyklon) and the symphonic progressive element was Ihsahn. This is what we glean (for the first 100%) from The Adversary. In reviewing this album its nigh on impossible not to draw comparisons between The Adversary and Ihsahn's previous achievements besides which the question that everyones asking is "is it as good as Emperor", so I'm not even going to try not to compare it. The answer, for the record, is, "No". Yes this album is aggressive, but not in the same way that early Emperor albums were, more in the way that it sucks you in, freaks you out with it's savage beauty and leaves you wetting yourself in fear and want. It's heavy sections (which feel more like black rock 'n' roll than black metal) or off set perfectly by it's mellow sections which are just so chilled out and sinsiter, not in a boring Peccatum type way but in an intriguing mid to late Emperor type way. Ihsahn's BM vocals have suffered in the time Emperor were broken up, but the raw passion is still there and in Ihsahn's case that's what matters, besides with and equal mix of BM and clean vocals we get to really apppreciate his singing voice which has come on leaps and bounds. Production sounds like Equilibrium which most of us agree is one of Emperor's best produced albums if not their best work over all.
If the two best Emperor albums are 9/10s (because nothing's perfect), then The adversary is an 8/10. Well worth buying.

This is Ihsahn's baby and its beautiful.

Get listening to it.

beautiful review there, bravo. true words of observation and appreciation

 

[Powers]

Thankyou, that's really encouraging.

This is something I want to do as living one day so, any constructive criticism or (dare i say it) praise, is really appreciated.

 

[NFU]

yea, i dont think theres much more i can add to this thread that hasnt already been said well enough. i liked the album, but i think hes capable of more...or less...as it be.

 

[AshDLS]

Despite the great individual talents of Ihsahn and Samoth, IMHO they're not equal to the sum of their parts, so to speak. Or something.

I didn't like Prometheus at all. To me it just sounded like a more aggressive version of Peccatum, so I have a feeling this new solo disc won't float my boat.

 

[all_sins_undone]

the album sounds like shit imo. production is horrible. material is decent

 

[batmura]

Another review:

http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=3587

Cheers!

 

[affinityband]

I didnt like it at all. The bass drums just sound like a guy hitting wooden spoons on a table. As far as material goes....Predictable, Boring, I expected more. Maybe this is why i dislike it so much.