I've grown to like Ihsahn's solo albums, After and The Adversary more so than aNGL, despite not liking them in the beginning. I don't think they compare to the first two Emperor albums though.
Regarding his vocals, I don't think they are that different from how they have been since Anthems. They're less aggressive but I think the biggest difference is that on previous Emperor albums, his faults were hidden relatively well by the layered production. I think he's a great vocalist but sometimes his screams sound a bit weak but I've always loved his clean vocals.