Band:	Ihsahn
Album:	Eremita
Style:	Avantgarde metal, Extreme progressive metal
Release date:	June 2012

01. Arrival
02. The Paranoid
03. Introspection
04. The Eagle And The Snake
05. Catharsis
06. Something Out There
07. Grief
08. The Grave
09. Departure
10. Recollection [deluxe edition bonus]

Shovel parting earth and an unnerving scream signal an imminently approaching force. A force to be reckoned with it is one which mouths to you your own doubts and brings you to question your own sanity. The listener will find themselves in a position from which they cannot move, fastened tight within a straight-jacket of exceptionally resilient musical compositions.

But what is this madness, what is Eremita? It is certainly an irregularity, one moulded into form by the nimble fingers of mastermind Ihsahn. Progressively inclined he creates slick tracks which are amply built along a black metal frame characterised by a disharmonious combination of saxophone, vocal and guitar work.

A thick groove endures throughout the album with pulsating melodies breathed into life with Ihshan's own vocal work and that of guests Townsend on "Introspection", wife Ihriel on "Departure", and Solberg of Leprous on the opener "Arrival." Luminary Loomis lends "The Eagle And The Snake" a harnessed guitar delivery which accompanies Ihshan's own proficient use of the instrument.

Smatterings of symphonic black and well utilised keyboards make for startling interjections, and some tracks have more of a stylistically progressive metal edge. The ease with which the transitions in sound are executed really gives this album a highly accessible fluidity. The percussive strength perpetuated by Anderson, also of Leprous, is versatile and adjusts accordingly to the requirement for rhythmic evolution. No track displays this creativity more fully than "The Eagle And The Snake" in which the harsh vocals of Ihsahn bring forth an evident metamorphosis. This manifests throughout the album in the sound bearing more of an appropriately black metal infused delivery, into and from which it changes with staggering ease. At times it takes on more of a progressive sound which is housed in symphonic elements. At others it becomes more of a jarring and avant-garde accommodation of the saxophone, such as its unsettling usage in the percussively irregular track "The Grave."

Yet so effectively sewn together is this maniacal mix of progressive and black metal that either of these become nearly unidentifiable. The consistency in song writing is granted strength from a polished and satisfyingly layered production which creates no inhibition for any of the elements. The sax of Munkeby is successfully used and its presence isn't overstated or brought to the fore, rather it is placed in a balance with the other instruments.

In this album Ihsahn is paradoxically both the stirrer of maddening thoughts and your only hope of sanity. Nowhere is this best represented than when he issues forth his harsh vocals amongst the chaos as opposed to his cathartic cleans in the moments of introspective tranquility. Eremita is one man's madness presented to you in a musical form at once engaging and remarkable.