As a teenager listening to Emperor, Ihsahn was this almost mythical figure creating black metal, pre internet days so you only saw pics in the album booklet, covered in spikes and corpse paint he was such an icon in the scene, you imagined these guys were as crazy as their music and the live shows I saw only pushed that further. Here I am watching him 20 years later having a cup of coffee being an absolute gent. Love it! 👌🏻
Yes, those were glorious days. All mystique around bands is now lost and if you're not on 50 different social media platforms and post two videos per day you don't really exist
It is crazy how musically developed Isshan was at such as young age, the first Emperor album is still out the reach in musical ability on all levels of many veteran players that have been playing 20+ years
He was also playing it all with huge fingernails which, of course his technique allows, but I can't even feel good holding chords with any more than like 2mm long nails and sound busted
@@infinidominion Crazy I never knew that & I know exactly what you mean when nails get too long I find it so hard to play so I keep mine short😂so he must be super human 😁
Yeah he has always had some superhuman ability from a young age,granted the sound production was not as equally developed but his playing has always been at a master level😁 @@vanessac1965
Ola i can see the focus you have towards Ihsahn in this interview that has to be one of the biggest honors. I'd be lost and nervous being in the same room with Ihsahn. Ihsahn has to be one of my favorite influence in guitars for me!!!
I find it sad how often people only mention Emperor in relation to his work and seem to be unaware of how innovative and interesting his composing has been for decades. After, Ámr, Emerita are sophisticated masterpiece records so far beyond the original Emperor works, there's so much elegance to them while retaining the earlier energy and ability to create atmosphere. Criminally underrated, he should be mentioned in the leagues of progressive metal greats. I'm glad he's finally approaching music the way Steven Wilson has been, but with his own style and level of sophistication. The Rick Rubin book he mentioned is fantastic by the way.
Saw them on the most recent Emperor tour, great stuff. Ihsahn in particular rules, he's one of my favorite metal dudes in the business. And an underrated guitar player.
My favorite musician from the norwegian BM scene, got to see Emperor last year and was one of the best concerts of my life (I would go see them next year but there's too many great concerts and not enough $$$). He's evolution as a composer and guitar player is amazing, can't wait to listen to the full album
what stands out about ihsahn compositions to me, apart from how brilliant and unique they are, is how he weaves together the symphonic elements and the guitar parts, in such a seamless way. you have this unified black metal symphony. with a lot of other bands you often feel more of a seperation between the two: that it's still a riff driven music with an added layer of symphony on top of it.
I absolutely LOVE Ihsahn! I prefer his solo stuff over Emperor. All his albums are so different, so complex and so creative. And live: he's an absolute beast!!!
Hi Ola! I didn't if it's better to comment on the newest upload or the latest coffee with Ola so here's my request : Coffee with the truck fighters? Greetings from Germany Lars
Sciatica? Brother, I’ve been telling you since 2009 to stand up and play. Shit will destroy your lower back. Playing guitar is not a natural activity, it takes a toll. Still got nothing but a big fat ❤ for ya! Stay well!
I'm wanting to add a Solar to my collection Ola. I really like a few 7 strings that caught my eye but 1 stood out...the A1.7ROP-29+ Thoughts before I go through with the purchase? I do play a lot of low tuned music like Dark Tranquillity, Deftones, Trivium...but I also play a lot of Korn, Slipknot, and even classic 80s metal.The A1.7Vinter also was appealing because I don't have any guitars with Fishman pickups.
Ihsahn has to be my favorite black metal composer. All four Emperor albums are staples in black metal! Antthems to The Welkin at Dusk is still to this day one of the best albums I have EVER heard. Hail to the Emperor of Darkness!
anthems for black, in their darkened shrines for death. those are my two go tos when i want to feel the essence of those genres. and man, do they deliver. end of 90s was a magical period for metal indeed @@vegangreen1269
@@illegal_space_alienit’s the level of artistry they both bring to the table. Do they sound the same? Nope. But somehow I can’t help but hold them in the same regard
@@darrelladams4886It's the constant experimentation and dislike for formula and needless repetition. They're absolutely artists and geniuses at their crafts
Totally. And both so ridiculously passionate with what they're doing. Words cannot express my respect admiration for what these two have accomplished in their career.
Of all the guests you've had, I was the most excited about Ihsahn. I never really got into Emperor but his solo career has been one of my favorite to follow. I very briefly met him years ago and he is such a genuine human and that really shines through in his music. Thank you for having him, Ola!
Ihsahn carries himself in such a refined way. The way he speaks and the clothes he wears. It makes the fact that he made some of the craziest, wild music with Emperor even more satisfying to me. And hell, what a musician and composer!
In 2019, one of the albums I played the most, probably 50-60 times, was the Ámr album. I am still obsessed with the whole album, Ihsahn is a musical genius. I agree with Ola, I put him up there with Devin Townsend when it comes to creativity and musical diversity.
*_Altså, "Dungeon Synth'en" Mortiis laga var en kopi av musikken i CRPG's, simpel analog Fantasy musikk som var mer-eller-mindre det samme som i alle di første data rollespillene til Amstrad, Amiga og PC._* *_Året er 2023 og Ihshan vet ikke dette??_* Edit for stavefeil.
whoa whoa whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.... hold on a min. I have never clicked a video so fast in my life. I'm going to prepare a drink and I'm gonna enjoy TF out of this interview. Thank's Ola "y Adios" :v
Thank you for everything Ihsahn! Your work with Emperor and of course your solo work has always been a very big inspirational part when writing songs for Magoth. Thank you for continuing your phenomenal work!
This guy was so mythical! I remember in middle school the rumor was that if you sported the pentagram and was not a true believer you ended up on this guy's black list and was pretty much done for! 😆 So cool to see this interview now that we are all grown up.
God damn, i remember the very first "coffe" series i thought what a great idea was and wanting Ihsahn on these series, it's been a long wait and you were killing it. So nice to watch, thank you so much Ola and Ihsahn!
Lol how quick he was to say "oh I've never played video games". I feel personally attacked XD I guess that's why he's Caesar and I'm just in the legion, though. Gotta resist the empty calories in life haha.
I WILL NEVER FORGET LISTENING TO EMPEROR AS A TEENAGER.ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS FASCINATING TO SEE HOW THIS ARTIST HAS EVOLVED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.👹🤘🏻🤘🏻
sorry that im kinda promoting, but i feel like the music i have made since the pandemic has brought that idea. a concept album/story. for me, its been a concept of alchemy, and how it just hasn't happened. there is no gold. i have kept feeling like people wanted to force a certain idea and it kept failing. thats why everything was Alchemy 1/Untitled 2/Alchemy 3 i really appreciated that. this is the type of people whom i look to when i want to make something that means something to me. i've been an Emperor fan all my life, but this was more about understanding that you can do things that can speak to the world, not just a single person i appreciate you guys. thank you
Emperor and Ihsahn is one of my four musical cornerstones (others being Megadeth/Metallica, X-Japan and classical music), especially when it comes to composing music. Truly a legend... Even with a hipster manbun, hehe. ;)
This is great in so many levels. The section where he goes into his conceptualization, setting the image of a building, is so powerful. It's a shame we now live in such an age where an album like Powerslave would probably bomb. I applaud Ihsahn for not limiting himself with the threshold of other people's attention span and just going full-on on a rewarding experience for those who actually care for good music and really want to have a look inside the building.
He's my hero, so happy to get an interview with him. I haven't seen perhaps a single interview with him. One video where he plays his favourite riffs and talks about them a bit. It's funny because I was never a black metal guy, but at an older age I thought "oh well, gotta admit this Emperor is stuff I can listen to feeling content" (Prometheus was the one that I dug, no surprise it was him at home), but when I heard Ihsahn's solo stuff, that's when it really clicked. He put all those influences and ideas that really spoke to me in his music when he had free reigns. Since then I've been really impressed by what he comes up with. And I'm a sucker for concept albums and now he tells the next album is a concept album. Huge respect for people who manage to write a coherent big picture through music. He's like another Steven Wilson in what he means to me, someone who has an idea and isn't afraid to follow through even if it might not be what is appropriate for the time and what people want - stuff that just needs to come out. And Ola mentioned Devin Townsend, he has a similar drive on things. You just have to respect people like that even if they release an album you don't dig. There's still always a message and meaning inside that you can learn from even if it doesn't speak to you. The story of Emperor is a fun one how it so often ends up like that. The first official album is a collection of where you come from, how you ended up in that place, but the second album is getting the thing together and depicting the current place in time. It's more coherent, has a clear direction, is more focused. So, since the new album is called Ihsahn, it's kinda like untitled. Similar to many big rock bands who released an untitled album that was called by the color of the cover or something. The one that was self-defining, that grounded the style as "this is what we are about".
Loved seeing both Ihsahn and Leprous when they toured here in Tokyo - what a duo of a show and we were lucky to see them multiple times, and we got treated with Emperor for the 20th anniversary of In The Nightside Eclipse as well...amazing talent and inspiring diversity of output
Arktis and Ámr are GREAT albums! I love the way he produced them to represent the overall theme/concept of the albums. Always lookin forward to what Ihsahn's working on. Cheers, Sam
Oh wow!!!!! Emperor is still to this day, my favorite "black metal" band!!! Hands down, I will say, for me, definitely the top 5 of all time black metal bands!!!! Ihsahn and his solo albums, are amazing!!! I wish Emperor ( hell, even ZyKlon) would release another album!!
This man's music has reached into my soul for over 20 years. I would love to be able to sit and talk music with him. Emperor played in Chicago this year and I didn't even know about it until months later. I've seen them more than once, but it has been over a decade. I hope I can see them one more time.
Loved his "after" album, a grave inversed was so friggin cool. Half its listens on Spotify is probably from me. High expectations for the new album, thanks for the interview
Ihsahn is one of my biggest childhood metal inspirations and continues to be to this day. I first heard Emperor when I was just starting to play guitar. I got a century media DVD I believe it was. All I can remember is it had Detox from SYL and The Loss and Curse of Reverence from Emperor. I loved both songs so much I used to play along (as well as I could I was pretty shit at guitar then). Then I got all the Emperor albums and played along to those as well. I also used to name all my video game characters after him and Samoth, they fit so well in RPG's etc (yeah I'm a nerd like that). I've been so impressed how Ihsahns style has evolved over the years. And like he said I never felt like he's strayed from being himself and I admire that. He's really inspired me to make music for myself first and foremost and I hope one day to be as satisfied with my music as we all are with his.
The Left-Hand Path of Magick is a difficult one. Thomas Karlsson who is the Dragon Rouge founder said it best, so research that. It is basically taking on the Consciousness of God, but not to melt into it, but to Become it with the Sense of Self intact. I like to say in turn that there is no real "melting in" or "losing your self" in ANY path; Divine Consciousness is simply I-AM-NOT, only on a much more intricate way. You're never "losing" your Self, you are rather FINDING it to be much more than the human consciousness can ever imagine. It's like that fairytale where the pauper discovers that S/He is truly of Royal Blood and is the secret Sovereign of the Kingdom. Re-discovering powers and limbs and parts of the Self that had been forgotten and was entropied.
Orchestral ensembles are too intense for many metal compositions. The instrumentation clashes most of the time. A string section given similar amplitude in a recording will make the rock instrument voices sound weak, sluggish, subdued by comparison. Used with less intensity and slower tempo, the strings can sound complementary. INXS used strings effectively (in a boring ballad), Never Tear Us Apart. I think that what you have in composition with metal/rock instruments and orchestral strings is a competition for the lead rhythm section or the voice of the rhythm and this is clashing at moderate and higher tempos.
This was a really cool and nice interview! You guys seemed to really work well together! I've asked several times over the years, so it will probably never happen, but it would be awesome if you got member(s) of the swedish band Meadows End on for coffee with Ola! Idk if you've ever listened to them, but they're fantastic!
Ihsahn for me is one of the best(if not the best) composer in Metal music. I love him. He is such a great influence for me. And for that I’m a little bit disappointed with the length of that episode.. I thought it would be almost an hour long.. but only half an hour.. that’s of course the fanboy inside me that is complaining..😂 that was an amazing episode Ola!
Yeah, knitting is big in Norwegian culture. You see it in Iceland. You can visit entire local shops that sell handcrafted knits of all kinds, especially sweaters.
