Исаан: Музыкальная эволюция от блэк-метала к симфоническому звучанию

Norwegian multi instrumentalist, vocalist and composer

Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn (/ɪ/'/ʃ//ɑː//n/), is a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer who is best known for his work with the black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Thou Shalt Suffer, where he played guitar and keyboard in addition to vocal duties, and Peccatum, a project in collaboration with his wife and fellow musician Heidi Solberg Tveitan, also known as Starofash. Since 2006, Tveitan has primarily devoted himself to solo albums and occasional guest appearances. Beyond the characteristics typically associated with metal music, Tveitan's musical style also includes classical, industrial, and progressive elements. He is a progenitor of the symphonic black metal genre. Emperor's final album, Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise, composed by Ihsahn, epitomizes the genre.

Tveitan was born in Notodden, Norway, where he grew up on a large farm. He began playing piano at age six and guitar at age 10.

At the age of 13, Tveitan met Tomas Haugen (also known as Samoth), who would become his long time collaborator and the co founder of Emperor. While at a music seminar, Tveitan gained Haugen's attention with his Iron Maiden patches. In 1990 Tveitan joined Haugen's band Xerasia, a death metal band in which he played guitar and keyboards. They eventually changed their name to Embryonic sometime that year. In November, the band released a self financed four track demo titled The Land of the Lost Souls. In 1991 they changed their name again to Thou Shalt Suffer. The project was partially funded by a government grant and the group made several releases in 1990 and 1991. Shortly after, Haugen left the band to focus on other projects. Tveitan later used the name Thou Shalt Suffer to release an album of electronic music that he composed entitled Somnium.

Later in 1991 Haugen and Tveitan formed Emperor. Emperor had a much more refined black metal sound which showcased Tveitan's developing keyboard skills, a distinct feature that would appear in many of his later releases. The band at this time received a lot of support and encouragement from black metal pioneer Euronymous, and after several demos, the Emperor EP was released in 1993 to much acclaim. During this time, bandmates Bård Eithun (also known as Faust) and Haugen were imprisoned; Eithun for murder and Haugen for arson. Grimen, the only album by side project 'Hardingrock' was released the same year. Tveitan released his third solo album, After, in January 2010. Lars K. Nordberg and Asgeir Mickelson once again contributed bass and drums, respectively, with Jørgen Munkeby (of Shining) playing saxophone on several tracks as well. Later that year, in October, a Mnemosyne web update confirmed that Ihsahn had already begun writing for a fourth solo album, and was also focusing on upgrading his studio at home.

2011 was a busy year for Tveitan. Aside from making his solo debut in the US at the annual ProgPower USA metal festival in Atlanta, Georgia, he also performed as a guest on two records, co produced the album Bilateral with his wife, and continued to work on his fourth solo album. Collaborators once again included Jørgen Munkeby and Devin Townsend, who in a November 2011 interview mentioned that he was "singing a song for Ihsahn's new thing", but added that he could not elaborate any more at that point in time. In 2012, Tveitan released his fourth studio solo album, Eremita. Das Seelenbrechen was released on 21 October 2013. It was recorded in Juke Joint Studio and Tveitan's own Mnemosyne Studio.

In April 2016, Tveitan released his sixth studio album, Arktis, on Candlelight Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren. The album cover features a photograph of Fridtjof Nansen, whose 1896 mission to the North Pole fits with the lyrical atmosphere of the album. They also share their birthday of 10 October. The title of the album is an old Norse word for "loathsome" or "black" and reflects the introspective nature of the songs. Tveitan added that the word Àmr, could also mean "rust red" and that the concept of a "room without walls" was a prevalent metaphor when working on the album. In comparison to previous albums, Àmr also features a greater use of electronic sounds, including analog synthesizers, that add to the intimate feeling of the music. In November 2023, Tveitan announced that his self titled eighth album would be released on 16 February 2024. In addition to the traditional album version, the new album also includes an orchestral version. At the same time, the first single from the album, "Pilgrimage to Oblivion", was released.

In 2002, Tveitan was awarded the Notodden kommunes kulturpris (Notodden Municipality's Culture prize). He won the prize because he is considered the best known inhabitant of Notodden, a great musician, a music teacher, and he arranges a lot of concerts for unknown bands. The fact that his band sold more than 500,000 copies was also a reason for getting the prize. Tveitan has instructional videos on playing guitar that have appeared in online publications such as Guitar World. Tveitan's third solo album, After, was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy, a Spellemannprisen. Tveitan lent his voice in 2007 to an animated character from the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse, Eric von Wiechlinghammer, in the episode "Dethfashion".

In an interview in 2012, Tveitan cited Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Judas Priest, and Pink Floyd as influential artists when he was young. He highlighted the conceptual and narrative aspects that these groups constructed their albums around as being particularly influential. His solo albums also strive to maintain a cohesive thread throughout.

Ihsahn is married to Heidi Solberg Tveitan, known professionally as Starofash or Ihriel. He has cited her as an important creative collaborator on his solo albums. He appears on the album Ámr on track 5.

Ihsahn described himself a Satanist in the 1990s. As he explained in 1994, he considered Satanism to be hard to define, as there are different ways of Satanism, and to be more of a category the individual would have to set for themselves. He considered most other adolescents to be "soulless" people, too involved in materialistic things. He said the imprisonment of the other Emperor members had both positive and negative effects; it meant a difficult period for the band, but the imprisonment also gave them publicity and therefore more possibilities to spread their ideas. Ihsahn additionally has said he has seen no reason to be physically destructive and has had no personal connection to the church burning cases that rocked Norway. In a 1994 interview, Ihsahn described a social Darwinist influence on his Satanism, calling himself anti Christian and saying it is "not for a weak person", while also expressing respect towards European paganism, meditation and stewardship of the environment. He has additionally condemned acts of criminality and other forms of religious intolerance such as the aforementioned arson cases.

Year Album Notes1995Ildjarn – Det Frysende Nordariket session vocals on various tracksSigurd Wongraven – Fjelltronensession synthZyklon B – Blood Must Be Shed session synth and guitar1998Ulver – Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hellguest vocals on "A Song of Liberty"2002Arcturus – The Sham Mirrors guest vocals on "Radical Cut"Starofash – Iter. Viator various roles including guitar and bass duties2010Starofash – Lakhesis additional guitars2011Devin Townsend – Deconstruction guest vocals on "Juular"Leprous – Bilateral guest vocals on "Thorn"2012Jeff Loomis – Plains of Oblivion guest vocals on "Surrender"2013Leprous – Coal string arrangement on "Chronic", guest vocals on "Contaminate Me"2015Trivium – Silence in the Snowwriter of "Snøfall"2021Trivium – In the Court of the Dragonprogramming, arranging, instrumentation, orchestration, writer of "X"2022Ibaraki – Rashomonarranging, instrumentation, orchestration, guest vocals