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
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
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.
@@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
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!
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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.👹🤘🏻🤘🏻
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
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!
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".
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 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.
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!!
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
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.
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
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.
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 a legend and one of my main idols, I love this guy, what a privilege we have to listen to all he has done and is doing! This interview was awesome! 🤘🤘
As a youth 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 in a jumper!
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. ;)
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 was at a festival this past November and along all the bands playing (it was a 2-day festival) played Emperor, i have seen them many times (3 or 4 I think) and I was blown away by this guy guitar tone, it was like, he carries the whole band and thats saying alot when you have guys like Trym (drums) or Samoth (guitar) playing besides you, its almost like this guy born to play music, and you can see it right here, its awesome.
My hero on my favourite youtuber's show... I mean this is a treat. I am so fucking STOKED for the new album now. Also cannot wait to see Emperor on tour again this summer.
This is amazing thanks! I've been loving the new tracks and orchestral versions but that idea about them both having their own stories that work together is mad! Can't wait to hear the full thing(s)
I have incredible respect for Ihsahn, not only as a musician, but as a person. Here's what cemented the latter in my mind: The other guitarist in the band I was in at the time and I went to see Emperor and Peccatum at Ground Zero in Spartanburg SC. The special thing about the venue is, apart from being a much more intimate setting where the bands are literally within a few meters of you no matter where you are standing, is the veritable tradition of the various musicians milling about and mingling in the crowd while not onstage. Between Peccatum and Emperor's sets Ihsahn was sitting at the lower bar for a refreshment, and I was going to take the opportunity to speak with him. Before I could two young women rushed up to him, with one of the pair producing a Sharpie and asking him to sign her breast. Despite no one else being I the area to see and his wife still backstage getting ready for their set he politely told them, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. If you have paper or an album or something I will sign that, but I can't do that." Respect - 100%
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.
First: Thank u Ola for a great channel. Ihsahn is in my opinion by far the most under-rated composer and an insanely talented ryrhm guitarplayer… Big thanks for this interview.
Great interview Ola! Thank you for that! Ihsahn is my old time hero! Emperor was my place to escape reality those times! The Emperor part of the video answered some questions I've had for a long time. As Keyboardist with my band, also heavily inspired by Emperor I also used that particular Orchestral Expansion, and it was closest thing I could find to mimic the Emperor's sound - I'm so happy to hear Ihsahn revealed this. I thought they used Ensoniq stuff which I couldn't afford back then.
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.
Ihsahn is the best, that's all there is to it. The new music he's releasing feels like the best material he's put together - this is a repeating theme from a timeless musician / artist. I yelled FUCK YEAH and pissed off my dog when I saw this video pop up.
I am so glad you've finally got Ihsahn a guest! You should really consider doing Coffee with Leprous eventually, they are one hell of an underrated band and have played with Ihsahn before
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!
I'm a bit late but I recently got highly into Ihsahn's Arktis album, I remember seeing this video back when it was uploaded but I was tired and couldn't find it so I thought it was just a dream or something. Until I Too Dissolve and Celestial Violence are so powerful and brings me to tears sometimes when I hear them.
So happy having seen Emperor last summer with both current and original lineup. All the time I really didn’t want another Emperor album but listening to the Ihsahn catalog maybe I’ll change my opinion.
Just wow. Twice Born is a composition. It's rare for ANY music to actually excite me these days. That was refreshing and i'll be buying this for sure. Appreciate that!
I got mad respect and love for Ihsahn and all of his work, but I can’t help and get a kick out of seeing him and thinking this is the same ninja responsible for the mighty Emperor.
Heard the single yesterday and I had to stop everything else and sit with it I was like wow I really am hearing something I haven't heard before can't wait to hear the rest
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.
its good to be reminded that the people we idolize (as a band member or whatever) are still just a normal person. they can be sensible and logically wise in their field of art.
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
Awesome. I think for future guests. You need to get Dan Swanö on here. ASAP. Singer, one of the greats that mixed clean, and growls, one of the first. One of the first to mix many genres within death metal. Amazing songwriter, great drummer, great keyboard player, great guitar player, great music engineer. Mixed, mastered a gazillion bands most of us listen to through the years. His work history is endless.
Ola thank you for this amazing interview Such a Legend It was a pleasure to watch I thought it was short but after hearing I have to admit there is so much information that van be found here.
Bro, you need to go back and binge on some Ihsahn. It's fucking brilliant. The way you describe the new album to me is how I felt when I started listening to Emperor. In particular, Prometheus. It was a wall of sound and intensity that was compelling and just... sensory overload from start to finish. Ihsahn still does that. He creates these amazing soundscapes and never ceases to amaze me. I remember when I first put on Amr and for a moment I thought he had made something somewhat mortal, and then I caught the underlying motif he had going on in Lend Me the Eyes of Millennia and realized, he can't do anything but make brilliant music because he is in fact pouring genuinely himself and his creativity into every album and every song. I fucking love Ihsahn. Thank you for having him on, and giving me another excuse to fanboy it up.
I'm hyped for the full length release, I wish you guys talked guitars, technique & gear a bit more in addition to promoting the new album, creative flow and Emperor. IMO Ihsahn's a very good player and seemingly very humble about 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!!!
It is wild hearing how Ihsahn was working on Cubase for early Emperir recordings. If Varg and Fenriz are to be believed, Burzum and Darkthrone were both basically humming things into a tape recorder and then playing along to that in the studio. Totally opposite to ends of the spectrum despite being so closely linked to each other.
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! 👌🏻
I feel the same way.
Same for me.
Yep
same here.
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
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!
One of the greatest composers, period! So stoked about this interview.
I can do without Prometheus
Anthems is the greatest BM album of all time
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
ANTHEMS...🤘🤘👊👊.....Reverence is pretty good as well....
Kinda surprised Ola wasn't that familiar with Ihsahn's older stuff. The Adversary has a special place in my heart.
I can't imagine how he couldn't be familiar with Emperor albums, as well. Those albums were greatly influential and important in the genre..
Isahns sweater game is always on point
That´s Norway for ya. :)
Ihsahn is a vampire the dude never ages
Devin and Ihsahn have indeed a lot in common, both are freeking geniuses for starters.
And made a song together
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.
Except Ihsahn puts quality over quantity.
@@DavidSGrop just your opinion
@@SYLRMHA obviously. Why would I express someone else's opinion?
Dude is a legend. Love his solo albums. Great musicianship all around the spectrum. He’s black metals Devin Townsend.
The song the two of them did together, Juular, kicks so much ass it's ridiculous.
@@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
@@illegal_space_alien also, dont forget about them doing 'Introspection' from Ihsahn's Eremita :)
@@darrelladams4886It's the constant experimentation and dislike for formula and needless repetition. They're absolutely artists and geniuses at their crafts
I think Ihsahn is too big to be a "some version of other person". His Emperor albums are still legendary
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!
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 😁
Totally. I have been playing for twenty years and am considered a good musician but I couldn't write riffs like he did at that young age.
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
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!
“It’s not like a metal Oprah. It’s like a black metal Oprah!”
"You get a kingdom of darkness! and you get a kingdom of darkness!"
"Everybody gets a kingdom of darkness!"
@@die-Bienen-des-Dunkelheitclapping and crying with joy
The difference between Oprah and Opera...
@@joeolivas LOL
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.
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
I’m a bit jealous lol
Funny how this humble, easy-going, ordinary-looking guy has written some of the most wicked, evil metal music ever!
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.
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.👹🤘🏻🤘🏻
I'm normally not the biggest fan of black metal, but I love Ihsahn's music. He's so insanely good he transcends genres.
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
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!
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".
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 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.
Im not into Emperor itself, but man this guy never ceases to amaze me with his solo project!
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!!
Love this guy's music. Loved Emporer as well. What a singer, what a guitar player and one hell of a composer.
Emperor was my first introduction to black metal. This man is an amazing musician. I can’t wait to listen to this album.
The string arrangements on the two singles i've heard so far are incredible. it's really exciting and a little batsh*t crazy in all the best ways.
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
This man is my hero.
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.
Ihsahn is a brilliant composer and musician . I always looked up unto him since the early Emperor demodays
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
Definitely the best one in Ihsahn's solo catalogue. Can't stop listening!
Just ordered both versions on vinyl. Thank you for letting me know of this release. :)
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.
Great Interview, love to see 15 to 20 shows for a North America tour with this new album.
currently working on my own one man project, and this was exactly the video i needed today
So stocked that you interviewed Ihsahn, one of my favorite artists with Devin Townsend 🤩
Now I can't wait to here this album!
Genius. Legend. And still so down to earth and humble.
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 a legend and one of my main idols, I love this guy, what a privilege we have to listen to all he has done and is doing! This interview was awesome! 🤘🤘
As a youth 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 in a jumper!
What? You're copying comments now? @lorcanward
i saw Emperor live in São Paulo Brazil and certaly is the best live performance that i had pleasure to see. Ihsahn is a amazing frontman
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. ;)
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 was at a festival this past November and along all the bands playing (it was a 2-day festival) played Emperor, i have seen them many times (3 or 4 I think) and I was blown away by this guy guitar tone, it was like, he carries the whole band and thats saying alot when you have guys like Trym (drums) or Samoth (guitar) playing besides you, its almost like this guy born to play music, and you can see it right here, its awesome.
Ihsahn's talent is mindblowing beyond words.
It's a wonderful thing when one of the OG's is at the very top of his game. These new songs are straight fire.
This man is the kindness itself. Love his music.
A very intelligent guy. I envy the kids in his local school that have the coolest music teacher ever.
Thank you! Great interwiew! What a legend. A creative genius with focus. And such a nice guy. Inspiration.
I got into Black Metal in 1993. I still consider Ihsahn and Emperor to be at the top.
My hero on my favourite youtuber's show... I mean this is a treat. I am so fucking STOKED for the new album now. Also cannot wait to see Emperor on tour again this summer.
Extremely talented.
This is amazing thanks! I've been loving the new tracks and orchestral versions but that idea about them both having their own stories that work together is mad! Can't wait to hear the full thing(s)
Ihsahn is one of the most important musicians-composers of metal history and of our century. So glad you have this interview!
This is going to be a legendary coffee 🎉
I've never heard of Ihsahn before. Now I have, and I will be searching for his material, as the description of it has me intrigued.
I have incredible respect for Ihsahn, not only as a musician, but as a person. Here's what cemented the latter in my mind:
The other guitarist in the band I was in at the time and I went to see Emperor and Peccatum at Ground Zero in Spartanburg SC. The special thing about the venue is, apart from being a much more intimate setting where the bands are literally within a few meters of you no matter where you are standing, is the veritable tradition of the various musicians milling about and mingling in the crowd while not onstage.
Between Peccatum and Emperor's sets Ihsahn was sitting at the lower bar for a refreshment, and I was going to take the opportunity to speak with him. Before I could two young women rushed up to him, with one of the pair producing a Sharpie and asking him to sign her breast. Despite no one else being I the area to see and his wife still backstage getting ready for their set he politely told them, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. If you have paper or an album or something I will sign that, but I can't do that."
Respect - 100%
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.
He has such a calm voice... it is shocking after hearing few of his songs !
First: Thank u Ola for a great channel. Ihsahn is in my opinion by far the most under-rated composer and an insanely talented ryrhm guitarplayer… Big thanks for this interview.
Ihsahn is my favorite composer/songwriter when I stop and think about it.
Great! I was expecting for this!! Thanks
Great interview Ola! Thank you for that! Ihsahn is my old time hero! Emperor was my place to escape reality those times! The Emperor part of the video answered some questions I've had for a long time. As Keyboardist with my band, also heavily inspired by Emperor I also used that particular Orchestral Expansion, and it was closest thing I could find to mimic the Emperor's sound - I'm so happy to hear Ihsahn revealed this. I thought they used Ensoniq stuff which I couldn't afford back then.
Ensoniq SD-1 is a big part of another great band, Arcturus
@@VortechBand didn’t know about it. Arcturus is also one of my tops. Thanks
what a legend! Thank you Ola for giving us the opportunity to get to listen to what Ishahn had to say. Looking forward for the S/T album
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.
He is such a nice guy! met him lots of times at the local shop here in my home town!
Ihsahn is the best, that's all there is to it. The new music he's releasing feels like the best material he's put together - this is a repeating theme from a timeless musician / artist. I yelled FUCK YEAH and pissed off my dog when I saw this video pop up.
I think this has been my favorite Coffee with Ola. Ihsahn is a genius
I am here for Ihsahn's nordic yoke sweater.
I am so glad you've finally got Ihsahn a guest! You should really consider doing Coffee with Leprous eventually, they are one hell of an underrated band and have played with Ihsahn before
You can't stop people creating rock ‘n’ roll.
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!
Even though I have known this for long time, but I am always so surprised that Ihsahn was just 17 years old while recording In the Nightside Eclipse.
This interview will certainly add to the experience when listening to the album. Can't wait!!
I'm a bit late but I recently got highly into Ihsahn's Arktis album, I remember seeing this video back when it was uploaded but I was tired and couldn't find it so I thought it was just a dream or something. Until I Too Dissolve and Celestial Violence are so powerful and brings me to tears sometimes when I hear them.
So happy having seen Emperor last summer with both current and original lineup. All the time I really didn’t want another Emperor album but listening to the Ihsahn catalog maybe I’ll change my opinion.
Just wow. Twice Born is a composition. It's rare for ANY music to actually excite me these days. That was refreshing and i'll be buying this for sure. Appreciate that!
I can't wait to hear this album.
I got mad respect and love for Ihsahn and all of his work, but I can’t help and get a kick out of seeing him and thinking this is the same ninja responsible for the mighty Emperor.
Amazing musician, composer and Human Being....
Heard the single yesterday and I had to stop everything else and sit with it I was like wow I really am hearing something I haven't heard before can't wait to hear the rest
Wow awesome :D great coffee session. Thank you Ola ☕️👌🏻🤟🏻
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.
its good to be reminded that the people we idolize (as a band member or whatever) are still just a normal person. they can be sensible and logically wise in their field of art.
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
Ihsahn is my favourite black metal musician and my favourite 8 string player
Awesome guy love to see people that are passionate about the music they put out instead of a label forcing them to
Cant believe it, thats my legend. Amazing time Ola. wowwwwww
Awesome.
I think for future guests. You need to get Dan Swanö on here. ASAP. Singer, one of the greats that mixed clean, and growls, one of the first. One of the first to mix many genres within death metal. Amazing songwriter, great drummer, great keyboard player, great guitar player, great music engineer. Mixed, mastered a gazillion bands most of us listen to through the years. His work history is endless.
Ola thank you for this amazing interview Such a Legend It was a pleasure to watch I thought it was short but after hearing I have to admit there is so much information that van be found here.
Bro, you need to go back and binge on some Ihsahn. It's fucking brilliant.
The way you describe the new album to me is how I felt when I started listening to Emperor. In particular, Prometheus. It was a wall of sound and intensity that was compelling and just... sensory overload from start to finish. Ihsahn still does that. He creates these amazing soundscapes and never ceases to amaze me. I remember when I first put on Amr and for a moment I thought he had made something somewhat mortal, and then I caught the underlying motif he had going on in Lend Me the Eyes of Millennia and realized, he can't do anything but make brilliant music because he is in fact pouring genuinely himself and his creativity into every album and every song. I fucking love Ihsahn.
Thank you for having him on, and giving me another excuse to fanboy it up.
I'm hyped for the full length release, I wish you guys talked guitars, technique & gear a bit more in addition to promoting the new album, creative flow and Emperor.
IMO Ihsahn's a very good player and seemingly very humble about 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!!!
It is wild hearing how Ihsahn was working on Cubase for early Emperir recordings. If Varg and Fenriz are to be believed, Burzum and Darkthrone were both basically humming things into a tape recorder and then playing along to that in the studio. Totally opposite to ends of the spectrum despite being so closely linked to each other.
Strong interview Ihsahn. Well done Ola.
Wow never thought about Ola likes Emperor and interviewing the front man
Very nice and respectful 👍🤟