May is shaping up to be a good month for new music, with albums coming out on the same day for two of my favorite bands. May 27th will see the release of both the new Ihsahn solo album titled "angL", and the new Tiamat album "Amanethes".
AngL was recorded and mixed by Ihsahn at Symphonique Studios, the studio owned by Ishahn's wife Heidi, in his native Norway. Asgeir Mickelson, the drummer for fellow Norwegian band Borknagar, returns to colloborate with Ihsahn again and handle drumming duties on this album. In a surprise colloboration, Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth will also be making a guest appearance on the album, providing vocals for one song. Apparently Ihsahn and Mikael have been friends since they met at an Emperor concert in the nineties and have always wanted to work together but haven't had the chance until now. Ihsahn recently did an interview with a website where he walked the interviewers through all the songs on the album and explained what they were about and why he composed them the way he did. Based on his explanations I'm expecting this to be one of the best albums of 2008!
Tiamat streamed their entire new album on their MySpace page for a few days earlier this month, so I've already got a chance to check it out before buying. I'm quite impressed with how they've meshed the sound of their earlier, heavier work with both their middle era Pink Floyd sound and their newer, more toned down and rock oriented feel. The ablum has already been released in Europe and entered the Swedish album chart at #13, a first for Tiamat.
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