Ihsahn draws rom so many influences that the beautiful thing about his sound is that you don’t know what he’s going to come out with. His EP ‘Telemark’ which was released earlier this year went back to his black metal roots and a take no shit attitude, and he is following it up with ‘Pharos’. It’s an EP full of twists and turns, with a few covers in the mix.

In comparison to ‘Telemark’, ‘Pharos’ is much lighter. Pharos is the Greek translation of lighthouse, and the EP itself captures some lovely soundscapes.

An example of this is ‘Spectre at the Feast’ which reminds me of Oasis’ more tender moments. The melodic vocals brightened my mood because the big production was a joy to listen to. The heavy guitars in ‘Losing Altitude’ cut deep like a razor, especially with the strings bending. They add to the dark mood of the song.

Ihsahn has also recorded two covers on the album: ‘Roads’ by Portishead, and ‘Manhattan Skyline’ by a-ha. The former captures the buzing tremolo guitar of the original. The fluid drums and the flanger effect work well because the listener feels relaxed. The instruments and vocals work well in the mix because they all blend together very nicely.  

 The cover of Manhattan Skyline captures the light synths in the beginning with some falsetto vocals in the intro. The guitar riff in the original is quite heavy, but Ihsahn amplifies this further. The chorus is huge, but the cover remains faithful to the original. It shows the diversity on this EP, and it’s well worth your time.

Words by Ermis Madikopoulos