Ihsahn issues Mass Darkness lyric video

Ihsahn has released a lyric video for his track Mass Darkness and revealed his sixth solo album will be out in March.

The Emperor frontman will issue Arktis on March 4 via Candlelight Records on CD, deluxe CD, vinyl and digital. Mass Darkness is available now via iTunes and Amazon. The lyric video for the single was created by Michael Dickinson, who has previously worked with Orange Goblin and Gallows.

Arktis was recorded at Ihsahn’s studio in Notodden, Norway, mixed in Sweden by Jens Bogren and features 10 tracks. It features guest appearances from Einar Solberg of Leprous, Matt Heafy of Trivium, Jorgen Munkeby of Shining, Tobias Ornes Andersen, also of Shining, and Norwegian author Hans Herbjornsrud.

Ihsahn, real name Vegard Sverre Tveita, says: “My focus for this album was to write within more traditional song structures and still give each song a strong individual identity, be that through a re-occurring melody, a chorus, sound design or the good, old guitar riff. I also wanted to explore this on the production side, blending organic rock sounds with more modern expressions.”

The Mass Darkness lyric promo uses visuals based on the travels of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. It depicts his three-year expedition to the North Pole by ship and on foot.

Ihsahn, 40, adds: “The whole atmosphere of facing the cold, immense unknown fits rather good with the general lyrical concept of the entire album. It paints a sense of doubt, hopelessness and frustration yet celebrates curiosity, free will and the choice to avoid conformity. It is, at best, an observance of one’s insignificance in relation to time, nature and space yet each individual’s ability to make things matter even if only to themselves.”

On creating the album, he says: “With the contributions from several of my talented friends and the incredible mixing skills of Jens Bogren, I feel the end result is just as varied yet cohesive as I hoped for. Actually, I can’t recall having had such a great time making an album before and hopefully that comes across too.”

Ihsahn previously said he was aiming for a “more classic vibe” on the upcoming album than he went for on its predecessor Das Seelenbrechen.

Ihsahn Arktis tracklist

Disassembled
Mass Darkness
My Heart Is Of The North
South Winds
In The Vaul
Until I Too Dissolve
Pressure
Frail
Crooked Red Line
Celestial Violence

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.