IHSAHN says there are “lots of financial motivations” to make a new EMPEROR album

03-06-2025
For years, fans of EMPEROR have been asking for a new album. The band members, led by Ihsahn, have either outright denied the possibility or expressed reluctance, but things may be slowly changing.
In an interview with Jorge Botas, Ihsahn was asked about a potential new Emperor album. The musician stated he wouldn’t say no to the idea because he doesn’t want to be a liar (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“You know, I would have hoped I’d get paid for every time I was asked that. It’s very, very hard for me to answer. Once in an interview, I was like, ‘Okay’ because [before] I’ve always said no. And then I said, ‘Okay, I also said that there would never be any more Emperor live shows.’ I don’t want to make myself a liar.”
“If the stars align, in the sense where definitely – and we have been going with the live stuff for a long, long time – but if we were to make something, I think the reason behind it would have to be right.”
Ihsahn continued, noting the financial side of things looks very enticing, but he and the rest of Emperor would still rather create something they truly believed in rather than just write an album for the sake of it:
“I like to think that the reason that Emperor still gets to tour around the world, play these amazing places, and have thousands of people singing back those old songs is because they know it’s for real. It’s not made for some kind of commercial aspect or some kind of entrepreneurial ID. It’s just music made for the sake of music.”
“Of course, there are lots of financial motivations to do such a thing. But then again, I don’t think any of us would want that to be the motivation for us to do what we do. I think that would be kind of making everything that we did in the past into a lie.”
“I’m not saying no to make myself a liar if we end up doing something one day, but if we do it, it would have to be for the right reasons – because we really wanted to, and we felt that’s the right thing to do.”
EMPEROR‘s last studio LP, “Prometheus – The Discipline Of Fire & Demise”, was released in 2001 and was written entirely by Ihsahn. The band broke up shortly thereafter, with Ihsahn going on to pursue a solo career, while guitarist Samoth partook in a variety of bands, including SCUM and ZYKLON. EMPEROR has reunited frequently in ensuing years to perform live, but has continually resisted calls to release new material.
In 2023, Ihsahn was asked by GRIMM Gent if he thinks there will be any new EMPEROR music in the future. He responded: “It kind of came to a very natural conclusion — in the sense that by the last… I eventually started writing more and more of the material, and by the last record, I did everything. And ‘Prometheus’ was kind of — I did that very much as a solo thing, and it goes still under the EMPEROR umbrella. So creatively, when there’s no melt anymore and Samoth and Trym were doing ZYKLON — we wanted different things creatively.”
He continued: “At this point, it doesn’t look like (there will be new EMPEROR music). But I’ve said a lot of ‘no’s in the past, also, like, there would never be another EMPEROR show. And I feel stupid when I say stuff like that and end up doing it anyway, so just to not to open that box, but it’s, like, I won’t make myself into a liar if the situation should change and that the planets will align. With creativity and stuff like that, it’s very, very hard to tell, because it’s a very open, channeling process. But so far I’m very, very… I get to… Yeah, I’ve been releasing full-length albums consistently more or less every second year since I was 16 and continue to do so. So I’m in a very happy place.”
Ihsahn previously discussed the possibility of a new EMPEROR album in April 2023 in an interview with Australia’s “Everblack” podcast. At the time, he said: “Me and Samoth have discussed it at different points, especially since we’ve been doing these live things occasionally and now, I guess, more permanently in the end. But the discussion is really quite open. And I’ve talked about that in interviews as well.
“If it were to be, what kind of EMPEROR album should it be?” he continued. “Should it be something that the fans would want, as in something that maybe sounded like the early records? Which would be, in practice, kind of easy for us to do, but still it wouldn’t really have the authenticity because it would be trying to recreate something that you did when you were teenagers, and it would almost be like the opposite of the motivation of all we did. If we were turning everything on its head and started creating music for the sake of pleasing some market or making money or any of that, it would kind of make everything that we did into a lie. And if we were to continue where we dropped out — I ended up recording and writing the entire last EMPEROR album on my own, in a far more experimental direction, and that’s kind of where I just (laughs) disappeared into what I do. And should we pick up from that point? And then there wouldn’t really be a point, if it wasn’t a band effort and it was just me pushing in my direction.
“Basically, like I said with live shows, after every kind of anniversary thing that we did, ‘It will never happen again,’ so at this point I can’t say that that will never happen, because I’ve seen it happen with the live shows that I never thought that we would do either,” Ihsahn admitted. “But it would have to be at a point where we would get together and where the vision for what it could be, where that is in some way aligned, that we could create from the same uncompromising space and, I would say, without for a second dealing with what people might expect. Purely creating from that same state of mind, as we were back then. I think that would be the only way to properly do something that would be worthwhile for us to do, and down the line, for fans to experience too. I think if we started making records for those kind of ‘un-black metal’ reasons, it wouldn’t be enjoyable for either us or anyone else… It would have to come from a creative place and not a practical, ‘This could be smart. This could be…’ None of that. And it would be futile.
“I think everybody, like you and me, who are drawn to this style of music, we’re drawn to it because it feels uncompromising, it feels like something real,” he added. “We are drawn to this music because we just want a pure experience.”
EMPEROR completed its first U.S. tour in over 15 years last summer. The trek kicked off on June 23, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois and concluded on July 1, 2023 in Anaheim, California.
Formed in 1991, EMPEROR‘s game-changing debut “In The Nightside Eclipse” (1995) created the template for symphonic, bombastic, melodic black metal, while the follow-up record, “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk” (1997) became an instant hit. They disbanded in 2001 following the release of “Prometheus – The Discipline of Fire & Demise”. They reunited periodically between 2005 and 2014. In late 2016 it was announced that EMPEROR would reunite again for a special set of performances to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk”. This legendary album cemented EMPEROR‘s reputation as the flagbearers of black metal and is still recognized as one of the most influential in this genre.
Ihsahn will release his next solo LP, “Ihsahn”, on February 16 via Candlelight Records. The release will embody two melodically interlinked versions of the same album: one metal, one fully symphonic, both creating a cinematically influenced masterpiece that is simply, definitively titled “Ihsahn”. Ahead of the release date, Ihsahn has oreviously shared the LP’s third single, “The Distance Between Us”, which showcases to the more melancholic, spacious side of the release. Accompanying the track is a new video, a continuation of the conceptual storyline which has been spread across previous singles, “Pilgrimage To Oblivion” and “Twice Born”, all filmed by Shaun Hodson at Loki Films.
Ihsahn commented on the track: “The first two singles were taken from the beginning of the conceptual narrative, generating the hubris and determination required. With this last single, we’re getting closer to the end of the story and hence both music and lyrics express a more reflective and melancholic perspective.”
“On average, I’ve been releasing a full-length album every second year since I was 16. And, you know, that has given me some opportunity to explore different options, so for my eighth full-length solo record, I thought, ‘Okay, how can I do what I do best, but also raise the bar tenfold?’ At the heart of what I do is black metal, extreme distorted guitars and screaming, but since the earliest EMPEROR recordings you’ll hear the keyboard parts influenced by classic soundtracks by the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, John Carpenter and so on. So, I approached the writing with the intent to present the material in its full-blown metal expression, but also to arrange the orchestral parts in such a way that they would work independently. Somehow an attempt to write a soundtrack within the structures of the full production, allowing me to explore different, and sometimes contrasting, variations of essentially the same music. In the end I wrote all the music as a piano short-score and arranged it for a typical band ensemble and orchestra, accordingly, making sure everything interlocked.”
“Ihsahn” features Tobias Ørnes Andersen and Tobias Solbakk on drums and percussion, with Ihsahn‘s son Angell Solberg Tveitan adding additional percussion and violins by Chris Baum. Artwork was created by Ritxi Ostari.
Track listing:
01. Cervus Venator
02. The Promethean Spark
03. Pilgrimage To Oblvision
04. Twice Born
05. A Taste Of The Ambrosia
06. Anima Extraneae
07. Blood Trails To Love
08. Hubris And Blue Devils
09. The Distance Between Us
10. At The Heart Of All Things Broken
11. Sonata Profana
“Ihsahn Orchestral” track listing
01. Cervus Venator Orchestral
02. The Promethean Spark Orchestral
03. Pilgrimage To Oblivion Orchestral
04. Twice Born Orchestral
05. A Taste Of The Ambrosia Orchestral
06. Anima Extraneae Orchestral
07. Blood Trails To Love Orchestral
08. Hubris And Blue Devils Orchestral
09. The Distance Between Us Orchestral
10. At The Heart Of All Things Broken Orchestral
11. Sonata Profana Orchestral
Not satisfied to only create a dual-record, there is also a conceptual story which underpins both sides of “Ihsahn” — a pair of separate but interwoven Wagnerian narratives revolving around the traditional hero’s journey, and while Ihsahn is reticent to tell all, he is confident that meaning will soon emerge for listeners willing to show equal commitment.
“I’ve been honored to work with some astounding visual artists on this, who were all given access to my scrapbooks, music, lyrics, stories, mood boards, etc.” he says. “It’s been amazing to see how they’ve all interpreted the material differently, but still in a way that binds everything together.
“It’s a privilege that I get to make music and travel the world to play my music. And when I say this is subjectively my greatest musical achievement so far, it has nothing to do with ego or prestige, but rather to do with gratitude for the experience. Art taps into the metaphysical and the archetypes of our existence — it lets us experience loss, death, love; it prepares us for all of those things in some way. That’s the value, that’s the perspective I wish to create from.”

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