Extreme and Progressive Metal music legend Ihsahn will release the first of two five-track EPs inspired by and dedicated to his home county of Telemark on February 14, 2020 via Candlelight Records. Watch the video for the first single ‘Stridig’ now.

The first EP available for pre-order at the link here: https://ihsahn.lnk.to/Telemark

The first Telemark EP represents the dark, brutal, and aggressive side of Ihsahn’s compositional identity. With three new original songs and two ferocious cover versions, it represents a celebration of the defiant spirit that first inspired him to follow a creative path and to form Emperor three decades ago.

“The title of the EP is Telemark,” explains Ihsahn. “It’s the county I grew up in and still live in, so the whole thing is situated there and very much inspired by that. So you could say it’s a roots-orientated album. I decided early on that I wanted this to be very purely related to black metal aesthetics. I wanted to distil the basic, bare bones black metal influences of my musical roots, given the overall concept, writing something for and from Telemark. I decided to do Norwegian lyrics for the first time, too. It feels very much closer to home in many ways.”

“My idea all along was that I would perform all the contents of this EP live, but to build the live set, piecing songs from my catalogue that fit with the aesthetics of the EP,” Ihsahn concludes. “I was very lucky to be able to collaborate with the Inferno Festival, so I’ll be premiering this show at Inferno in 2020. The plan is to then follow up this EP with its aesthetic and musical counterpart, wherein I can distill all those more progressive, experimental and mellow elements of my music.”

Visit the official store for special “Stridig”-specific merch.

Telemark Ep Track Listing:

Stridig

Nord

Telemark

Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Dead [Lenny Kravitz cover]

Wrathchild [Iron Maiden cover]