ARKTIS.

One of modern extreme metal's most illustrative achievements is Ihsahn's 2016 release 'Arktis.', a very avant-garde, technical and diverse album that has to be among the artist's most far-reaching, emblematic and progressive releases, pretty much displaying the full potential of the Norwegian powerhouse musician's capabilities as he explores a variety of styles on this album. However, 'Arktis.' generally seems to be a more divisive release as it presents a much more experimental songwriting approach, even if still developing as riff-based, much in the manner of classic heavy metal, for example. And while more "progressive" and unusual sounds have penetrated the music on this cerebrally engaging album, some see it as a step back from the cold, dark, and relentless black metal backgrounds of Ihsahn.

Nevertheless, the majesty of this powerful albums lies in its experience, in the sequence of the tracks and in the great stylistic diversity that Tveitan dares to explore all by himself - the result is a daring, visceral, and exciting release that challenges and overcomes what other bands more traditionally associated with the progressive genre were doing at the time (like Dream Theater, Periphery, or even Devin Townsend, for example). Full of powerful and memorable tracks, like the anthemic album opener 'Disassembled', the proggy 'My Heart is of the North', or the electronic-driven piece 'South Winds', excellent material prevails on 'Arktis.', which also features heavier and manic tracks like 'In the Vaults', 'Pressure' and 'Frail'. Simply put, the entire album is a very intelligently conceived piece of music that is excellently executed, technically viable, exciting in its entirety and stylistically diverse.