Ihsahn is one of the biggest names in black metal and he thinks that the Weeknd singer is much “edgier” and “experimental” compared to the current metal scene.
In a new interview with Metal Hammer, the sometime Emperor frontman shared that he has recently been listening to the new album from the Weeknd singer, Dawn FM.
“It’s so heavy,” he says. “Maybe it’s just me being old and grumpy, but there’s so much new metal coming out where there’s no danger. I listen to a lot of commercial R&B like The Weeknd. That’s darker and more edgy and more experimental than most new extreme metal bands, to be honest.”
That is quite the statement there Ihsahn!
For being one of the most iconic names in all of black metal, for Ihsahn to say that the Weeknd singer is much “darker” and “experimental” than a lot of new extreme metal bands – we have to sit with that one for a moment.
Truth be told, we have listened to Dawn FM and it is a banger without a doubt. What are your thoughts on what the black metal genius has to say? What are your thoughts on the current state of metal when it comes to being dark, edgy, and experimental?
In other Ihsahn related news, the black metal artist teamed up with Trivium frontman Matt Heafy for the latter’s new black metal project, Ibaraki. The project’s debut album, Rashomon, will arrive in May and features Ihsahn, Nergal from Behemoth, and My Chemical Romance vocalist Gerard Way. The latter provides guest vocals on the song “Ronin.”
In the same Metal Hammer interview, Ihsahn commented on Gerard Way’s guest role on Heafy’s black metal project, saying:
“It’s really cool of him to want to join that,” says Ihsahn of Way’s involvement with Rashomon. “I wasn’t aware that he’s into that style of music so I think it’s really cool. I think it’s something he and Matt had been talking about. I think he did a really great job. He comes from a different world – screaming is not his natural way of singing.
“As a musician, I think people overlook this; when you get to have a life in music, all of us get to a point where we love great music and we’re not fans of average music. What genre it is is beside the point.”
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Words by: Michael Pementel
