Ihsahn Says The Weeknd Is Edgier Than Most New Extreme Metal Bands

Former Emperor frontman Ihsahn thinks that The Weeknd is edgier than most extreme metal bands.

In an interview with Metal Hammer, the Norwegian musician says he's been listening to Dawn FM, The Weeknd's new album, which isn't exactly what you'd expect him to be listening to. Ihsahn thinks the album is "so heavy" and stated "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."

Ihsahn was in one of the most infamous Norwegian black metal bands, Emperor, which disbanded in 2001, and has reunited numerous times over the years. He's since gone solo and has released seven solo albums as well as been a part of a ton of projects since.

Recently, the musician has been been working with Trivium's Matt Heafy on a Japanese-themed black metal project. The project is called Ibaraki, and Ihsahn has engineered and produced their debut album, as well as added a guitar solo to a song on the album. The debut album Roshomon is coming out on May 6 and Ihsahn is just one of a few musicians featured on the album.

Gerard Way is also featured on the song "Ronin" and Ihsahn says, "I wasn't aware that he's into that style of music so I think it's really cool" although screaming is not his natural way of singing "he did a really great job."

Ihsahn says that musicians all "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."