Eremita
title: "Eremita" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2012-albums", "ihsahn-albums", "candlelight-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eremita" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Eremita |
| type | studio |
| artist | Ihsahn |
| cover | Ihsahn Eremita.jpg |
| alt | Eremita album cover art |
| released | 18 June 2012 |
| studio | Ivory Shoulder Studios, Notodden, Norway |
| length | 52:35 |
| producer | Ihsahn |
| prev_title | After |
| prev_year | 2010 |
| next_title | Das Seelenbrechen |
| next_year | 2013 |
| :: |
| name = Eremita | type = studio | artist = Ihsahn | cover = Ihsahn Eremita.jpg | alt = Eremita album cover art | released = 18 June 2012 | recorded = | venue = | studio = Ivory Shoulder Studios, Notodden, Norway | genre =
- Progressive metal
- black metal | length = 52:35 | label =
- Mnemosyne
- Candlelight | producer = Ihsahn | prev_title = After | prev_year = 2010 | next_title = Das Seelenbrechen | next_year = 2013
|MC = 76/100 |rev1 = About.com |rev1score = |rev2 = AllMusic |rev2score = |rev3 = Blabbermouth.net |rev3score = 9/10 |rev4 = Chronicles of Chaos |rev4score = 8.5/10 |rev5 = Pitchfork |rev5score = 7.6/10 |rev6 = Sputnikmusic |rev6score = |rev7 = PopMatters |rev7score = 8/10
Eremita is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. The album features guest appearances by several notable musicians, including Devin Townsend and Jeff Loomis of Nevermore.
The album is Ihsahn's first solo outing since the conclusion of the conceptual trilogy encompassing his first three albums, The Adversary, angL, and After.
Background
Eremita featured a guest appearance by Devin Townsend. Previously, Ihsahn had guested on Townsend's album, Deconstruction. Jens Bogren, who mixed Deconstruction, was also tapped to mix Eremita. Ihsahn noted that
Music and lyrics
According to Matt Mills of Metal Hammer, the album "screeched with discordant jazz before Ámr’s synths bubbled away." Ihsahn said that Eremita was the product of an intentional contrast with After. He described After as "a very desolate, bleak landscape. There were no signs of life in any of the lyrics," while, for Eremita, the atmosphere is "much more introverted, much more paranoid and kind of schizophrenic. I tend to bring up many of the same themes, but lyrically it comes from a different perspective." According to Mills: "Metal’s rarely as malleable as it is in this guy's [Ihsahn's] hands."
The title is Latin for "hermit", which Ihsahn identified as a critical term in his intellectual and musical development:
Continuing, Ihsahn elaborated on his connection to mythological hermits as follows:
Artwork
The album's sense of introversion, paranoia, and schizophrenia is represented in the album cover, with which Ihsahn's ongoing interest in Nietzsche turned to Nietzsche's mad final years. Nietzsche is represented in the cover, which features an upside-down image of his face from later in his life, when he was on the verge of insanity. As Ihsahn explained, Eremita is "a reflective album that's filtered through the eyes of a madman." He elaborated upon the connection, explaining that "There's an escapism to this album, there's a paranoia, a lot of issues that are dealt with, and these pictures of Nietzsche are from very close to when he tipped over into madness."
Track listing
| title1 = Arrival | length1 = 5:40 | title2 = The Paranoid | length2 = 4:43 | title3 = Introspection | length3 = 5:37 | title4 = The Eagle and the Snake | length4 = 8:47 | title5 = Catharsis | length5 = 4:50 | title6 = Something Out There | length6 = 5:09 | title7 = Grief | length7 = 2:21 | title8 = The Grave | length8 = 8:18 | title9 = Departure | length9 = 7:06 | total_length = 52:35
| headline = Deluxe edition bonus track | title10 = Recollection | length10 = 5:39
Personnel
Additional musicians
- Tobias Ørnes Andersen – drums
- Jørgen Munkeby – saxophone
- Jeff Loomis – guest guitar solo on "The Eagle and the Snake"
- Devin Townsend – guest vocals on "Introspection"
- Einar Solberg (Leprous) – guest vocals on "Arrival"
- Heidi S. Tveitan – guest vocals on "Departure"
Additional personnel
- Jens Bogren – mixing at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden
- Ritxi Ostáriz – album artwork and packaging
References
References
- "Eremita – Ihsahn".
- Westland, Raymond. "Ihsahn – Eremita Review". [[About.com]].
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Ihsahn Eremita". [[AllMusic]].
- Horn, Ray van. "Ihsahn "Eremita"". [[Blabbermouth.net]].
- Carbon, Johnathan A.. "Ihsahn – Eremita". [[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine).
- Currin, Grayson. (25 July 2012). "Ihsahn Eremita". [[Pitchfork (website).
- Ward, Kyle. (21 June 2012). "Ihsahn – Eremita". Sputnikmusic.
- Ezell, Brice. (24 August 2012). "Ihsahn: Eremita". [[PopMatters]].
- (1 February 2011). "Former Emperor Frontman To Guest On New The Devin Townsend Project Album". [[Blabbermouth]].
- "Ihsahn Interview". Metalnewsonline.
- Hobson, Metal HammerContributions from Rich. (2022-11-05). "The 20 greatest prog metal bands of all time".
- Halbe, Dave. (15 June 2012). "Interview: Ihsahn.". Metal Recusants.
- Musteine, Dave. (16 April 2012). "Exclusive Interview: Ihsahn Gives Metalsucks An Inside Look At His New Album Eremita". [[MetalSucks]].
- Begrand, Adrien. (25 May 2012). "An Interview With Ihsahn". [[MSN]].
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