Review by Adam M on April 30, 2019.

Vltimas have the right kind of evil style on Something Wicked Marches In.  This is the perfect outlet for a couple of members of death metal acts, most notably David Vincent of Morbid Angel and Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy.  However, the stellar guitar riffs were handled by Rune of Mayhem and his contributions are vital to the outfit. 

The album sounds highly like classic Morbid Angel circa around Covenant and makes the best of this sound possible.  There is also an Immolation flavour as the band tries their best to stick out from the pack with a sound that is reminiscent of past greats.  Make no mistake, this is still very distinctive in sound and has a one of a kind evil aura.  The songs go through louder and softer moments making for a fairly dynamic listen. They have the ability to put the pedal to the metal when needed and come across sounding fairly mid-paced overall.  David Vincent himself makes this sound like a Morbid Angel recording, but the rest of the instruments are equally poignant.  The guitars are highly addictive and go through a number of different shifts and changes.  Drumming is very poignant and adds the rhythm to everything.  Overall, this album was fairly ambitious in its death metal approach and this leads to some huge songs. 

There is definitely a feeling that these musicians are putting their best foot forward and it resonates in the details of this album as it manages to be exciting when a lull is starting to be detected.  While not the greatest death metal album, it is a very solid work that has a high place in the genre so far this year.  Those looking for a new take on the Morbid Angel style will find a lot to like here as there is a wealth of new death metal ideas that come into play.  This comes quite highly recommended to death metal fans.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on July 1, 2012.

The new Ihsahn greatly progresses in a direction that might have been expected following "After". More progressive and aggressive in nature, it’s the perfect fit for the present time Ihsahn. There are guest vocalists and more varied song structures and instrumentation than the last album. I also think "Eremita" is more consistent than its predecessor with no major weak moments to be found.

There aren’t songs of the ballad nature of 'Undercurrent' to be found here, however. Instead, there are some cracking up-tempo pieces like the opener 'Arrival' that give the album a generally more excited feel. The song 'The Grave' is a lumbering doomy exception to this mood. The progressive nature of many of the songs recalls the likes of later Emperor, such as the album "Prometheus". There is still that jazzy element present as well that sometimes makes use of saxophones, but it’s not as present as on the album. Regardless, Ihsahn has certainly found his niche within Progressive Black Metal genre as a solo artist. His albums are actually more similar to what a group might perform than what a typical solo artist would. He’s quite developed in the song-writing department now and able to craft a number of interesting moments with little effort. The only minor complaint I have with the album is that the beginning portions are stronger than the ending, which becomes slightly too strange for its own good.

Still, there are many standout moments to become enraptured with on this newest opus from Ihsahn and it will certainly be a contender for album of the year. For fans of Ihsahn’s previous material with either Emperor or as a solo artist, "Eremita" is a no-brainer as a purchase.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.3 out of 10