Origin:	Norway
Genres:
DISBANDED

Last update/review:	October 12, 2006

Peccatum

Peccatum is one of two projects featuring former members of Emperor (the other being Zyklon), with both projects gaining prominence at around the same time that Emperor was winding down its illustrious career. Here, Emperor mainman Ihsahn is joined by his wife Ihriel and her brother Lord PZ, with all three providing vocals and Ihsahn most if not all of the instrumentation. Strangling From Within, the 1999 release, is an extreme music adventure. The various vocal styles alone bring a great deal of diversity to this album, featuring black metal shrieks, graceful female soprano tones, and clear male vocals that sometimes bring Arcturus to mind. Musically, there's a fair amount of Emperor-style black metal, but by no means is this trio limited to that style, as classical influences are clearly heard throughout, along with plenty of experimentalism that (as is often the case with such efforts) straddles the line between genius and unwarranted complexity or pretentiousness. Ihsahn followers expecting a second Emperor might be disappointed, but those into avant-garde extreme music would do well to check this band out.