Ihsahn

Ihsahn
Ihsahn performing live at Hellfest in June 2010
Background information
Birth name	Vegard Sverre Tveitan
Born	(1975-10-10) October 10, 1975 (age 41)
Origin	Notodden, Norway
Genres	Extreme metal, heavy metal, avant-garde
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, drums, vocals
Years active	1990–present
Associated acts	Emperor, Thou Shalt Suffer, Peccatum, Embryonic, Leprous
Website	www.ihsahn.com www.emperorhorde.com
Notable instruments
Ibanez Joe Satriani signature model Ibanez RGT320Q Ibanez RG2228 Prestige custom Ibanez RGA8 Ibanez RGD 2127Z Prestige

Ihsahn (born October 10, 1975 as Vegard Sverre Tveitan) is a Norwegian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist. He is best known for his work with Norwegian black metal band Emperor. He has appeared in Thou Shalt Suffer, played in Peccatum with his wife Ihriel (real name Heidi S. Tveitan), and now devotes himself to his solo albums.

His instructional videos on music have appeared in online publications such as Guitar World. In style terms, his solo work and work with other artists have shown multiple musical forms from classical music to industrial metal to progressive metal and more. In terms of his personal beliefs, he has expressed support for Satanism and Social darwinism thought while also showing respect to concepts such as meditation, stewardship of the environment, and traditional paganism as well as condemning acts of criminality and religious intolerance such as church arson.

Born in the town of Notodden, Norway, Tveitan began playing piano at seven and guitar at ten and began recording songs shortly thereafter. His influences include heavy metal, classical, ambient, and techno. He grew up on a large farm in rural Norway.

Tveitan first met his musical partner, Tomas Haugen (also known as Samoth), at the age of thirteen at a music seminar. Tveitan gained Haugen's attention with his Iron Maiden patches. In 1990 Tveitan joined Haugen's band Xerasia, a death metal band where he served as guitarist and keyboardist. They eventually changed their name to Embryonic sometime that year. A four-track demo titled The Land of the Lost Souls was self-financed and released in November. In 1991 they changed their name again to Thou Shalt Suffer. Several releases under this name were produced before Haugen left the band, leaving Tveitan the sole remaining member. He continues Thou Shalt Suffer as a side project to this day.