| It would be a foolish man indeed, who would try to explain the phenomena that is black metal, even those in it's conception can't seem to agree and anyway with the excellent book Lords Of Chaos already available, what would be the point anyway. But even through all the chaos that surrounds this genre, one name that keeps popping up time and time again and that is the almighty Emperor. In fact, no other band is credited with bringing black metal out of the Norwegian underground and to masses than Emperor, and with a new album pencilled in for the early part of '99. What better time to delve into their dark past with the reissues of their entire back catalogue. All the CD's have bonus tracks and the artwork is truly sensational especially the CD's themselves and for those who weren't there the first time there has never been a better time to own three of the most influential black metal albums ever recorded. Now as I've already said tracing the history of black metal would be a foolish task, but luckily Emperor's past is a lot easier to trace, Ihsahn and Samoth formed Emperor after playing in less fruitful bands (namely Thorns and the death metal orientated Thou Shalt Suffer) and were soon joined by Mortiis on Bass and in May '92 recorded on a 4-track home studio the now legendary 'Wrath Of The Tyrant'. 
Emperor/Wrath Of The Tyrant - Emperor (Candle029CD) Line-up : Ihsahn - Lead Guitar, Vocals and Keyboards Samoth - Guitar Mortiis - Bass Faust - Drums Tracklisting : 1. I am The Black Wizards 2. Wrath Of The Tyrant 3. Night Of The Graveless Souls 4. Cosmic Keys To My Creations And Times 5. Introduction 6. Ancient Queen 7. My Empire's Doom 8. Forgotten Centuries 9. Night Of The Graveless Souls 10. Moon Over Kara-Shehr 11. Witches Sabbath 12. Lord Of The Storms 13. Wrath Of The Tyrant The first of the re-issues called 'Emperor/Wrath Of The Tyrant' features the already mentioned 'Wrath' and their first mini album recorded in December of the same year. By now Emperor had recruited Bard Faust on Drums allowing Samoth to take his place alongside Ihsahn on Guitars (always his first love). Now if there was any doubt about Emperor's credentials, the first few bars of 'I Am The Black Wizards' with Ihsahn's distinctive vocals crying out over layer upon layer of guitars and drums burried those doubts in some blackened grave, and it was very clear even at this stage that Emperor were something special, already mixing black metal with advanced arrangements giving this mini album a certain epic quality. Emperor also contains one of my favourite black metal songs of all time, the jaw dropping 'Night Of The Graveless Souls', a monumental song that darts in and out at every opportunity, making the song stand out from a very impressive set. So there you have it the legend of Emperor was born. Now for those of you who were bowled over by this mini LP and where foaming at the bit for more, you didn't have long to wait for the follow up. 
In The Nightside Eclipse (Candle030CD) Line-up : Ihsahn on Lead Guitar, Vocals and Keyboards Samoth on Guitar Tchort on Bass Faust on Drums Tracklisting: 1. The Infinity Of Thoughts 2. The Buring Shadows Of Silence 3. Cosmic Keys To my Creations & Times 4. Beyond The Great Vast Forest 5. Towards The Pantheon 6. The Majesty Of The Nightsky 7. I Am The Black Wizards 8. Inno a Satana Bonus tracks 9. A Fine Day To Die 10. Gypsy Their first full length album 'In The Nightside Eclipse', recorded in '94 is in most peoples eyes the pinnacle of Norwegain black metal, that has influenced almost every band that has chosen to walk the blackened path. 'Nightside' was a more mature more atmospheric album than it's predessor, gone was the fuzzed guitar sound to be replaced by an even more brutal twin guitar assault from Samoth and Ihsahn. 'Nightside' also contained some of Ihsahn's finest keyboard work to date. which gave the entire album a real epic feel. 'Nightside' also saw the introduction of Tchort on bass replacing Mortiis and the inclusion of a lyric book. Because of the style of the vocals of this genre following the lyrics has always been difficult and lets face it Emperor are no different. But the lyric book allowed you, if you like to step into their minds and follow their tales of darkness, mythology and mayhem in more detail and this believe me simply adds to the listening experience. The two tracks that stand out for me are 'Into The Infinity Of Thoughts' which clocks in at just over 9 mins and contains some really fine atmospheric keyboard work which forms a backdrop for Samoth and Ihsahn's guitars and I swear Faust was trying to destroy his drum kit in record time. And 'Inno a Satana', a song with haunting choir like effects, a dark, mean and moody affair and a fitting way to close an album of this type. Bonus tracks on this reissue are Emperor's covers of 'Gypsy' and 'A Fine Day To Die' taken from the recent Mercyful Fate and Bathory tribute albums respectively. If after reading these reviews your piggy bank only lets you buy one of these ground breaking E.P.s, just make sure it's 'Nightside' Now 'Nightside' was a huge and unexpected success and everything in Emperor's garden should have been rosie, but trouble was looming big time, very big for the boys from Norway. Now with the phenomenal rise of Black metal as a whole came the stories of Norwegain church burnings, inter band murders and the rise of Nazism (in fact atound the time Count Grishnackh had alraedy been convicted of murder of Euronymous and for those new to this genre both the just named are cult figures for different reasons). It wasn't long before Emperor had to face up to trouble of their own. Namely Faust being arrested and imprisoned for the murder of a homosexual and Samoth was also sent down for burning down a historical Stave church. Just one of these things would have destroyed most bands out of sight. But not Emperor, it merely held things up for a short time. 
Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk (Candle031CD) Line-up : Ihsahn - Main Lead Guitars, All Vocals, Synth Samoth - Lead & Rhythm Guitars Guitars Alver - Bass Guitar Trym - Drums & Percussion Tracklisting : 1. Al svartr (The Oath) 2. Ye Entrancemperium 3. Thus Spake the Nightspirit 4. Ensorcelled by Rhaos 5. The Loss and Curse of Reverence 6. The Acclamation of Bonds 7. With Strength I Burn 8. The Wanderer Bonus Tracks : Opus a Satana The Loss and Curse of Reverence (live) Three years past until 'Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk' was released, no Faust , he was still in prison, so in steps Trym to take over the drum stool, there was also another change in Bass, exit Tchort, enter Alver. But the main driving force of the band Ihsahn and Samoth where very much in place and Emperor where ready to take on the world once more. 'Welkin' has much more aggression than it's predessor 'Nightside', which had nothing to do with what had happened to the band on a personal level since the making of said 'Nightside'. One can only wonder! But the end result was a fast furious affair, rating on the verge of chaos in places. But in the end it's the keyboards and all the special effects that turns average songs into great ones and 'Welkin' into a masterpiece. Whether it's the sinister 'Alsvartr (The Oath)' surely a song for an unfinished horror movie or 'The Wanderer', theres something about 'Welkin' that keeps you coming back like a moth to a flame. It's an album that you need to play a few times to get into it, but when you do, WOW! Oh, and those bonus tracks, well this time you get the B-sides from the 'Reverence EP', in 'In Longing Spirit', 'Opus a Satana' as well as a live version of 'The Loss And Curse Of Reverence'. Well, there you have it, three ground breaking albums by the defintive black metal band Emperor.As I've already touched on Emperor's much anticipated 3rd full length album is due for release around April of next year and it promises to be just as ground breaking as the two previous outings, combining death and progressive elements to their legendary blackness. Roll on next year. Released By Candlelight, 2 Elgin Avenue, London, W9 3QP Tel : 0171 286 1106 Fax : 0171 289 8679 Candlelight Website : http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk |