Emperor

Emperor “Emperor / Wrath Of The Tyrant”
Candlelight , 1998
Lord Pale :
This is a re-release of two of Emperor’s classic demos ‘Emperor’ and ‘Wrath of the Tyrant’ on one cd . 13 tracks of fuzz soaked guitars , evil synth and short black metal anthems . Ihsahn sounds much like he did on ‘In The Nightside Eclipse’ a less abrasive though more harsh and mellow snat sound . This material is from Emperor’s classic era with the original line up – Faust ( drums ) , Mortiis ( bass ) , Samoth ( guitars ) and Ihsahn ( guitars , vocals , synth ) . Very necro , truly atmospheric , crap production … fantastic ! A few of the songs are repeated on both demos , but its still worth having both on the one disc so you get all the older material . For fans of cult evil Norwegian blackmetal .
Favourite Tracks – I Am The Black Wizards , Night Of The Graveless Souls , Moon Over Kara-Shehr
Mark – 7/10

Emperor "In The Nightside Eclipse"
Century Black , 1995
Lord Pale :
Emperor is Ihsahn ( Thou Shalt Suffer/Zyklon B/Peccatum ) , Samoth ( Thou Shalt Suffer/Zyklon/Zyklon B ) , Faust ( Thorns ) , and Tchort ( Old Man's Child/Tulus ) . Ihsahn uses a unique snat on this album that you'll either like or dislike , personally , I think it adds a little distinction to the disc . He also speaks in a deep voice to highlight some song passages , and on closer 'Inno A Satana' does some clean backing vocals similar to those on Carpe Tenebrum's 'Temptress Luna' . The guitars rage back and forth between slower heavier pieces and thrashing nordic riffing . The drum work keeps tempo with the guitars and is suitably varied and interesting . The keyboards float hauntingly in the background at times creating dark and thoughtful atmospheres and always sounding evil . Lyrically Emperor focus on dark mystical tales of northern forests and supreme power . The artwork on the frontcover was done by Necrolord ( Also responsible for Satyricon's 'Dark Medieval Times' and Dissection's 'Storm Of The Lights Bane' covers ) , and depicts a dark fantasy battle of sorts . The inlay and band photos are dark and mysterious and this adds to the feel of the album as a whole . An early album of classic Nordic darkness .
Favourite Tracks - Inno A Satana , Towards The Pantheon , The Burning Shadows Of Silence
Mark - 8/10

Emperor 'Reverence'
Candlelight , 1997
Lord Pale :
New 3 track mini cd by Emperor contains 2 new tracks and a classical remake of the brilliant 'Inno A Satana' from In The Nightside Eclipse . The new Emperor sound is more artistic , alot faster , and more technical . Ihsahn's vocals are less screechy and the production of Reverance vastly slays that of In The Nightside Eclipse's raw cult sound . The first song 'The Loss And Curse Of Reverence' is a fast blaze through more symphonic realms of blackmetal , and contains a CD ROM interactive filmclip of the track . 'In Longing Spirit' is a slow creeping piece that works by building up rhythms and then dropping into a huge chorus riff . The third and final track 'Opus A Satana' takes the original song and completely works it with synth building classical rhythms with the riffs of the song purely with keyboard genius . Overall a promising prospect for the future Emperor album .
Favourite Tracks - In Longing Spirit , Opus A Satana
Mark - 7/10

Emperor "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk"
Candlelight , 1997
Lord Pale :
Fast , technical blackmetal from Norway . Raging guitars hammer out a variety of rifferama delights backed by flowing keyboards used to highlight rather than hinder the music . More clear vocals are utilised on this album , like those found in 'Inno A Satana' from In The Nightside Eclipse , and Ihsahns snat is starting to sound more generic now . Anthems starts with a haunting accoustic piecs that builds into a provocative if not slightly hammy speech that ends in pompous keyboards , that break right into fray of the second track 'Ye Entrancemperium' . Over the course of the album the songs are varied and interesting , but the album contains a consistent sound and feel throughout ending on a classical musical reworking of 'Inno A Satana' renamed 'Opus A Satana' . An interesting progression from 'Nightside' , less necro with better production although the vocals are a little low in the mix .
Favourite Tracks - With Strength I Burn , Ensorcelled By Khaos , Ye Entrancemperium
Mark - 8.5/10

Thorns Vs Emperor
Moonfog , 1999
Lord Pale :
Underground blackmetal legends return with their first recording since the dawn of the Norweigen scene , only one member remains S.W. Krupp aka Snorre who writes and executes all of the material with the help of Satyr ( Satyricon ) on vocals . Emperor and Thorns both cover a song of each other and present 3 new tracks for this versus album . Thorns new sound is definately more modernised than their old style but the seething darkness and slow tension building atmosphere of their earlier material can still be heard . Utilising samples and a fuzzy guitar sound Thorns do a new version of 'Aerie Descent' and reinterpret Empeor's 'Cosmic Keys To My Creations And Times' with new lyrics and a musical theme based around that tracks central riff . Their 2 new tracks are very promising for a future release and show a fresh original and dark sound . Emperor cover Thorns' 'Aerie Descent' in a brutal fashion with pounding kick drums and an organ outro and do a classical remake of 'Thus Spake The Night Spirit' similar to their 'Opus A Satana' track from the Reverence Ep . Emperor's newer material is far from anything they have ever done before with a very electronic sound with beatbox drums and lots of keyboards , samples and looped riffs and vocals . The music presented is of a high standard as is the typical Moonfog styled artwork throughout the booklet and cover . Overall a highly entertaining release giving to blackmetal legends a medium to experiment freely outside of their normal works .
Favourite Tracks - The Discipline Of Earth ( Thorns ) , Aerie Descent ( Emperor ) , I Am ( Emperor )
Mark - 8/10

Emperor “IX Equilibrium”
Candlelight , 1999
Lord Pale :
This is very much in the vein of ‘Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk’ . Unfortunately it is more so in the same progressive direction of that album . The production is clearer , the songs flow easier and it is more simplified ( in a manner of speaking ) . Though this is Emperors most musically accomplished album and initially seems very appealing it doesn’t hold a candle to their earlier works and soon becomes very boring . Emperor have moved away from the dark and wonderful imagery into a more artsy direction ( this is also reflected in the music ) which is strange to me as Ihshan’s side project band ‘Peccatum’ are much more in that direction so he has no need to make Emperor follow as well . Experimenting more with clean vocals and more dreamy riffs seems to have dissolved the atmosphere, which Emperor used to achieve . The point is this – Emperor have lost the ability to write a dark evil song , and that’s what they were good at ! Having said all of this , this is still a reasonable album of well-played technical progressive blackmetal , Emperor fans be warned .
Favourite Tracks – An Elegy OF Icaros , Nonus Aequilibrium , Decrystallising Reason
Mark – 7/10

Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise
Candlelight, 2001
Lord Pale:
This is apparently Emperor's swansong, so why then was it composed entirely by Ihsahn? and why doesn't it hold true to the Emperor sound? a concept album on Greek mythology? This is what Peccatum SHOULD sound like, and indeed their are a lot of Peccatum style keyboards and rhythms throughout the course of the disc. Well thats the first thing that is immediately noticeable (the presence of heavy keyboards), but that said the guitar work on this disc is phenomenal. Heavy sub riffs grind under melodic leads and technical displays of dexterity. Ihsahn uses alot of clear vocals on the album contributing to its feel and more 'classic' orientation. Song structuring is well done although not exactly written in traditional song format, more as a medium to tell the story. The cover art is weak and uninspiring when compared to previous works. This album however overall definitely tops their last opus, which for me lacked depth and quickly got boring. This album requires attentive listening to get the most out of it, if put on as background music it can tend to lose its subtler moments and just wash past without making too much of an impression. Disappointing for Emperor but good anyway, I just wish somebody else released this and Emperor stuck to their guns.
Favourite Tracks - The Eruption, The Prophet, Thorns on my Grave
Rating - 7/10

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