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Wrath of the Tyrant (1992)
I discovered Emperor, back in high school, hearing the song "Thus Spake the Nightspirit"
on a college radio show called "The Haunted Mansion". This was not long after Anthems... was released. That would
go on to be the first Emperor album I came across. It would be a year or so later before I discovered the earlier works; however,
once I did I found myself much more drawn to them.
In 1991, Samoth and Ihsahn left death metal band Thou Shalt Suffer. They were joined
by Mortiis. Probably being heavily inspired by bands such as Mayhem and Darkthrone, they abandoned their previous style to
play primitive black metal In May 1992, they recorded Wrath of the Tyrant on a 4-track home studio. The sound quality
is very necro, albeit needing some improvement. The songwriting shows a lot of promise and, in my opinion, Emperor would have
done well to pursue this style rather than choosing to "progress" with each release.
The album begins with a short, creepy keyboard intro created by Samoth, leading into
the first song, "Ancient Queen". The first thing that one notices is that the instruments seem to be down-tuned. Seeing as
how Emperor jumped on the black metal bandwagon in a hurry, they may have forgotten to stop using the tuning from their death
metal days. The sound is very harsh and crude, yet it has a deep low end in contrast with so many other black metal releases;
Ihsahn's guitar and Mortiis's bass (both rather heavily distorted) have enough power to let the melodies break through the
wall of static and invade the listener's ears without losing too much power. The drums are the lowest instrument in the mix,
while Ihsahn's vocals are very loud and possess a lot of reverb. This song is decent enough, but nothing incredibly special.
"My Empire's Doom" is next, and is much more complex and layered; Samoth does a really
nice job on drums, and Ihsahn's vocals follow the rhythm over the opening riff. This song would later find its way onto In
the Nightside Eclipse, transforming into "Beyond the Great Vast Forest". Oddly, this version closes with a rather abrupt
fade out, which makes one wonder if the closing riff that appears on the later version was added on or already existed at
this stage but was cut off for some reason.
"Forgotten Centuries" begins with some indecipherable vocals and a fast tremolo-picked
riff, before utilizing something more fitting of a Celtic Frost album. This is a short and complex song; featuring some of
the most interesting riffs on the album. It's too bad that the sound quality isn't a little better. There is a nice, cold
riff that would sound much better with more focus placed on the guitars and less low end.
"Night of the Graveless Souls" is another fast, straightforward black metal song.
Again, there are some decent riffs that never seem to get enough room to breathe, due to the muffled sound and the down-tuning.
It's not that I would prefer the over-produced sound of later Emperor albums, rather there needs to be more focus on the guitars.
Transilvanian Hunger was recorded with similar equipment and yet it sounds far better. Also, I think there is a little
too much reverb on the vocals. It only serves to drown out the rest of the music.
"Moon Over Kara-Shehr" has several killer riffs and equally numerous tonality and
rhythm changes, though it features some death metal riffs that do not belong here as well as a continuation of the reverb
overkill. As the album, or demo as it should be called, progresses it becomes more apparent that Emperor had not yet fully
grasped what black metal was all about.
"Witches' Sabbath" is probably the best song on here. It begins with a mid-paced,
oldschool riff and then Ihsahn's screaming actually helps the atmosphere, as well as the doom-filled riffs that follow. The
haunting moans only add to this. Then, the song speeds up and one gets the impression that with clearer guitars (or the actual
ability to have recorded a second guitar track) this would be a hell of a song.
Next is "Lord of the Storms". This is another short song, featuring only a couple
of riffs. There is nothing really special about the song and it is, more or less, filler.
"Wrath of the Tyrant" begins with a horrific scream and decent primitive black metal
riffs. After plodding along for a bit, there is a very promising riff that is gone all too soon. At this point, the drums
seem to be the most dominant thing and little else can be heard. The song ends with an eerie spoken words part.
All in all, this demo shows quite a bit of promise, but it also displays the fact
that Emperor had yet to shed their death metal tendencies, entirely. There are a handful of riffs that have no place on such
a release, as well as several others that should have been expanded upon. This is raw and primitive and, despite its flaws,
still more enjoyable to listen to then the last few albums they released.
(11 Sept. 2008)
The Emperor E.P. was recorded in December 1992 and released in May 1993,
by Candlelight Records. While it may seem like an appealing thing to acquire, upon first glance, it is not. Don't be fooled
by the fact that it was spawned during the creative peak of the Norwegian black metal scene. This material is entirely sickening
and hardly worth checking out, even based on curiosity.
Many years ago, after getting into Emperor, I was going back
and checking out the older recordings and connecting with those far more than with Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, which
was their latest album at the time. For me, In the Nightside Eclipse was far superior, even if it did fail to match
up to other records that were released that same year, like Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, De Mysteris Dom Sathanas, Transilvanian
Hunger and Pentagram. Nonetheless, it proved to be a high quality album and also served to lead me to discover
Wrath of the Tyrant, which I approved of even more. Thinking that the early Emperor recordings were relatively safe,
I next moved on to the band's first E.P. This was soon realized to be a mistake.
Emperor features only four
songs and clocks in around twenty minutes in length. Despite being so brief, it is time that would be better spent doing just
about anything else, other than listening to this. The material consists of two new songs and two re-recorded songs, from
Wrath of the Tyrant. Though the necro production of that release happened to be one of its main charms, there was still
a bit of curiosity to hear a couple of those tracks in a somewhat cleaned-up form. In particular, the choice to include "Night
of the Graveless Souls" seemed like something positive. However, upon actual hearing it, the true horror of this E.P. was
revealed.
To be honest, there is not much wrong with the original version of "I Am the Black Wizards". It features
a more primitive production and sounds a little nastier, which is a good thing. It would have been even better, had the keyboards
been absent, giving us a more straightforward approach to this classic track. At times, there are odd vocal effects used,
to give the impression of some sort of demonic voice, but it does not really fit well with this song. The other track that
would later appear on In the Nightside Eclipse, "Cosmic Keys to my Creations and Times", is quite similar though clearly
inferior. It includes even more synth and appears to rely on it a little more heavily. Neither one is atrocious, by any means,
but they simply don't match up to the later versions and are not different enough to really warrant much attention.
The
truly hideous part of this release comes in the form of the two re-recorded songs from Wrath of the Tyrant, "Night
of the Graveless Souls" and "Wrath of the Tyrant". In their original form, these two tracks represented Emperor's take on
primitive, old school black metal with a dark and evil feeling that was emphasized by the necro production. They were perfect,
more or less, despite sounding a little messy. Giving the songs another try, one might expect a slightly clearer performance,
thus allowing the listener to enjoy the sinister guitar riffs even more. This was not the case, at all. Emperor managed to
completely butcher these songs, by adding in synth that was never meant to be present, killing the atmosphere and ruining
these tracks and this release, in general. Without the idiotic keyboard use, these songs would sound great. Unfortunately,
instead of maintaining their integrity, the band decided to try to modernize the songs by adding the synth nonsense that they
had developed such a liking for, since recording the originals. It is somewhat tolerable on "Wrath of the Tyrant", as they
at least tried to be somewhat tasteful and to match the synth up with the music.
However, in the case of "Night of
the Graveless Souls", it was as if they were listening to something else, entirely. It sounds like they were actually attempting
to ruin the song, as the synth is so goofy and cartoonish, not even remotely suiting the atmosphere of the song. This is exactly
why the rest of the band should have taken Ihsahn outside and beaten him to a bloody pulp, the first time he showed up to
rehearsal with his Casio in hand. Listening to this rape job makes me want to stab my ears with an ice pick, or take a hammer
to the misguided hands that did this foul evil.
Emperor truly struck out with this release. While three of the four
songs are mildly tolerable, none of them are as good as other versions. As for "Night of the Graveless Souls", this may be
the true beginnings of suicidal black metal, as listening to this will make you want to kill yourself. Garbage like this somewhat
foreshadowed future lame decisions that the band would make, taking the path toward mediocrity and utter putrid filth. Avoid
this E.P. and stick to the other releases, pretending that this never happened.
(4 Sept. 2012)
In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)
In the Nightside Eclipse is the definitive Emperor album. It lacks the poor
production that plagued Wrath of the Tyrant, while still possessing some of the necro element. This was recorded
in Grieghallen during the seventh full moon of 1993. It was produced by Pytten, known for his work with Mayhem, Burzum and
Immortal. The cover featured artwork from Necrolord, who did the covers for the first two Dissection albums, among countless
others.
After a brief intro, "Into the Infinity of Thoughts" explodes with icy cold riffs
that seem to take some influence from Mayhem. In fact, the album is dedicated to Euronymous. The fast tremolo riffs, blasting
drums and unrestrained vocals strive to create a soundscape of darkness and evil. The one main drawback is that the keyboards
are too loud in the mix, and tend to drown everything else out, to a degree. Also, I think that a lot of the atmosphere created
through using keyboards could have been done with the guitars. Actually, that touches on another point: the album would lack
a lot of its atmosphere without the synth, which is not good. The synth should add to the atmosphere rather than provide the
majority of it. Musically, underneath the synth, a lot of the riffs and drumming reminds me of Immortal's Diabolical Fullmoon
Mysticism. At any rate, the first song does possess icy riffs and an epic feel. The quiet parts, with the dark guitar
melodies and the sound of freezing winds drag the listener into the world depicted on the cover.
"Cosmic Keys To My
Creations and Times" begins with a masterful tremolo riff that should have lasted a bit longer. As the blastbeats increase
in speed and the keyboards become more dominant, this riff is lost. Actually, everything underneath the synth seems lost for
a while, with the exception of the hateful vocals. Once the song slows down again, and the synth allows the guitars to breathe
once more, it is easier to be drawn into the darkness being created. However, I can't help but wonder how this would sound
if the guitars were much higher in the mix. The tempo slows down, near the end of the song, and this is one of the more memorable
moments, as the guitar riff carries it along.
Next is "Beyond the Great Vast Forest". In various places on the album, one will
find sections that seem to regress back to the more necro times of Wrath of the Tyrant, creating mental imagery of
blackened dungeons. An appropriate sentiment, since much of the music from that demo was rearranged and used here. It is almost
difficult to notice as the overpowering synth takes command, early on. The extra lead harmonies added to the slower section
really help the atmosphere. During its best moments, this L.P. is like the cold air of winter, blowing down from the snow-capped
mountaintops, awaiting the end of the world. The band manages to create an epic, somewhat apocalyptic feeling, at times.
"Towards the Pantheon" follows and begins very quietly, creating an eerie and uneasy
feeling. Ihsahn opens with a very lengthy, almost inhuman and breathless, scream that stretches on forever. There is an intense
hatred, accompanied by a melancholy for the truth of this life, and a deep sense of longing for a different world... a realm
of fantasy. Beneath the layers of synth is a song of pure black metal. As with the last song, this one takes the listener
deeper and deeper into the darkness and creates a sense of urgency and panic.
Throughout In the Nightside Eclipse,
the music itself is arranged in a cyclic style as riffs flow into riffs, then return to their original pattern at times; a
kind of theme is established in each song that is repeated, while the songwriting will often move into other more complex
patterns, melodies and structures. "The Majesty of the Nightsky" begins with fury and speed, yet a almost calming melody pervades
and changes the mood. Emperor infuse a more Wagnerian aspect into their music, a sweeping narrative that is no true attempt
at narrative, and lyrics and vocals simply amplify this. Lyrics are filled with a dark mysticism of death, evil and nature,
a reveration of the true dark powers of the Earth. As the instruments stop, nothing is left but the synth melody and the sound
of cold winds. A thunderous sound accompanies the return of the drums and the sorrowful guitar riffs join with a spoken words
piece that imbues the listener with a sense of calm and relief. As if the blood is flowing freely from your veins as you gaze
up into the darkness, soon to be liberated from this world. As the song speeds back up, it carried your spirit into the nothingness
that surrounds.
"I Am the Black Wizards" begins with a brilliant tremolo riff, that is followed by
something slower, reminiscent of Burzum, but only briefly. As the song gets going, the main theme returns and this is probably
one of the best melodies on the album. The atmosphere gets even darker as the pace slows down. One gets images of dark towers
where beings beyond feeble concepts of good and evil live in a manner that seems vile to any who possess normal "good" values,
but a way that in of itself is not evil, simply a way of life. Late in the song, a new riff is introduced that is pure evil.
It carries with it doom and the promise of agony. Hellish screams are followed by a serene, if not mournful, melody that finishes
out the song.
"Inno A Satana" closes the album by introducing clean vocals, for the only time on
this album. They are accompanied by wretched screams and some cold and lifeless riffs, hearkening back to early Burzum. As
the riffs build up, the song ends with Ihsahn whispering:
"Inno a Satana"
In the Nightside Eclipse is definitely complex and it requires a decent
attention span. This isn't something that can be absorbed by simply turning the CD on and continuing to do other things. This
requires the focus of the listener. The music creates an atmosphere of reverence for the dark beauty of the night and the
sinister shadows of the deep forests. Emperor manages to find solace in those things that humans dread the most. Ihsahn's
demonic shrieks spread hatred as the riffs carry you higher and higher, toward the glowing moon high above, before suddenly
letting you fall to the frozen earth below.
(11 Sept. 2008)
Released by Nocturnal Arts Productions in 1994, As the Shadows Rise is the
second Emperor E.P. and features material recorded back in December 1992, during the same sessions as the tracks that ended
up on Emperor. This effort is similar in that it includes re-recorded versions of songs from Wrath of the Tyrant,
though no new tracks are present. Nonetheless, this mini-album is superior to their first, yet remains strangely obscured
by time.
The production for this E.P. is fairly decent and suits the material well. It is not horribly modern or over-produced,
but neither is it as necro and ancient-sounding as Wrath of the Tyrant. The sound quality is still rather grim, with
a fuzzy guitar tone that is somewhat similar to that of Under A Funeral Moon. The riffs are just clear enough to be
comprehended a little better than before, which may help some appreciate these songs a bit more. The vocals are not as loud
in the mix as before, also possessing less reverb. The drums are at the perfect level, with Faust pummeling away in the background
and not getting in the way.
Musically, these compositions are not much different from the original recordings. The
only real alteration is during the middle of "Witches Sabbath", where there is a somewhat melodic doom riff that is not present
in the old one. However, in trade, the morbid moans seem to be much lower and less effective, practically removing something
that added to the eerie effect on Wrath of the Tyrant. Otherwise, there are not too many other differences, though
there was not a lot of time to re-work the songs anyway, since this was recorded later in the same year. Obviously, the sound
is a little clearer and this may alter the atmosphere of the songs, somewhat, just because there is less chaos and distortion.
It also allows for some of the guitar melodies to be heard better, which may bring out more of the original intent behind
the writing of these tracks. As with the versions on Emperor, Ihsahn decided to add synth to "Ancient Queen" and "Witches
Sabbath". If there is any present on "Lord of Storms", it is too low to be noticed. As for the others, the keyboards are actually
done in a much more subtle and tasteful manner than on the previous E.P. When used, it truly accentuates the dark atmosphere
being created by the music, instead of working against it. Another positive is that the synth is not so high in the mix as
to overpower everything else. It is rather surprising, as all of the material was re-recorded during the same session, yet
the songs that they released first were the worst of the bunch.
As the Shadows Rise is a worthwhile E.P. and
is highly recommended for fans of early Emperor. It is unfortunate that these tracks are harder to come by than the ones on
the first mini-album, those being later released on the split with Enslaved and on reissues of Wrath of the Tyrant,
since this collection of tunes is greatly superior in just about every way. For a bit of a different perspective on some classic
Emperor songs, as well as another dose of old school Norwegian black metal, seek this out.
(12 Sept. 2012)
Emperor' s second full-length (third, if you count Wrath of the Tyrant) was recorded in Grieghallen, as was its predecessor. It was produced by Pytten, along
with the members of the band who, obviously, had a major hand in the sound. It was a drastic departure from In the Nightside Eclipse, in many ways. In late 1996, the Reverence
E.P. was released in an effort to prepare listeners for this shift in sound, serving as a transition piece. However, lt is
quite probable that many were still shocked, in the summer of 1997, when Anthems to the
Welkin at Dusk saw the light of day.
By this point, the popularity of black metal had been rising, in the states.
With this album, it seemed that Emperor cemented themselves as the reigning kings of Norwegian black metal, in the eyes of
the American press and fans. The true Mayhem was gone. Varg Vikernes was in prison, rendering Burzum lifeless. Darkthrone
had lost their creative fire, sinking into mediocrity. Even Immortal deteriorated, releasing their worst album a few months
earlier. And, unfortunately, Gorgoroth seemed to be under the radar for most. So, in this dark age, bands like Emperor and
Satyricon (among others) seemed to inherit the throne. Had Emperor released another In the
Nightside Eclipse, this may have been warranted. But, in fact, they had chosen to go down a different path; one that
would lead them farther and farther away from what black metal truly was. While Anthems...
still possesses sufficient qualities of the sub-genre to be included, their efforts on this album were in no way adequate
enough to justify the level of praise that was received and, try as they might, they certainly were not the heirs of Mayhem.
It
was in the wake of the Reverence E.P. that I became fully aware of this band. Going
back to late 1996, black metal was still defined (for me) by Venom, old Slayer, Hellhammer, Sodom, etc. I was still being
introduced to the early material from bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone, both of which seemed incredibly dark and obscure at
the time. In an age when the internet was still in its infancy (and still several years before I had regular access anyway),
discovering such music was no easy task. However, it was already becoming clear that Emperor was one of the most popular of
these Norwegian bands, and that rubbed me the wrong way. In most cases, whatever path the herd chooses, I usually go the other
way. The more Emperor t-shirts I saw at school, the less I wanted to give them a chance. Finally, around the release of Anthems..., I heard "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" and something about it appealed to me.
However, not long after getting this album, the decision was made to seek out their earlier material and, there, I found the
true quality recordings by this band. In retrospect, I can't say that this was a worthless album, as it served the purpose
of leading me to Wrath of the Tyrants and In the
Nightside Eclipse.
Getting into the music, the negative aspects shall first be addressed. The production is
horrendous. The band must have been quite proud of their new drummer, Trym, as his instrument is way too high in the mix.
To make matters worse, his style is too... busy. Fast drumming is fine and it suits the pace of the music, yet he seems to
be doing too much and it distracts from, what should be, the true focal point: the guitars. However, the drumming is not the
only obstacle, as an even more diabolical culprit is standing between the riffs and the ears of the listener. The synth is
overpowering, throughout this record. For a good deal of the time, it really feels as if the guitar riffs are in the role
of some background effect, only there to take up space. It's the drums, synth and vocals that drive a large portion of this
album.
The first problem with this is that synth should never be the focus
of a black metal song, period. If it is used at all, it must be done tastefully, only
being used to accentuate the atmosphere already being created by the conventional instruments. When a band relies on synth
as the be-all, end-all of their aura, then there is a fundamental problem with their songwriting, at its core. The thing about
Emperor is that they actually have a decent amount of riffs on this album. Of course, there are a lot of pointless riffs as
well, quite possibly because the guitars are put in a subservient role to the rest of the instruments. The most confusing
thing of all is that, at least 50% of the time, the synth actually works to undermine the atmosphere that (one would assume)
that band is going for. More often than not, it serves only to lighten the mood or to create a general sense of confusion,
as there is simply too much going on. The production makes this even worse, as it possesses a very claustrophobic quality.
While being very clear (and overproduced), there isn't enough room to accommodate everything that is going on. Of course,
this leads back to the songwriting, itself, as well as the choice to place the drumming and synth so high in the mix.
Vocally,
Ihsahn attempts quite a bit of clean singing on here, and it's done well enough. Thankfully, it is buried in the mix, to an
extent, creating a nice effect. One can tell that he's not entirely comfortable doing it, so it possesses just enough sincerity
and effort to be appreciated. Later on, his growing confidence only increased the obnoxious nature of his clean vocals. Outside
of this new element, the vocal performance is similar to that of In the Nightside Eclipse,
while being a bit more controlled. It would be considered detrimental; however, the style of this album dictated that everything
be more tight and precise, for better or for worse.
As for the songwriting, there are moments where the band really
shines. The slow section of "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" is very well done and captures the right atmosphere. Similarly, there
are brief glimpses of skill in "Ensorcelled by Khaos", before the 'happy' synth drowns everything out and ruins the feeling.
"The Loss and Curse of Reverence" appears to have the most in common with the material of the previous album, containing some
of the best riffs. Again, the synth kills much of its momentum and one gets the feeling that it would have benefited from
the production of In the Nightside Eclipse. Eliminating the keyboards and the middle
section of the song would have been a major improvement. "The Acclamation of Bonds" has a handful of strong riffs as well,
though the most notable one has to be the part lifted from Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls". It wouldn't be a bad tribute,
except for the fact that Ihsahn later claimed that they came up with the riff all on their own and pretended not to notice
the incredible similarity with the original (even despite the decision to add in the sound of a funeral bell).
All
in all, the songwriting is pretty weak. For every good riff to be found here, there are half a dozen useless riffs. And even
during the brief moments of would-be brilliance, there are usually a number of factors that prevent the total enjoyment of
those as well. Good riffs, often drowned out by bad synth, tied together by intrusive drumming and a multitude of background
guitar that never asserts its dominance in the mix. And, perhaps the saddest thing about this album is that the very best
riff of the entire thing was written by someone else and ripped off.
When I first got the album, my impression of this
was a little better. Because of the handful of decent riffs, I managed to block out much of the rest. As well, 90% of the
intro can be ignored as it goes from setting a proper mood to being nothing short of comical. But the one thing that really
sticks out is the opening riff of "Ye Entrancemperium". It lasts all of 20 seconds, but Emperor does their best to use that
momentum to carry them through the rest of this half-baked attempt of creating a black metal album. And who is responsible
for that riff? Euronymous. I didn't notice his name in the credits until after several listens and, back then, I simply assumed
that he had written it and given it to them for later use. In truth, it was stolen. They merely heard it on some old Mayhem
rehearsal and used it for themselves. At least they gave credit where it was due. Sadly, this single riff (that never even
made it onto a proper Mayhem release) is the most intense and pure half minute of black metal on the whole album. The members
of Emperor are very capable musicians. They play with a high level of skill and, any time they record a cover song, it's done
incredibly well; i.e. "A Fine Day to Die", "Funeral Fog", "Cromlech", etc. But the inclusion of this Euronymous riff is further
evidence that they are much better at recording the material of others than writing their own.
In the end, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is not the masterpiece that many hailed it as. On the contrary, it is a monumental
failure. The highlight of the record is a stolen riff from a band whose rehearsal recordings are more enjoyable than this.
The brilliance of In the Nightside Eclipse had faded, and only a few remnants were
left to hearken back to those days. And even still, most of those were so enshrouded in synth nonsense as to leave them difficult
to fully appreciate. As is often the case, the integrity of the band was traded for popularity and wider acceptance.
(10 July 2010)
Following the success of Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, the members of Emperor
became ever more active in their various side-projects and moved further away from the true essence of black metal. They took
the positive reactions to such a flawed album as meaning that they should continue in the same direction, which only led them
to create a record that can only be looked at as an abomination. Released in November 1999, IX Equilibrium saw Emperor
return to be hailed by many as the kings of Norwegian black metal. This is incredibly ridiculous, as there is hardly a trace
of black metal to be found on this record.
By 1999, black metal had become a worldwide trend and a good number of these
bands were taking influence from Emperor's earlier works, incorporating a great deal of synth into their music, often at the
expense of actual riffs. Even worse, they were adding gothic elements and making something that was really the antithesis
of what it claimed to be. Ihsahn, himself, jumped on this symphonic/goth bandwagon with his side-project, Peccatum. It is
kind of humourous that he got swept up in trends that he had some part in influencing in the first place. Meanwhile, Samoth
had been moving in a different direction, becoming more interested in technicality than obscurity.
Therein lies one
of the greatest differences between Emperor's third full-length album and those that came before it. There is a total absence
of the obscure atmosphere that was conveyed by In the Nightside Eclipse, which itself was somewhat of a leap in quality
from the necro sound of Wrath of the Tyrant. Still, there was a common thread that ran between them. Even from the
band's debut L.P. to Anthems... one can hear some traces of their black metal roots, despite how overblown and convoluted
that whole record was. They had at least tried to create some kind of atmosphere, even if their horrid symphonic approach
failed. With IX Equilibrium, they failed in a different way.
This album fails to live up to the Emperor name,
and that takes into account my complete disdain for its predecessor. While the goofy keyboards and Ihsahn's trademark raspy
voice have remained, along with an abundance of clean singing, this is a totally different beast. This is the point where
Emperor ceased to be a black metal band and joined the growing legions of generic 'extreme metal' groups. The music here is
heavy and technical and features a lot of fast riffs and Trym pummeling his drum kit to bits while Ihsahn screams over everything,
but there is no substance. Out of the entire album, there are a very tiny amount of actual black metal melodies, and even
these are used to bridge other nonsensical ideas together. The riffs are mostly a combination of thrash and death metal, drenched
in soulless technicality that has replaced the obscure atmosphere of their past releases with a sterile feeling, but hoping
to impress listeners with how flawless the playing is. This is the sort of thing that happens to musicians that started out
their careers not knowing how to play all that well, but creating nonetheless, and then wanting to show off their developing
skills. The trouble is, by the time these types can master their instruments, they have lost the ability to write worthwhile
music. Such was the case with Emperor.
What other crime is committed here, other than trading songwriting skill for
musicianship? Of course, the rotting and festering, hideous stench of all things modern. The production is as clean as it
gets and sounds like the band went to a top-notch studio with all of the latest equipment for completely draining the last
few remaining drops of sincerity right out of this. Every element is crystal clear, which would allow everything to be heard
perfectly if not for the fact that it is all mixed so loud that things seem to run together, anyway. It is odd to think of
something being so clear and yet sounding like a mess at the same time, but that does seem to be the case. A lot of it has
to do with the synth, which is severely abused and far too high in the mix. Since the actual music lacks any hope for creating
atmosphere, they relied on the keyboards to do it for them. Instead, it just makes the proceedings sound all the more light-hearted
and ridiculous, as there is no way possible that was meant to sound dark or menacing.
With this record, the members
of Emperor reveal themselves to be posers of the highest order. They began making generic death metal and that is what they
returned to, once they were no longer hanging around the likes of Euronymous and Varg Vikernes. In this case, the pure black
metal of Wrath of the Tyrant and In the Nightside Eclipse must have been more of an anomaly, inspired by the
scene that they were caught up in at the time, rather than something that was truly burning within them. Along with bands
like Satyricon and Enslaved, it became clear that the followers knew not where to go once their leaders had passed on.
If
you wish to wallow in the soulless and sterile stench of modern 'extreme metal', then IX Equilibrium may be for you.
If you are more drawn to shameless pretentiousness and egotism rather than a dark atmosphere, you may enjoy this atrocity.
This album is filled with the sort of faux-progressive nonsense that easily impresses more simple-minded listeners. If you
want to be associated with Norwegian black metal without actually having the courage to listen to the real thing, then this
is the perfect L.P. to get you such scene credibility. Otherwise, save your money and avoid this like the disease-ridden filth
that it is.
(10 Sept. 2012)
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