Emperor - Emperor / Wrath Of The Tyrant [comp] (1998) [Reissue] (2005)

 

Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991, regarded as highly influential by critics and emerging black metal bands. The group split up in 2001, but reunited from 2005 to 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours, and again reunited in 2013 to 2014. Emperor reformed for the third time in 2016. The group was founded by Ihsahn (guitar/vocal) and Samoth (then, drums).

In their youth, Ihsahn and Samoth met at a rock music seminar. The two young men began playing together under various names; first Dark Device, then Xerasia, then Embryonic. The group soon evolved into the now well-known band Thou Shalt Suffer. Soon, however, Samoth began to write music outside of Thou Shalt Suffer, and together with Ihsahn and a new bass player called Mortiis (later of his own eponymous band Mortiis), Emperor was formed. After a short while together, the band released a demo entitled Wrath of the Tyrant. It quickly gained popularity in the underground and attracted the attention of the then-start-up label Candlelight. Soon afterwards, a record contract was signed, Samoth moved to rhythm guitar, Ihsahn continued the vocal duties and lead guitars, and Faust was recruited as a drummer. Emperor released their debut EP, Emperor, under Candlelight Records. The band then was signed to the infamous first black metal label, Deathlike Silence Productions, and planned to release their next album soon, though the band never managed to release any material while signed to DSP.

In the summer of 1992, a series of events were set in motion by the black metal inner circle. Samoth, along with various other black metallers, set out to burn down old churches in Norway. Also in 1992, Faust lived in Lillehammer, and in the newly constructed Olympic park a man named Magne Andreassen approached him and suggested that they take a walk in the nearby forest. Faust agreed, and, once in the forest, Faust claimed the man began to make strong sexual advances towards him. Faust then stabbed the man to death, kicking him in the head afterward to ensure that he was dead. He was not convicted until two years later. The day after Faust committed the murder, he went with Euronymous of Mayhem and Varg Vikernes of Burzum to burn the Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo. In the summer of 1993, the band began working on their first full-length album. Emperor ceased wearing corpse paint; they stated that it was becoming a trend and losing its original significance and symbolism. In autumn of that year, the police began to investigate the murder of Euronymous of Mayhem, naming Varg Vikernes as a suspect; this investigation eventually led to the incarceration of Samoth for arson, and of Faust for the murder of Magne Andreassen.

In 1994, Samoth was sentenced to 16 months in prison for burning the Skjold Church in Vindafjord, together with Varg Vikernes. The arson was committed during a pause in the recording of the Burzum EP Aske (‘Ashes’). In 1994, In the Nightside Eclipse was released, and earned Emperor widespread acclaim and a large fanbase.

 

 

 

 IROND CD 05-1090

 

 -Tracklist:

1.     I Am the Black Wizards     06:16
2.     Wrath of the Tyrant     04:14
3.     Night of the Graveless Souls     03:10
4.     Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times     06:22
5.     Introduction     01:09       instrumental
6.     Ancient Queen     03:15
7.     My Empire's Doom     04:31
8.     Forgotten Centuries     02:49
9.     Night of the Graveless Souls     02:54
10.     Moon over Kara-Shehr     04:23
11.     Witches Sabbath     05:40
12.     Lord of the Storms     02:08
13.     Wrath of the Tyrant     03:56
      
50:47

 

-Lineup:

⛧ Faust : Drums (tracks 1-4)
⛧Ihsahn : Vocals, Guitars (tracks 1-13)
⛧Samoth : Drums (tracks 5-13), Guitars (tracks 1-4)
⛧Mortiis : Bass (tracks 1-13).

 

 

 Label: Irond Records.

Russian edition.

 "Emperor" (tracks 1 to 4) was recorded December 1992 at Studio S.
"Wrath Of The Tyrant" (tracks 5 to 11) was recorded on a 4-track home studio in May 1992.

Re-mastered at Strype Audio, Oslo, Norway by Tom Kvälsvoll & Samoth.
However, the ''Emperor'' recording has been kept very close to its original sound.
''Wrath of the Tyrant'' has by nature a very ''necro'' sound, and nothing was done
to hide that.

Illustration [Death & Leviathan Illustrations]: Gustave Doré

Layout: Adrian Wear, Samoth

Lyrics: Mortiis

Music: Ihsahn, Samoth

Producer: The Emperors.

 Enhanced element (video) contains:
- Very rare, exclusive footage of pre-Nightside rehearsals.
- Live footage from Emperor's first tour 1993.

 

 

 

Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse (1994) Reissue [2008]

 

''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. Considered a landmark in the black metal scene, the album has been ranked by critics as one of the most influential albums of the genre.

Emperor were known as one of the most infamous Norwegian black metal bands during the early and mid 1990s. Samoth was jailed 16 months for taking part in church burnings with Varg Vikernes (Burzum), along with other members of the Norwegian black metal scene. Drummer Faust was jailed for church burning and for the stabbing and murder of a homosexual man in 1992 (he was never suspected for it until 2 years later when he was arrested in 1994).

Played their first gig on April 13th, 1992, alongside Enslaved, Algol, and Infinite Decay.

The group disbanded in 2001 because they felt they had lived up to everything they wanted to with Emperor. They have received "legendary" status, toured worldwide, have a large catalog of releases, and they didn't want to be known as another group that "never knows when to quit making music" as well as creative incompatibilities (Ihsahn was becoming more inspired by the progressive tendencies he would showcase in his solo work, whereas Samoth was exploring a technical death metal inspiration he would utilize in Zyklon).

The band reunited in 2005 to play at Scream Magazine's anniversary festival and to headline the 2006 editions of Norway's Inferno Festival and Germany's Wacken Open Air. In an interview with UK Magazine Terrorizer, Ihsahn hinted at the possibility of another Emperor album, but stated that Emperor is now a side project.

In 2013, another reunion was announced, with original drummer Faust, to headline Bloodstock Festival in 2014, and the 25th anniversary of the Wacken Open Air festival in the same year. This reunion also marked the 20th anniversary of "In the Nightside Eclipse".

In 2016, another reunion was announced for 2017 in which the band will perform "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" album in its entirety to celebrate the LP's 20th anniversary.

-Tracklist:

Disc 1

Side A:
1. Into the Infinity of Thoughts     08:14
2. The Burning Shadows of Silence     05:36

Side B:
3. Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times     06:06
4. Beyond the Great Vast Forest     06:01
5. Towards the Pantheon     05:57
         
Disc 2

Side A:
1. The Majesty of the Nightsky     04:54
2. I Am the Black Wizards     06:01
3. Inno a Satana     04:48

Side B:
4. A Fine Day to Die (Bathory cover)     08:30
5. Gypsy (Mercyful Fate cover)     02:56

 

 

-Line up:

• Samoth: Guitars, songwriting, lyrics
• Faust: Drums
• Ihsahn: Vocals, guitars, keyboards, songwriting, lyrics
• Tchort: Bass.

 

 

Ihsahn

Label: Back on Black.

 

 Recorded during the seventh full moon anno 1993 at Grieghallen Studios.
Mixed in winter anno 1994.
Produced by Emperor and Pytten.

 

 "Inno a Satana" is Italian for "Hymn to Satan".

Both "Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times" and "I Am the Black Wizards" are re-recorded versions of songs that originally appeared on the Emperor EP.
"Beyond the Great Vast Forest" is a re-worked/re-recorded version of the song "My Empire's Doom" from the Wrath of the Tyrant demo with new lyrics.

 

 "A Fine Day to Die" & "Gypsy" are exclusive bonus tracks.
"A Fine Day to Die" recorded in October 1996 at Grieghallen Studios and "Gypsy" recorded in June 1997 at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio.

 

 Front cover by Necrolord.