Overview

Emperor are (or were...) the undisputed kings of black metal. Their influence extends across space and time. One of the greatest things about Emperor is that one can track their progression through the musical spectrum by examining each of their releases in chronological order. This is contrary to one of the most important rules of black metal: "Thou shalt not progress."

In the Nightside Eclipse fell between the brutal, relentless Wrath of the Tyrant and the elegant, more classically-inspired Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. What happens when an album lands smack in the middle of two such creations? Controlled chaos... that's what.

The guitars form a thick blanket of distorted sound, under which Faust recklessly pounds and rattles his drumkit. Ihsahn (lead guitar/vocals/keyboards) doesn't fool around-- his vocals here are about as harsh as they were on Wrath..., and there are some clean, sung parts thrown in from time to time, but nowhere near as many as on Anthems or IX Equilibrium.

Emperor has recorded an album that drips with so much atmosphere, the listener is effectively transported to another universe. How would I describe the atmosphere this album creates? Cold; foggy; dark; medieval, almost. It's created by the combination of synthetic choirs; crappy distortion; and cold, harsh, screamed vocals. More than anything, the tremendous amount of reverb gives the record a "trapped in a cold, empty cave" feel. This album *was* recorded in the Hall of Edvard Grieg (Grieghallen Studios), so expect alot of that reverb, mixed with tasty Viking goodness.


Tracks
1. Into the Infinity of Thoughts
The album opens with thunderstorm sound effects. The band enters in time. Blast beats pound and an unmelodic guitar riff cuts underneath the sound-fabric. Keyboards (emulating strings and a choir) help thicken the texture. This is our first chance to hear how Ihsahn's voice and vocal style have changed since his immature and sloppy Wrath of the Tyrant debut, just a few years earlier. His voice is deeper and more frightening, even if his choice style is still "gurgled and screeched."

Midway through the track, the instrumentation breaks down and a fast, sinister riff is heard, punctuated by cymbal crashes. Ihsahn screams something akin to "Weaker, and weaker, one by one..." and the song goes on. The cool thing about this album is that, even if the song is built around the same riff or set of riffs, there is enough variation to keep the listener interested.

As the song moves through time, another breakdown occurs, whose riff is punctuated by blasts from Faust's bass drums. A slightly more melodic guitar line bubbles up out of the following fast section, and Ihsahn's wordless screams act more as an aid to texture rather than a device to frighten, as is so often the case in black metal. The riffs become more and more tritone-infected and evil, and the tempo rises until the song virtually collapses in on itself. Overall, I love this track. It opens the album wonderfully.

2. The Burning Shadows of Silence
This song, too, starts out with a thunder sound effect. A menacing guitar riff is framed by bass drums Suddenly, the whole group explodes into a frenzy. The riff stops, and the guitar settles behind a slightly-offbeat, wailing keyboard line. Eventually, the chaos settles down and we hear Ihsahn doing some spoken word behind a plodding rhythmic figure. The keyboard line returns, and Ihsahn screams something (totally unintelligible) over it. Blast beats ahoy!

Though this track is slower than its predecessor, it manages to convey a more evil, electrified atmosphere. Toward the end, Ihsahn reminds me of a Zergling from the game StarCraft. Anyone else agree?

3. Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times
No fooling around, here. A thrashy guitar riff opens the track, and is met with a gurgled scream. After a change of riffs, another scream introduces the first real lyrics. Umm... lyrics... yeah... Keyboards switch off with speedy guitar riffs to create atmosphere, but this song doesn't seem as organic and natural, or maybe as foggy and thick as those before it (as well as others on the album).

What this track lacks in atmosphere and feel, it makes up for in speed, so if you're a thrasher, you're in for a treat. There is a small breakdown some time through the song. This makes up for what the speed, in my opinion, speed cannot accomplish. The half-tempo riffing serves to create enough contrast to keep my finger away from the "next track" button.

I've heard some describe this as a standout song on the album. I agree, if not for different reasons: it stands out because it's too mediocre, if that makes sense. It fits in the big scheme of things, but, on its own, it doesn't seem strong enough as a song. Fortunately, it's followed by one of the most awesome songs Emperor's ever done.

4. Beyond the Great Vast Forest
A blood-churning scream opens this song. This isn't a song you'd want to hear for the first time at 11:00 PM on a schoolnight, when your parents are upstairs asleep. That's what happened to me. I didn't listen to the song for months. Once I finally did, I realized how great it was.

A surprisingly-creative guitar riff snakes behind rolling bass drums, and in between the threads of a synth choir. Ihsahn screams in a very cool rhythmic pattern here-- it is often his sense of rhythm that makes up for either cheesy lyrics, or the fact that the sound of his screams can get taxing after a while. The song almost immediately slows to a crawl. The lyrics at this point are a little more intelligible, and are justly evil. Then, for contrast, Emperor cranks the tempo up to about 3,000 beats per minute. No rest for the wicked, right? This fast-slow-fast-slow pattern continues throughout the song. The keyboards actually serve a standout melodic function in this song, and their melodies work well to highlight the lyrical theme of evil rising in a lonely forest. Brilliant track, it is.

5. Towards the Pantheon
This song starts off not with a thunderclap, but with a nice string arrangement and arpeggios played on a clean guitar. Even upon the first listen, you know this song is going to have a sorrowful feel. Even when things turn electric and distorted, the feeling of melancholy is still present. Hell, as the tempo keeps increasing, things only get more depressing.

The reverb really takes a toll on Ihsahn's voice in this track, making the lyrics impossible to understand, but aiding the music. This whole track feels and sounds rather distant, perhaps because of the insane reverb. Don't get me wrong, the tempo throughout most of this song is about 9,400 beats per minute, but it may very well be this track that best paints the picture on the album's cover.

What this song has that the ones before it didn't have was an enormous variety of riffs and textures. Sure, there are riff changes in every song, but this song has tremendous changes in feel, mood, tempo, atmosphere, etc. The whole nine yards, I guess you could say. Overall, this track is very, very good. As the first section of the song repeats, and it ends, we prepare ourselves for the best song on the album...

6. The Majesty of the Nightsky
This song starts off in utter chaos--there is more disorder here than in any other track on the album. Everyone playing at once. When the texture finally thins out, we're left with the cream at the top. There is an absolutely wonderful, majestic guitar riff over rolling bass drums. I just wish it would last longer.

This song is really a showcase for Ihsahn's songwriting skills. The riffs are first-rate and the melodies are memorable--singable, almost. There is a very slow interlude about halfway through the track. The synth choir and strings take over, leaving the drums to fill in the remaining space. The guitars join in, and the strings take the lead. Ihsahn is doing that spoken-word stuff again, so I just sit back and soak it all up, even if I really have no idea what's going on...

Oh, wait... What's this? The beginning of the song all over again? Dear God! My chaos-o-meter just went into the red. Odin, Tyr, and Thor help us! The song ends as abruptly as it began, and we turn our attention to a classic slice of black metal pie.

7. I Am the Black Wizards
In my humble opinion, this song needs neither introduction, nor explanation, nor review. It's a re-casting of the most notorious track from the Wrath EP. The production quality has been upped, and the instrumentation improved. Some of the cheesy background screams haven't been removed, but you probably won't notice. Since the members of Emperor managed to sustain day jobs at the local McTr00 fast food joint, they were able to upgrade their distortion pedals to $20 Boss stompboxes. You can hear the difference. Ihsahn's vocals are clearer, but that doesn't mean we're any closer to figuring out what the Hell he's saying.

The slow breakdown is executed with much more taste and feel this time around, thank God. I think the only thing that beats this is the "modernized" version present on Emperial Live Ceremony (their live DVD, which I will review someday, I promise). As with anything good on this CD, there's a shortcoming... that being Ihsahn's vocals getting lost in the mix.

All in all, this is the million-dollar track on this album, since Emperor took one of its most classic tracks and revamped it to make it sound about 100,000,000 times better. I may like "The Majesty of the Nightsky" more, but this song has historical weight attached to it. Bravo, Emperor!

8. Inno A Satana
Ahh, this track. This track is probably an album or two ahead of its time in the Emperor catalogue. The melody is catchy and memorable. There are plenty of clean vocals to go around, and plenty of screams to even things out. The guitar sound is, by far, clearest on this track (note I'm not counting the bonus tracks as part of the Nightside album). The drums are totally subordinate to the guitars, which is backward in context of this record. While I may not be a huge fan of Ihsahn's clean vocals on this song, he makes a great effort, and we get to see how he improves as he and his band release more albums...

Perhaps most creative is the mixture of clean and distorted guitars halfway through the track. This makes the texture suffocatingly thick, yet things are still organized and part of an organic whole. The track (and thus the original Nightside album) closes in chaos, with Ihsahn pumping out layered, clean vocals, choir-style.

We really hear Emperor functioning as an organized, cohesive unit on this track. Even if it isn't your favorite track on the album, they should be given credit for it. For black metal, this song was light years ahead of its time.

9. A Fine Day to Die [Bonus Track]
This track, a Bathory cover from the album Blood, Fire, Death, starts off with clean, arpeggiated guitarwork and the sound of a neighing horse. Ihsahn enters with clean vocals, sounding smooth and deep.

As always, things collapse into chaos. A serious, blistering riff cuts through the thicket of reverb. This track has perhaps the clearest, simplest sound on the entire album. There is a noticeable lack of keyboards in the mix, so that could be a reason... As this is a cover, Ihsahn's vocals are noticeably different, although I can't describe how.

A clean interlude doesn't really give us much rest from the battery of riffs. Two reasons: A. electric guitars are still prominent, and B. the break is too damn short, anyway. A chaotic solo emerges out of the following disorder, and the song spirals out, curling itself around a set of simple, yet evil, riffs. This song also has the most memorable lyric ever: "DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

True classic.

This song is simpler than all the other songs on the CD. It's also one of the thrashiest, along with "Cosmic Keys," so go on and let down your hair, metalheads!


10. Gypsy [Bonus Track]
This song was an obvious joke. Please, tell me this song was a joke. It's a Mercyful Fate cover, so you can imagine what the vocals sound like. The castrato/falsetto vocals ruin everything that would otherwise be cool about this song. Ihsahn is in key, but out of tune, especially when he hits the super-high notes. The overall upbeat atmosphere of this track doesn't mesh with the Nightside atmosphere AT ALL. This is the low point of the album, seriously. What the Hell made Emperor or their record company want to re-release this album with this piece of sh*t attached to it? I can say nothing more of this.

Ihsahn sounds like a $#@$%ing muppet. Someone shoot him.


Pros
This album has some serious historical significance. With the exception of the last track (and I'd argue the penultimate track, as well), every song has its place on this album. All things contribute to the atmosphere here. The record is primarily atmospheric. Other black metal musicians take lessons from Emperor on how to gain respect, and this album belongs in the black metal hall of fame for the sheer amount of respect it commands.

Due to the atmospheric nature of the record, it never becomes too distracting. It never really begs to be listened to like some other metal records. This doesn't mean that it's boring, but it lends itself really well to being background music.

My favorite tracks on this album are "Beyond the Great Vast Forest," due to its proud, evil atmosphere and "The Majesty of the Nightsky," for its moments of regal melody.


Cons
The last track is a stinking pile of dung, and it should never have been appended to this record. For shame... for shame.

Sometimes, the arrangements get so chaotic and the texture so thick that everything becomes a splattered mess on the inside of your stereo speakers. It takes a patient ear to learn to separate some of these moments and make sense of them.

I guess if you're a true audiophile, you'd complain that the production quality sucks. But, if you're a "true audiophile," what in the world are you doing listening to early 1990's black metal, anyway? So, shut up.


Final Thought
Buy this record, metal fans, and you will never regret it. Just skip over the last track, unless you're a Mercyful Fate fan. If you're a Mercyful Fate fan, and I've hurt your feelings in the course of this review, I am not sorry, and I will not apologize. If you are a Mercyful Fate fan, and I have not hurt your feelings in the course of this review, I hope your feelings do get hurt today... I hope they get hurt really, really badly.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up