Before I give my opinions on Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk by Emperor, I feel that it is necessary to devote a few words to the background of this album. While it is not necessary to understand the history of the band, it at least puts it the album in a certain historical perspective so as to better understand just why this particular album is so important in the history of black metal.

Emperor generated a lot of excitement with their demo and first album, In the Nightside Eclipse. They were gaining notoriety for their music at a time that the black metal scene in Norway was gaining notoriety in general -- and not necessarily for their music. Prototypical black metallers almost universally appear to be anti-christian or maybe just pro-satan. In some cases, it's just that satanic lyrics fit the mood of the music, not that the musicians have any particular pact with the devil; it's just a marriage of convenience. However, in Norway, some folks seemed to be taking things to extreme. In the most notorious case, scene leader Euronymous of Mayhem was killed by rival musician, Count Grishnackh, who was filling in with Mayhem on bass.

At a time that Emperor should have been building on their momentum, two key members were arrested. Guitarist Samoth was arrested for his involvement in church burning and drummer Faust was found guilty of killing a gay man at the olympic park in Lillehammer. Eventually Samoth served his time, and a new drummer (Trym, ex-Enslaved) was drafted into the group. It seemed that instead of derailing the Emperor freight train, this 'hiatus' only got the black metal hordes more excited about their musical return. As a result, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk was one of the most highly anticipated black metal albums of all time.

While in no way do I condone the actions committed by some of the Norwegian black metallers, the power of their music is undeniable. Note that Samoth appears to show contrition over his crimes and now seems to admit they were acts of youthful immaturity and stupidity.

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is a masterful black metal album, inspiring imitators that don't even come close to it's powerfully pompous musical program. It opens with "Alsvartr (The Oath)" which invokes the bleak winters of Scandinavia with its electronic drone and plucked single note guitar lines. The tension builds into a synth fanfare and martial drumming, perhaps marshalling on the army of marching black metallers? (Yeesh, that's corny!) Then follows slow doomy guitar riffing backing Ishan's whispered screaming. This only serves to set the stage for the rest of the album.

"Ye Entrancemperium" follows a blueprint many of the other songs are built on. It's intro'ed by a clattering drum attack, not like the direct 1-2-1-2 mindless stomp of Slayer, but more like taking a nasty plunge down a flight of stairs. The guitar riffs and synthesizer form a potent backdrop for some good ol' yelling and screaming in the black metal tradition. Then somewhere along the two-thirds point, there's a synth fanfare which signals a transition to a different guitar riff. The tempo slows down and the guitar meshes with the synth in a well-constructed metallic tapestry. At the heart of things, even with all the aggression involved in black metal music, the song ends with what is essentially a melodic episode.

"Thus Spake the Nightspirit" is another classic from this album. It follows a similar structure in that the initial quick attack tempos are slowed down and a melodic song structure takes over. The guitar solos are never fancy or technically virtuosic in a traditional way, but they get the job done. The use of synthesizer with guitar is done in a way that makes an integrated whole. The synth doesn't work against the guitar, and in some cases is more important than the guitar. On "The Loss and Curse of Reverence", the tune is mostly carried by the synth riff with sympathetic support from the guitars. It sounds ridiculous that a heavy metal album -- especially a black metal album -- would be dominated by synth, but in this case, the texture and melodic input they provide are the concrete which makes the songs cohere.

This album benefited greatly from the improved production and sound even though it was recorded at the Grieghallen in Norway. Instead of a flat one-dimensional sound, the acoustic spectrum and soundstage is much broader, supporting the bombastic synthesizer and guitar based songs. As a bonus, the CD release includes the contents of the Reverence EP. This brings me to my only gripe about this CD. The CD-ROM video of "Reverence" is supposed to be available for viewing on the disc, but neither of the two CD's I tried would let me access the video -- neither on a PC nor a Mac. "In Longing Spirit" is a precursor to Anthems but would've fit right in with the rest of the songs. "Opus A Satana" is a fairly cheesy four minute pseudo classical tune played out by synth strings. It's actually really enjoyable, but fairly lightweight. Then there's a live version of "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" which originally served as a preview for Anthems but suffers from poor live sound. The drums are especially tinny. And it's nice to see that even black metal bands fall prey to rock'n'roll cliches like yelping, "Alright!" at the end of a tune in concert. They're not necessarily church-burning, blood-drinking, satan worshippers -- they seem a lot like kids that are enjoying the rock'n'roll lifestyle.

So all in all, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk was both an advancement in metal as well as a continuation of past metal traditions. It follows the metal precept that you want as big and loud a sound as humanly possible, but at the same time at the heart of things it must remain melodic enough for people to enjoy. However, one of the bigger steps forward was in the seamless integration of synth sounds into the aggressive nature of black metal music. This is the one element that they did not advance upon on their follow up album, IX Equilibrium. The marriage of slick riff writing skills with the synth/guitar backdrop created one of the most classic metal albums of the 90's.



Recommended: Yes