Wrath of Tyrants

Emperor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00000IABU
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,914 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #93 in Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia > Norway

Track Listings

1. I Am the Black Wizards

2. Wrath of the Tyrant

3. Night of the Graveless Souls

4. Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times

5. Introduction

6. Ancient Queen

7. My Empire's Doom

8. Forgotten Centuries

9. Night of the Graveless Souls

10. Moon Over Kara-Shehr

11. Witches Sabbath

12. Lord of the Storms

13. Wrath of the Tyrant

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic early Norwegian Black Metal, May 12, 2002

By 

burritobrother (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wrath of Tyrants (Audio CD)

This cd collects both the mid-'92 "Wrath Of The Tyrant" demo and the Emperor half of an early '93 split lp. As such, this is an absolutely essential release for anyone interested in early Norwegian Black Metal. Emperor followed closely in the footsteps of Black Metal's true kings, Mayhem, and these first recordings are as close to Mayhem as Emperor would ever get (on every subsequent recording Emperor refined their direction but always remained fierce and brilliant). This cd also collects nearly every recording the band did with bass player/writer Mortiis. As for the music...it's raw, evil, loud, despairing, violent, just as all true Black Metal should be. The first four songs comprise the "Emperor" tracks; the remaining nine are the "Wrath" demo. The keyboards are present on the "Emperor" numbers, but not yet in the foreground as later recordings - with the exception of 'Night Of The Graveless Souls'- but always in place. Rather, these cuts are dominated by Ihsahn's searing, godforsaken vocals and hammering guitar, Faust's speedfreak-on- LSD drumming (second only to Mayhem's Hellhammer I think), and of course Samoth's piledriving riffing. Mortiis can't be made out some of the time through this wall of evil, but he keeps it steady and together. The songs are among the finest of that genuinely inspiring time and have gone down as Black Metal classics, especially 'Wrath Of The Tyrant', 'Witches Sabbath', 'I Am The Black Wizards', 'My Empire's Doom' and 'Night Of The Graveless Souls'. But all of them are truly hellish. Much has been made of the relative weakness in the production, but I cannot see how it isn't pretty much the same as on nearly all the great Black Metal recordings of that era. Very 'necro', as is stated in the sleeve. We wouldn't want it any other way would we? By all means pick this cd up. It isn't as well known as later Emperor albums, but it is just as powerful, and is a truly magnificent document of the most exciting metal movement of all time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emperor's Humble Beginnings..., February 19, 2005

By 

p_drl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wrath of Tyrants (Audio CD)

Out of the ashes of the death metal band Thou Shalt Suffer, a new force in the Norwegian scene emerged, by the name of Emperor, whom we all would know to grow and love. Before the keyboards, the clean production, and breath-taking lyrics, it's clear to see that Emperor's early material was simply about making simple, old-school black metal with crushing riffs, a haunting atmosphere, and throat-ripping vocals, all while upholding the essence of evil.

The first 4 tracks here are taken from the "Hordane's Land" split with Enslaved. Two of the songs here are legendary in the Emperor catalogue, "Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times" and of course "I Am the Black Wizards", both of which would be featured on the 1995 masterpiece "In the Nightside Eclipse". The production isn't great, but it is still audible on many levels. Faust's stampeding drums whip the listener into obilivion, while the buzzsaw guitars and agonized vocals set the atmosphere. The level of musicianship is amazing for Emperor being a young band at the time. I rate the first four songs as following...

1. I am the Black Wizards- A true Emperor classic, no need to explain this... 5/5

2. Wrath of the Tyrant- An often under-rated song, in my opinion. More straight-forward with a great main riff, and a chaotic song structure. 4.5/5

3. Night of the Graveless Souls- The pace picks up a bit here. Blazing guitars, pounding drums, and nasty vocals. Great song, albeit a bit short. 5/5

4. Cosmic Keys to my Creations and Times- Another classic, stripped-down. Faust shows his endurance and speed behind the kit, and Samoth shows off his tremolo picking skills with the furious guitars. 5/5

Now, onto the actual "Wrath of the Tyrant" demo. The recording quality is zero, it seems like production is almost absent. The whole thing was recorded on a 4-track in true old-school style, using a "necro" sound to acheive aesthetics and atmosphere. The guitars are tuned to Drop-D, adding a sludgy feel to songs like "My Empire's Doom" and "Witches' Sabbath". Samoth played drums on this demo, and does a good job, whilst keeping it to the basics. Ihsahn's vocals are much more raw than usual here. His abrasive-throated screams are layered in reverb and echo, sending chills down your spine, especially on the likes of "Wrath of the Tyrant", and the desperate cries on "Witches' Sabbath". The music is much more straight-forward here, and has a few hints of old death metal. Here are the ratings...

1.Introduction- A bit useless, but sets the atmosphere, nonetheless.

2. Ancient Queen- Stampeding drums, dissonant guitars, and terrifying vocals. This song has it all, and accurately sums up the "feel" for the rest of the demo. 4/5

3. My Empire's Doom- This would later be re-arranged to become "Beyond the Great Vast Forest", but it much more stripped-down, raw, and angry. 4/5

4. Forgotten Centuries- This is fantastic! Chaotic, bizzare time changes, a crushing riff, and a no-frills song structure. This is probably the most evolved track on the demo. 5/5

5. Night of the Graveless Souls- I personally prefer the "Hordane's Land" version of this. The playing seems a bit sloppy, and the echo on the vocals kind of throws the listener off-tempo. 2.5/5

6. Moon Over Kara-Shehr- Things slow down here, and allows Ihsahn's sick screams permeate and terrify the listener. The drumming here is very good as well, and the song structure is great, with some maniacal changes in tempo. 4.5/5

7.Witches' Sabbath- Ihsahn is at his best here, the screaming is comparable to that of Varg Vikernes... truly tormented. The tempo lulls the listener into terror, and the verse is aggressive enough to rip out your spine! Great riffs as well. 5/5

8. Lord of the Storms- A surprise attack with mechanical riffing, no-frills drumming, and a to-the-point structure, clocking in at a little over 2 minutes...But a bit unfilling. 3/5

9. Wrath of the Tyrant- Emperor at their old-school best. A hypnotizing riff, evil vocals, and an apocalyptic atmosphere end the EP on a strong note. 5/5

The bonus material includes a video that pops up when you put the disc in your PC. It includes some extremely rare rehearsal footage, and cips of the band playing at various places on their 1993 tour. The sound quality on some clips isn't great, but is reasonable. It's good to see how the band evolved over time, and how talented they were for being such young musicians.

I would highly reccommend this demo to anyone curious about extreme metal, who needs a starting point. Truly essential to a black metal collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back to basics..., January 8, 2003

By 

Ilker Yucel "Kryptych" (Annapolis, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wrath of Tyrants (Audio CD)

This compilation of the split-EP "Hordanes Land" and the original demo "Wrath of the Tyrants" showcases the greatest of the Norwegian black metal bands in their early days, and since nostalgia is always in style when a band disappears, it's good to return to the basics when the production was horrible, the evil was pure, and the music just kicked arse! Emperor have always maintain their quality of musicianship, improving on the sound and the lyrics overall, and on this CD we can hear where they came from.

The first four tracks, "Hordanes Land," are some of the most memorable songs Emperor has ever recorded, two of which made it to "In the Nightside Eclipse." This version of "I Am the Black Wizards" is much dirtier, and sometimes scarier with the weird vocal effects going on (like the voice of evil carried along the wind). I find it a shame that "Wrath of the Tyrant" and "Night of the Graveless Souls" were never given the better production treatment on any of Emperor's later albums, but it's a treat to hear them and the other two songs in their earliest incarnations.

"Wrath of the Tyrant," the demo album which featured Samoth on drums, is really a treat for fans of the old-school black metal. The production is so horrible, and yet the music comes out giving the same chill and cruelty as anything Emperor could put out today. Retaining the "necro" sound of old, it's a pleasure to hear the band in its early stages of evolution, with "My Empire's Doom," the original Mortiis-penned version of "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" (from "In the Nightside Eclipse," now with lyrics by Samoth). "Witches Sabbath," "Moon Over Kara-Shehr," and "Ancient Queen" are my favorites here.

This is Emperor before they went symphonic, before the keyboards became essential to the band's sound (they are present on "Hordanes Land," but by no means are they as developed as on later albums), before Ihsahn started to take over the songwriting (at this point it was still a group effort between him and Samoth writing the music, and Mortiis writing the lyrics). Fans of Mayhem and Darkthrone will get a real kick out of this. My one complaint is that there are no lyrics printed in the liners, but that might have to do with legalities with Mortiis. Sometimes I think it would be a great things to hear updated versions of these songs, but since Emperor have disbanded, it doesn't look like that will happen. No matter. "Wrath of the Tyrant" is a return to the sound of old, the spawning ground for what became the best band in black metal. Listen and die. All hail Emperor!!!