Customer Reviews

Wrath of Tyrants

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!!!

This minicollection brings in their original Emperor EP and a few more songs that were re-done with better precision and recording (both something lacking in the EP). Although Emperor seems to have taken a direction completely different on each album, frankly their next album is better for pure musical content. Thus, Marduk and "necro metal" fans should have a blast with this CD. Don't even assume that Emperor had technicality like they do now. This is early black metal - get a clue. On another note, Ihsahn's vocals on this set use liberal amounts of tweaking to complement his already sinister scream. In addition, there's no lyrics printed for any of the songs and Ihsahn does a flawless duty of deconstructing whatever coherency that could have existed in them. Speaking of lyrics, Mortiis did them so I'm suspecting that they're quite deep,poetic, and expressive and that is a sad loss. Expect a raw, simplistic execution that is similar to Mayhem or Darkthrone but songwriting and composition light years ahead of them. Mix early Immortal and Mayhem together and the result is the kind of style and feel present on this CD. Above all, don't expect anything like Dimmu Borgir or Satyricon - this is Norwegian black metal the way it was begun with primitive,christian-hating,and misanthropy written all over it.

I am giving this 4 (rather than 5 stars) not for any lack of quality but simply because it is obviously a collection-completing type item for a fan of the band. This gives insight into the early sound of the band, as well as providing several classic Emperor songs on the level of their other great work.

From reading these reviews, I downloaded rather than bought this CD, having gotten the impression that the sound was so horrible that it wasn't worth my time. Thus, when I actually heard it, I was pleasantly surprised- you can tell what's going on, although it's very obviously a cheap demo (at least in the "Wrath of the Tyrant" portion of the CD).

First of all, the first 4 tracks, their "Emperor" EP. These 4 songs are perfect for people who love Nightside Eclipse. The production on this is less muddy and reverbed than the aforementioned Eclipse, some could argue even better, even though this was only a demo. The guitars are clear and buzzing, more of a focus than the keyboards, the vocals not as polished as later but still the Ihsahn we know and love. The drums are given the volume they deserve (and didn't get on Nightside). 2 of the songs, as you've probably read by now, were rerecorded for Nightside, and in my opinion, the other 2 should have been too. They're of the same style and caliber of the 8 tracks on that album, and even people who aren't fond of the "Wrath of the Tyrant" demo that comprises the last 2/3 of the album should like these tracks.

The Wrath of the Tyrant demo, track 5-13, is something I personally enjoy, but can't promise everyone will like. If you think you can make it past the bad production and really absorb the darkness and atmosphere of the recording (as well as listen closely to hear the notes being played), I'd say give it a try, but download one of the songs before you buy. The demo's sound is good for the resources they had, but that's all I can say in it's support. About the actual music, well... These are the most violent and chaotic Emperor songs there are, period (despite actually being simpler than later material). Ihsahn screams his lungs out (by that I mean MORE than any other album they did), enhanced by some rather strange voice effects. The gorgeous melodies present on their later material are not as obvious, but there are plenty of classic Emperor riffs in the vein of the Nightside songs. "Witches' Sabbath" is a flat out scary song. This was before Emperor decided to get artistic. This is pure adrenaline, and there's no cheesiness here.

The music contained here has a unique feel to it just like every other Emperor release. If any music can be called demonic, here it is. Recommended to any fan of old Emperor.

Featuring Emperor's side of the Hordanes Land split and the first Emperor demo, recorded on Ildjarn's 4 track tape recorder used to record all of his things (more on that later), this release is essential to any Emperor fan. Though later releases would be appluaded by metal fans more han black metal fans, no black metal fan can deny the power of this record and "In the Nightside Eclipse." Most fans of Emperor's last two records, and perhaps "Anthems.." will probably find this unlistenable, but that's perfectly fine, not everyone will like the world of real black metal, so they should stick with Immortal's last three albums, Emperor's last two or three and Dimmu Borgir, because the world of real black metal is a wild and wooly place, and not for the unwary. However if you loved "In the Nightside Eclipse' just as much as "Anthems.." then this should be a good starting point for getting into real black metal.

The production on the Demo is almost exactly like Ildjarn's releases and Graveland's very early recordings. Meaning, drums, guitars and bass are a wave of pure sound with the vocals screeching above with quite a bit of reverb pilled on to create a hellish caphcony. The drums sound a bit odd, but that's the charm, the whole sound is very true black metal, and not at all the nicely produced semi-death metal that Emperor would later revert to from too much influence from Morbid Angel.

I greatly prefer this to Prometheus, though that has it's intellectual charms (being actually "Thus Spoke Zarathusra" and Not the legend of Prometheus), as this has a vibe to it that is quite appealing to me, and should be to any fan of early black metal. Too bad Mortiis got deported for whatever reason that he did.

The Hordanes Land split is okay, but I actually prefer the strange echoing production of "In the Nightside Eclipse' to this rather dry and dead mix, the performance is very good however, and it shows off Bard Faust's drumming better than Nightside.

The icing on the cake (making this essential) is the bonus computer file, with some live clips assmbled in a underground way from fans who recorded whatever they could. Very cool and shows how Emperor respect their fans, instead of the commercial way of making sure no fan can ever film or record live performances. I was happy to see this stuff, because it really made me happy to see the band play live at a time when their music was still in a sound that I like. Early-Emperor will always remain one of my favorite black metal bands, later Emperor leaves me depressed and confused.

Excelletn release and essential to black metal fans, if not later style Emperor fans, who probably don't like black metal at all.

This is the way Black Metal is supposed to sound Extremely raw and gritty! The first 4 tracks on here taken from the Emperor self title EP are fine but the reason to buy this cd is because it contains the original demo by emperor "Wrath of the Tyrant" Recorded with a 8 Track recorder in a basement! Extremely raw and true! Now this is True Norweigen Black Metal! If your a fan of emperor you need this disc however be warned that the material on this disc is very low quality... if you cant stand raw abnds such as darkthrone... do not buy this CD,.

This album is absolutely one of Emperor's best recordings. Sure, it's got horrible production (especially bad on 'Wrath of the Tyrants'), but when you take the talent, the time period, and the sheer fun of this CD, you can't deny that it's a great listen. This CD also includes one of my favorite Emperor songs, NIGHT OF THE GRAVELESS SOULS!
The Band
Ihsaun (my God, I've forgotten how to spell his name!), lead guitar, keyboards, vocals- Ishaun sounds strangely awesome on this CD! Not only are his leads great, his vocals (to me at least) are very cool. Because of the time period ('92-'93), the keyboards sound very cheesy, but hey, it gives the music a sort of Celtic Frosty feel.
Samoth, guitar (drums on 'Wrath of The Tyrants)- It's sad that we didn't really get to see Samoth's writing abilities, since Ihsaun did basically everything. But if you wanna see how awesome this guy is, check out Zyklon. As an added bonus, you get to see how good Samoth is on the drums!
Mortiis, bass- While all you hear of the bass on these two albums is a constant low buzz, Mortiis just gives the music such a cool 'old school' black metal feel. I've been wanting to listen to Mortiis's solo stuff, but I've been hearing some baaadd reviews on him.
Faust, drums (on 'Emperor')- Faust is a great drummer, but I would prefer Trimm. Don't get me wrong though, I couldn't see the difference between the two for awhile. Very talented drummer, and I've heard somewhere that he's got his own band, but I forget who...

This is definately a must-listen for fans of black metal, and a must-buy for fans of Emperor.

This is my personal favorite black metal album. If you are a new-comer to black metal, you may not like the sound quality, but I believe it adds to the atmosphere. And for those of you who don't know, the sound quality is supposed to be harsh, becuase this album was originally recorded in the "corpsepaint era" (reffering to the days when every BM band wore corpsepaint). Any fan of early - mid 90's black metal, or any fan of Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem, or Burzum, will enjoy this.

Emperor is one of the best bands around, no doubt about that but this cd does not give them justice. The quality is pretty bad and as someone pointed out you hear a weird fuzzy feedback noise throughout the whole album. Those of you who are reading this and trying to figure out which Emperor album to buy, get In The Nightside Eclipse, that album is far and away Emperor's best and one of the best metal albums EVER. I would only recommend this album to a hardcore Emperor fan.