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93 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rise to the challenge of Emperor, April 7, 1999
Most of the other reviews here are written by longtime black metal fans who are simply validating and reinforcing their own (and each other's) tastes. This review is written from a newcomer's perspective. My total exposure to black metal has been one month. This album, "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk," was my introduction to the genre. Although it took me a few listens to warm up to the style of the music itself, there are a number of metamusical attributes to the album, and the band, that made me willing to stick it out:Most albums, in most musical genres, are collections of unrelated songs. There is rarely any relationship between individual pieces other than the obvious requisites (i.e. same artist, same genre). "Anthems," on the other hand, is structured as a complete musical work, with tracks corresponding to movements in a classical symphony. I say this not just because the tracks "sound the same" or are "about the same stuff," but because certain themes and motifs show up in multiple tracks under different guises. For example, "Ensorcelled by Khaos" and "With Strength I Burn" both have their own unique themes, but they also share a single motif that is developed differently in each piece as it interacts with the other themes. The same relationship also exists between "Alsvartr (The Oath)" and "In Longing Spirit" (the latter of which is not technically part of the album, being a "bonus track," but unless you buy an old pressing of "Anthems" you'll get the edition with the bonus tracks). This thematic interrelationship does not apply quite so strongly to "In the Nightside Eclipse," but both releases do share another important quality in this category, namely intelligent track sequencing. On both albums, the weaker tracks (and that is purely a relative term--there aren't any songs that I dislike on either album) are front-loaded, and give the album an almost narrative dynamic, i.e. the earlier tracks constitute an "exposition" that gradually leads up to a stunning musical climax. On "Anthems," that climax is the extraordinary "With Strength I Burn," and on "Eclipse" it is a tie between "The Majesty of the Night Sky" and "I Am the Black Wizards." (That's not meant to diminish the paradoxically Baroque sensibility that makes "Inno A Satana" so cool, but you have to admit that the track is, relative to the album, a kind of structural afterthought.) If all you want is to kick some musical butt and simultaneously have your thoughts wander on a cosmic scale, get a pair of CD players and put Rammstein on one and Enya on the other. If you want to actually integrate the two effects, things get a little more involved. Emperor manages to fuse these disparate elements into a single consistent sound, and in fact the entirety of their oeuvre can be discussed in terms of duality--duality between beauty and brutality. (The tracks of "In the Nightside Eclipse" are a bit less facile in integrating these two; they tend to alternate between one mode and the other, only occasionally integrating them in the true sense of the word.) Occasionally a solo guitar is showcased in a clear, lyrical style (a la Metallica's more reflective moments), but far more often it is the synthesizer that acts as the vehicle for beauty in these pieces, with the guitar providing the brutality and aggression. Compositionally, the songs are marvelously complicated in almost every significant way--in melody, harmony, instrumentation, even rhythm. (The two albums have different drummers, but they both are incredible.) All the songs feature shifting meters and rhythms, and these transitions are executed flawlessly, providing more evidence of the unusual amount of thought and care given to intricate structure. If you were to map the structure of these pieces into song form using letters for motifs (e.g. most Top 40 songs are of the form ABA, or maybe ABAC if you're lucky), you'd get up to F or G before you knew it. The vocals are also worth mentioning. Black metal vocals are very rarely sung (although there is some true singing in "Anthems")--they are almost always screamed or spoken. Ihsahn is no exception, and in fact he exhibits amazing stamina as he screeches and squawks his way through the pieces; by the end of either album (but especially "Eclipse") you'll wonder exactly which space-age carbon fiber his vocal cords are made of. As for the lyrics, their content is just plain silly on "Eclipse," full of conjugation mismatches that make them sound like the utterings of a demonically possessed George from "Of Mice and Men." "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk," on the other hand, displays some emotive maturity--when Ihsahn shrieks "I return to the soaring cliffs/They truly shine of strength/Even though I nothing learned/With strength I burn" at the end of "With Strength I Burn," his voice suffused with sincerity, you can practically hear the tears in his eyes. The bad news about liking Emperor, or any other black metal band for that matter, is that there is a black metal "scene" that comes with the package, complete with Satanism, medieval costumes, and face paint. The good news is that nothing forces you to participate in or even acknowledge that scene--if you're afraid the lyrics might disturb you, just don't read the booklet and that'll be the end of it, because you have zero chance of understanding them without the booklet's help (especially in the case of "Eclipse"). My recommendation? If you like to think of yourself as musically open-minded, run out and buy "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" and put your self-assessment to the test. If you pass, you'll thank me and Emperor both.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black metal majesty!, February 23, 2003
Emperor were one of the few bands that dared to take the conventions of the Norwegian Black Metal scene they were a part of, and break past them to create a sound that was as violent and as majestic, but far superior in production and musicality. "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" took several listens for me to really appreciate it, and that's how I know a truly great album; repeated listens to discover the nuances that define the album's greatness.Starting slowly and coldly, the mostly clean "Al Svartr (The Oath)" immediately showed progression beyond the controlled chaos of the previous album before booming into a fanfare march that leads into "Ye Entrancemperium," a fast and violent song that echoes what the rest of the album has to offer. "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" is one of their (for lack of a better description) "most catchy" songs, with an outro that is perhaps one of their most memorable moments. "Ensorcelled By Khaos" is a great song with an beautiful slow mid-section that allows the listener to breathe for a moment after the hysteria from the previous tracks...but it doesn't let you breathe for long, for it builds back up again to an explosive end. "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" is definitely among Emperor's best compositions, full of tempo and rhythm changes, evil lyrics, and is perhaps the best example of classically-augmented black metal. "The Acclamation of Bonds" is another good song (there's a section in the middle of the song that sounds like the intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica, but only briefly and it fits the song very well). "With Strength I Burn" is the second great epic of this album, showcasing Ihsahn's ever-improving clean/operatic vocals. The lyrics are probably the most viking-metal Emperor ever got, definitely showing the Bathory influence, but extending beyond Bathory's conventions. "The Wanderer" is an excellent closer for the album, much slower than the album has been up to that point, once again allowing the listener to breathe, but also instilling a sense of despair. The rerelease contains "In Longing Spirit" and "Opus A Satana" from the "Reverence" EP. "In Longing Spirit" is a slower song, and "Opus A Satana" is a symphonic keyboard rendition of "Inno A Satana," the ultimate proof of Emperor's musical excellence. This is a far superior album to "In the Nightside Eclipse," showing a great deal of improvement in both production (which still wasn't that great, but compared to the first album is much better), and musicianship. Every song could easily be translated into a symphony of Wagnerian pomposity and grandeur. It is a violent album, revelling in a whirlwind attack of guitars and blasting percussion (and Trym's performance on this album is easily one of the best drum performances of all time). The interplay between Ihsahn and Samoth, both as guitarists and as songwriters is at its finest. Alver's bass provides a nice accompaniment to give the album that extra low-end. "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" can definitely be counted as one of the best viking-metal/black metal albums of all time.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
majestic metallic art, June 24, 2000
I have to admit, I really hated Emperor until about a year ago. I had been into metal for around 5 years at that point, and I honestly gave black metal a shot (Emperor being one such band), but I still found it unlistenable and dismissed it as mindless noise.Until one day, it just sounded GOOD. I can't describe how or when exactly it happened, but "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" was suddenly in my CD collection after hearing (and this time appreciating for the first time) "Thus Spake the Nightspirit." Emperor's songwriting ability is showcased to its pinnacle on this opus, with every song rampaging like a whirlwind or going at an average tempo of Mach 26. "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" is probably not only the best example of this, but my favorite song on the CD as well. They even shot a really killer video for it (and MTV played it once at 3 AM after Korn and Limp Bizkit. Just kidding. But the 3 AM part might be accurate if MTV had any balls.) Other standout tracks are "With Strength I Burn," "Ye Entrancemprium," (also featured on Century Media's "Identity IV" compliation, which I also highly recommend), and "Opus A Satana," a very pleasant classical/keyboard instrumental - a true black metal gem. If I'd have to pick a favorite black metal album, this would probably be it, right next to Sanctus's "Aeon Sky." If you're reading this review, you like metal, right? Well, stop reading my endless praise for Emperor and this masterpiece of metal and order it now! Even if you're not into black metal, just as I was, you'll eventually see the light. This band and album are simply superior works in the genre.
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