When the metal and music media focused on the unholy plague which was known as the Norwegian Black Metal scene in the early 1990’s, Mayhem and their guitarist/driving force Oystein “Euronymous” Aarseth were dubbed the Godfathers of the scene. While Mayhem may have been the first, Emperor would soon surpass their mentors and become the greatest black metal band of all time. Their albums received many critical accolades and are now considered the blood spattered gold standard that many current black metal bands could only dream of surpassing. Emperor called it quits in 2001 after the release of the masterful album Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise, and while founding members Ihsahn and Samoth are continuing on with different projects, nothing will ever compare to the Emperor catalog when it comes to black metal. Thankfully in 2004 Candlelight Records decided to re-release their back catalog jam packed with bonus tracks and special video enhanced features. For fans who already have the old albums, they may not want to shell out the bucks for the re-releases, but for die-hards and new fans they are a must have! Here I will review their historic 1994 release In The Nightside Eclipse.

The album kicks off with the eerie sounding keyboard intro of the song “Into The Infinity Of Thoughts”, The intro of this song will literally send chills running up and down your spine. Then the attack begins and the full fury of the song is unleashed! The song rises and falls like an endless black ocean washing over your senses. The icy guitar riffs and haunting keyboards give this album a dark and freezing cold atmosphere that never lets up. This album is perfect for a cold night because it captures that feeling and atmosphere so well. I think this may be the only album which physicians have proven that prolonged listens can give you frostbite! (just kidding!)  Bundle up while you listen to this one boys and girls! Song after song of black metal mastery comes at you again and again in this all out assault. “The Burning Shadows of Silence”, “Cosmic Keys To My Creations and Times”, “Beyond The Great Vast Forest”, the longtime fan favorite “Towards The Pantheon”, and “I Am The Black Wizards”….whew! What a ride! This album will scare you out of your wits and leave you cowering in fear in the corner.

The production on this album may not be the greatest, but it only adds to the atmosphere. The whole album was recorded at the Grieghallen (as was the follow up album Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk) for the purpose of creating it’s unique sound.  I can close my eyes and just picture the band putting on a killer performance in the middle of some remote forest in Norway. Don’t let the production turn you sour, trust me! It REALLY does add to the dark and desolate feeling of the album.  The musicians were way ahead of their time when it came to black metal, adding lush classical arrangements and haunting keyboard melodies and a touch of Norwegian folk music. Ihsahn’s vocals resemble the eerie screeching of an Eastern Screech Owl, but he also sings in a lower growl, a falsetto, and a dark sounding chant. This album does not showcase his versatility (well, for a black metal vocalist) as much as later albums did, but the seeds were planted on this album. Ihsahn also handles lead guitar and keyboard duties on this album, dishing out destruction with freezing guitar riffage and choir-style keyboards with relative ease. Samoth add an extra layer of brutal chord crashing with his guitar expertise. Bassist Tchort adds a fuzzy low end to the band’s sound and drummer Bard “Faust” Eithun doesn’t play his kit as much as bash it into oblivion. You might want to adjust the bass settings on your equalizer because while Tchort and Faust’s performances are kick-ass, they are hard to hear at times. Well, they didn’t have Pro-Tools in 1993! Nobody’s perfect!

Now, after listening to this album, you might be thinking that the sky was the limit right off the bat for Emperor after this bad boy was released. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of a time period that nearly tore the band apart. Certain “extracurricular” activities put almost the whole band in jail. Samoth was arrested for arson after burning down a historic wooden church, Tchort was arrested for burglary, assault and desecration, and drummer Faust topped them all on the stupidity scale by stabbing a man to death outside the Olympic Park in Lilllehammer, Norway. This series of events left Ihsahn without a band! Emperor was on hold until 1996 when Samoth was paroled, at which time the band also hired new bassist Alver and drummer Trym and continued on the road to becoming black metal legends by making great MUSIC instead of committing arson and killing people. Let the stories of Faust, Tchort and Samoth be a lesson to us all. DON’T BE STUPID! DON’T BREAK THE LAW! Remember that kiddies!! The owl wants you to be the best metal heads you can be in life, and that means support the music and help spread it around. Burning down buildings and committing murder and other crimes is NOT METAL! IT’S STUPID!

Whoa! I nearly lapsed into a public service announcement. Anyway, get out there and own a piece of black metal history! In The Nightside Eclipse was only the beginning for Emperor, and while greater moments were yet to come, this is the perfect album for Emperor newbies and black metal newbies alike. And if you are a longtime Emperor fan and do not own this album yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? It is well worth it, especially with the added bonus tracks and enhanced material.

Reviewer:  Matt "Snowy Owl" Bankes

   (4 out of 5)
 

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