Emperor eventually became Ihsahn in a sense. He wrote the final (4th) album by himself, and it sort of marks the beginning of his long solo career (8 albums now) where he does wade further and further into symphonic metal. Happily, Samoth & Trym have been very consistently reuniting with Ihsahn for almost all of their reunion tours over the years: 2006, 2014, 2017-present, so their current lineup feels very authentic. That bass player has been with them all the way, since 2006, and he is a master of his craft!
With Strength I Burn moves me to tears on a regular basis. The arrangement is perfect, and the lyrics are filled with philosophically charged sentiments. I might need to write an essay about the lyrics at some point. The furious explosion of energy that comes in the middle of the song, after our hero has joined the mysterious crew and sailed out to sea, feels like they've stumbled into a hurricane. This feeling is perfectly captured in my split-screen video of their Dallas 2023 performance. The strobing lights, the flying hair, and unstable camera as the audience members are being hurled to their doom.... It's a wild ride, man. The beginning is perhaps one of the best introductions in the history of music. In introducing the song, the title itself becomes the most jarring opening lyric, and blows your hair back. Once you've come to your senses, you're hit with the Deep Green Dark Chaos, and already your mind is spinning in the Poetry and Franticness of our hero's introspective journey.
This album was my first contact with Emperor, back when it came out. Still my favourite to this day, though I must say I'm quite fond of the song "The acclamation of bonds"
@@revylokesh1783 i loved the "For Whom The Bell Tolls" break in the middle. XD Best live version of Acclamation of Bonds is in the Emperor 2021 streaming concert.
Anyone need more Emperor, and don't know where to turn, I got you. The albums are difficult to listen to, because of the lo-fi style they went for. But some of the Live stuff is absolutely incredible. Besides this 2006 concert (released on dvd in 2009), there's a great pro-shot concert from 1999, released on home video in 2000 called Imperial Live Ceremony. This video has a blisteringly fast tempo version of With Strength I Burn that's a full minute faster. Also notable for having different harmonies in the vocals that give a much more somber feel, compared to the triumphant sound of Strength here at the Wacken 2006 show. Also, there's a really good video of Emperor's 2021 streaming concert on TH-cam with some excellent Live versions of songs they didn't play as much before. And you need to check out Emperor at Wacken 2014, where they played everything from the first album. Laser in on the following songs in general: With Strength I Burn. Towards the Pantheon. Majesty of the Night Sky. Thus Spake the Night Spirit. Ensorcelled By Khaos. In the Wordless Chamber. Curse You All Men. The Acclamation of Bonds. In the Great Vast Forest. Wrath of the Tyrant. Into the Infinity of Thoughts. And of course.... The Loss & Curse of Reverence.... Ye Entrancemperium... And "I Am The Black Wizards!!!"
I downloaded their catalog years ago and thought this same thing. The recordings were very quiet and I struggled to listen to them unless I turned my car stereo up super loud. I thought that they were just bad mp3s. I didn't realize that's how those albums were recorded. However, I thought the sound quality for In the Nightside Eclipse was pretty good. I hope they re-release and remaster their entire catalog at some point.
The only song of theirs that i think is perfect in its own way on the original albums is "Towards the Pantheon." Every other song they've ever done, they've found a lot of little ways to rework and improve in their live execution. But Towards the Pantheon is perfect. The old singing style and the unworldly screams and the lo-fi music work perfectly together. It really sounds like you are in the middle of an ice blizzard on the mountainside.
Geebz mentioned hearing a later generation of this audio, as videos are copied, copied again, uploaded, downloaded, reencoded, downsized, etc. And youtube's low bit rate doesn't help either. However, aside from the DVD, this concert was also an official Live Album, so CD's in full quality are available, as well as glorious vinyl LP's, and good quality digital via bandcamp purchase. They played a very similar setlist earlier in 2006 at Inferno, and this earlier show was also released as an official Live Album. It was actually their first full concert as the new reunited band, so it was a little bit less precise. After that, they did several US Tour dates, before doing Wacken. So it's an interesting comparison, listening to Inferno + Wacken. So if you want to hear this performance in all its original glory, it is available in such! Not just DVD & ripped videos.
You also have to realize that while today, you may say it sounds like Emperor has "just a touch" of Symphonic elements, in the early 90's this small amount was considered huge for the early Black Metal scene. Ihsahn grasped the genre with both hands, and made it his own.
This was a very impressive show. They played 3 songs from all their albums and nailed them all. They were officially split up and this was supposed to be a one off thing (Wacken and Hellfest). They played at prime time on the main stage, so yeah Wacken definetly isnt (or wasnt) only just for power metal..
The first album got the most representation here. The first track, called "Infinity Burning" here, is a medley of Into the Infinity of Thoughts + The Burning Shadows of Silence, followed by Cosmic Keys. Later, Towards the Pantheon, Majesty of the Night Sky, I Am The Black Wizards, and Inno a Satana round out an impressive 7 songs from the first album. The subsequent albums saw representation from 3, 2, and 1 songs respectively. If they had dropped Icaros, and played Ye Entrancemperium instead, this would've been very close to a perfect setlist. We finally did get the Perfect Setlist four times in 2023, when Emperor played Chicago, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Anaheim, they closed out the US Tour with a slight change that saw Towards the Pantheon dropped. Too bad! Ihsahn absolutely nailed the full 24 second Pantheon Scream at all 4 shows they played it.
Anyone curious to see how far this singer's voice can go (Ihsahn), search Emperor Towards the Pantheon 2014, and check out the video uploaded by audience member & TH-cam user Vlad Tepes. My vote for best audience video ever, and one of Ihsahn's most insane screams of all time. He screams for a full 22 seconds, before immediately going in to the lyrics.
Geebz, one more song from this concert i would highly recommend watching -- The Majesty of the Night Sky, has this magnificent slow breakdown in the middle, loaded with beatiful synths + bass. The official Wacken venue youtube channel Wacken TV has this song uploaded separately, in excellent quality, from this same 2006 concert.
Wis that really their first time? Saw them in Glasgow and Mr Turtleneck...errrr...Ihsahn said it was their first time here for 30 year. Think that woulda been the Cradle of Filth support tour, I'm surprised that never hit Ireland
@@maidentallicayeah, they toured UK with Cradle of Filth in '93. It's possible they did Scotland, but not Ireland, back then. Would have to look it up to be sure. Setlist website has all their shows.
@@AkumaAPN I'm assuming you mean the one that has .fm? (no typing it out cause TH-cam is keich with external URLs), you're also limited with what users have submitted there tbf. Regardless, yous got to see them anyway! If the Glesga gig wis anything to go by, it woulda been shit hot
I'd say Emperor not only introduced symphonic elements into black metal, they were also largely pioneers of symphonic metal as a whole. They actually predate Nightwish and most other symphonic bands, and are a direct influence in stuff like Dimmu Borgir and other more "mainstream" extreme metal bands. If you were to compile a list of the most inspirational bands of the 90s, Emperor would be there, and you may know Ihsahn's solo work after they "disbanded" (they still play live to this day,, they just haven't made music under the Emperor name since 2001). As for Wacken, it brings bands of all genres, but it's not too often that a black metal band gets a headlining slot on one of the main stages. Not sure if they're the actual headliners, but this being a night show means they were very high on the bill, at least. This was also possibly shortly after they reformed to play live shows,which would also explain why they are featured so high.
I love Emperor, but symphonic metal does predate them as well. Therion and Dimmu Borgir were experimenting with symphonic elements slightly before Emperor. All three bands reference Celtic Frost as an influence inspiring them to integrate symphonic elements. That isn't to say that Emperor weren't innovative and they certainly changed the way many bands approached the integration of the two styles moving forward, but to claim they "invented" symphonic metal is just not accurate, even by Emperor's own admission.
They were headlining, this was one of their first appearances after disbanding following Prometheus, there were hardened metal veterans with tears in their eyes following this show. It was unreal
@@rexlupis Celtic Frost were hugely influential and innovative, but their use of symphonic elements was very sparse and not woven into the music like Emperor did. Also do note that I did not claim they invented symphonic metal, but that they predated most bands in the genre. As far as I can recall, only 1 band was somewhat experimenting experimenting in the same direction Emperor would take, and that was Master's Hammer. Some songs in Ritual do have the same neoclassical touches and played with classical arrangements beyond just adding some keys on top of their riffing. Arcturus, too, their very early demo was from 91. So, those could be said to predate Emperor. Dimmu Borgir came in 93 and only released a demo in 94, however, at which point Emperor had not only released their EP ,( from 1993) they had also recorded In the Nightside Eclipse (in june 1993). I mention dates because of how insular and closely knit the norwegian underground was back then, with everyone going to rehearsals of each others bands, playing on each other's bands, and by and large being aware of what other bands were doing. By the time Dimmu took form, Emperor were already quite influential. As for Therion, they only began experimenting with some very basic symphonic elements on their third album, which was recorded around the same time as Emperor's solidified their symphonic sound. So nither them nor Dimmu really predate Emperor. Either way, all of this is kinda nitpicky music trivia. I would also argue, however, that In the Nightside Eclipse was really the first blueprint for metal that was symphonic at its core, not only via the use of keyboards, but also in the way the songs were composed. You could remove all the synths from that album and a lot of it would still sound symphonic. Add the keyboards, however, and you have something unlike anything that was being done in 1993, and something that sounds good beyond its time frame. I call that album the ground zero not just because it was experimental, but because it was successful, if that makes sense. Others were searching for the formula, Emperor was the first one to find it.
@@thegrimner Yeah, I can't say I disagree with anything you're saying here. As for "who did it first", there's a lot of debate over that; hence why I said "slightly before" instead of outright claiming that they influenced Emperor. Totally agree that we're in a grey area where all the bands were having a positive feedback loop on each other, influencing each other's writing style and aesthetics. All those bands surely were influenced by Celtic Frost, although I'd certainly agree that Celtic Frost had far less symphonic elements and intention in their writing than any of the bands we're talking about. Sort of like how bands like Venom and Motorhead were also key influences in the early black metal scene despite both being quite a far way away from what the black metal sound became. It is nit picky, but it is still incredibly interesting, at least to me. Thanks for explaining in more detail what you meant and taking the time to respond!
The drums where vary heavy at that show! I remermber that well and after some time i wached a video of this and question my self "where there any other sounds than the drums, really"? :)
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan? The band is call "Lovebites" They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth. They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal. And they have a lot die hard fans too. The song is "When destiny align" Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
After the first drummer went to jail, their current drummer, Trym Torson, has been the official drummer starting with the 2nd album, and he's been there ever since. This is Trym playing at the 2006 show, not the murderer.
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan? The band is call "Lovebites" They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth. They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal. And they have a lot die hard fans too. The song is "Set the world on fire" Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan? The band is call "Lovebites" They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth. They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal. And they have a lot die hard fans too. The song is "Judgement day" Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 83 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "พันฤทธิ์ vs ซุปเปอร์บอล วันของโอม MBK"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1b4pkKHa_Fk/mqdefault.jpg)
Emperor eventually became Ihsahn in a sense. He wrote the final (4th) album by himself, and it sort of marks the beginning of his long solo career (8 albums now) where he does wade further and further into symphonic metal.
Happily, Samoth & Trym have been very consistently reuniting with Ihsahn for almost all of their reunion tours over the years: 2006, 2014, 2017-present, so their current lineup feels very authentic. That bass player has been with them all the way, since 2006, and he is a master of his craft!
With Strength I Burn moves me to tears on a regular basis. The arrangement is perfect, and the lyrics are filled with philosophically charged sentiments. I might need to write an essay about the lyrics at some point.
The furious explosion of energy that comes in the middle of the song, after our hero has joined the mysterious crew and sailed out to sea, feels like they've stumbled into a hurricane.
This feeling is perfectly captured in my split-screen video of their Dallas 2023 performance. The strobing lights, the flying hair, and unstable camera as the audience members are being hurled to their doom....
It's a wild ride, man.
The beginning is perhaps one of the best introductions in the history of music. In introducing the song, the title itself becomes the most jarring opening lyric, and blows your hair back. Once you've come to your senses, you're hit with the Deep Green Dark Chaos, and already your mind is spinning in the Poetry and Franticness of our hero's introspective journey.
This album was my first contact with Emperor, back when it came out. Still my favourite to this day, though I must say I'm quite fond of the song "The acclamation of bonds"
@@revylokesh1783 i loved the "For Whom The Bell Tolls" break in the middle. XD
Best live version of Acclamation of Bonds is in the Emperor 2021 streaming concert.
Also, legendary vocalist Einar Solberg from Leprous is on keyboards there doing some backings.
Anyone need more Emperor, and don't know where to turn, I got you. The albums are difficult to listen to, because of the lo-fi style they went for.
But some of the Live stuff is absolutely incredible. Besides this 2006 concert (released on dvd in 2009), there's a great pro-shot concert from 1999, released on home video in 2000 called Imperial Live Ceremony. This video has a blisteringly fast tempo version of With Strength I Burn that's a full minute faster. Also notable for having different harmonies in the vocals that give a much more somber feel, compared to the triumphant sound of Strength here at the Wacken 2006 show.
Also, there's a really good video of Emperor's 2021 streaming concert on TH-cam with some excellent Live versions of songs they didn't play as much before.
And you need to check out Emperor at Wacken 2014, where they played everything from the first album.
Laser in on the following songs in general:
With Strength I Burn.
Towards the Pantheon.
Majesty of the Night Sky.
Thus Spake the Night Spirit.
Ensorcelled By Khaos.
In the Wordless Chamber.
Curse You All Men.
The Acclamation of Bonds.
In the Great Vast Forest.
Wrath of the Tyrant.
Into the Infinity of Thoughts.
And of course....
The Loss & Curse of Reverence....
Ye Entrancemperium...
And "I Am The Black Wizards!!!"
I downloaded their catalog years ago and thought this same thing. The recordings were very quiet and I struggled to listen to them unless I turned my car stereo up super loud. I thought that they were just bad mp3s. I didn't realize that's how those albums were recorded. However, I thought the sound quality for In the Nightside Eclipse was pretty good. I hope they re-release and remaster their entire catalog at some point.
The only song of theirs that i think is perfect in its own way on the original albums is "Towards the Pantheon."
Every other song they've ever done, they've found a lot of little ways to rework and improve in their live execution.
But Towards the Pantheon is perfect. The old singing style and the unworldly screams and the lo-fi music work perfectly together.
It really sounds like you are in the middle of an ice blizzard on the mountainside.
Check out Arcturus please.
Geebz mentioned hearing a later generation of this audio, as videos are copied, copied again, uploaded, downloaded, reencoded, downsized, etc. And youtube's low bit rate doesn't help either.
However, aside from the DVD, this concert was also an official Live Album, so CD's in full quality are available, as well as glorious vinyl LP's, and good quality digital via bandcamp purchase.
They played a very similar setlist earlier in 2006 at Inferno, and this earlier show was also released as an official Live Album. It was actually their first full concert as the new reunited band, so it was a little bit less precise. After that, they did several US Tour dates, before doing Wacken.
So it's an interesting comparison, listening to Inferno + Wacken.
So if you want to hear this performance in all its original glory, it is available in such! Not just DVD & ripped videos.
Ihsahn's latest solo album is incredible, too.
Holy shit bro. I've been waiting my whole life for you to react to this video.
Same. I remember asking for it 2 years ago! Never thought this moment would come. This is by far my favorite song from Emperor/Ihsahn.
You also have to realize that while today, you may say it sounds like Emperor has "just a touch" of Symphonic elements, in the early 90's this small amount was considered huge for the early Black Metal scene. Ihsahn grasped the genre with both hands, and made it his own.
I really like lo-fi synths on black metal!
This was a very impressive show. They played 3 songs from all their albums and nailed them all. They were officially split up and this was supposed to be a one off thing (Wacken and Hellfest). They played at prime time on the main stage, so yeah Wacken definetly isnt (or wasnt) only just for power metal..
The first album got the most representation here. The first track, called "Infinity Burning" here, is a medley of Into the Infinity of Thoughts + The Burning Shadows of Silence, followed by Cosmic Keys. Later, Towards the Pantheon, Majesty of the Night Sky, I Am The Black Wizards, and Inno a Satana round out an impressive 7 songs from the first album. The subsequent albums saw representation from 3, 2, and 1 songs respectively.
If they had dropped Icaros, and played Ye Entrancemperium instead, this would've been very close to a perfect setlist.
We finally did get the Perfect Setlist four times in 2023, when Emperor played Chicago, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles.
Unfortunately for Anaheim, they closed out the US Tour with a slight change that saw Towards the Pantheon dropped. Too bad!
Ihsahn absolutely nailed the full 24 second Pantheon Scream at all 4 shows they played it.
@@AkumaAPN Must have remembered it wrong then. Long time ago.
Anyone curious to see how far this singer's voice can go (Ihsahn), search Emperor Towards the Pantheon 2014, and check out the video uploaded by audience member & TH-cam user Vlad Tepes.
My vote for best audience video ever, and one of Ihsahn's most insane screams of all time. He screams for a full 22 seconds, before immediately going in to the lyrics.
Oh hell yeah! You gotta do the classic Wacken performance of I Am The Black Wizards.
Geebz, one more song from this concert i would highly recommend watching --
The Majesty of the Night Sky, has this magnificent slow breakdown in the middle, loaded with beatiful synths + bass.
The official Wacken venue youtube channel Wacken TV has this song uploaded separately, in excellent quality, from this same 2006 concert.
Anthems to The Welkin at Dusk is, imo, one of top 5 black metal albums of all time
I got to see them play in Dublin last weekend, their first time ever here in Ireland! What a show! They were amazing.
Wis that really their first time? Saw them in Glasgow and Mr Turtleneck...errrr...Ihsahn said it was their first time here for 30 year. Think that woulda been the Cradle of Filth support tour, I'm surprised that never hit Ireland
@@maidentallicayeah, they toured UK with Cradle of Filth in '93.
It's possible they did Scotland, but not Ireland, back then. Would have to look it up to be sure. Setlist website has all their shows.
@@maidentallica Yeah they'd never played here before idk why.
@@AkumaAPN I'm assuming you mean the one that has .fm? (no typing it out cause TH-cam is keich with external URLs), you're also limited with what users have submitted there tbf. Regardless, yous got to see them anyway! If the Glesga gig wis anything to go by, it woulda been shit hot
@@DraiochtR that's fucked up! Maybe bands were afraid of playin Ireland and doing a Dave Mustaine 🤣
Thank you Geebz
Yes, finally big E! There's all kinda metal in Wacken.
Hope someday you check out Traces of Reality and I Troldskog Faren Vild
I'd say Emperor not only introduced symphonic elements into black metal, they were also largely pioneers of symphonic metal as a whole. They actually predate Nightwish and most other symphonic bands, and are a direct influence in stuff like Dimmu Borgir and other more "mainstream" extreme metal bands. If you were to compile a list of the most inspirational bands of the 90s, Emperor would be there, and you may know Ihsahn's solo work after they "disbanded" (they still play live to this day,, they just haven't made music under the Emperor name since 2001).
As for Wacken, it brings bands of all genres, but it's not too often that a black metal band gets a headlining slot on one of the main stages. Not sure if they're the actual headliners, but this being a night show means they were very high on the bill, at least. This was also possibly shortly after they reformed to play live shows,which would also explain why they are featured so high.
I love Emperor, but symphonic metal does predate them as well. Therion and Dimmu Borgir were experimenting with symphonic elements slightly before Emperor. All three bands reference Celtic Frost as an influence inspiring them to integrate symphonic elements.
That isn't to say that Emperor weren't innovative and they certainly changed the way many bands approached the integration of the two styles moving forward, but to claim they "invented" symphonic metal is just not accurate, even by Emperor's own admission.
They were headlining, this was one of their first appearances after disbanding following Prometheus, there were hardened metal veterans with tears in their eyes following this show. It was unreal
@@rexlupis Celtic Frost were hugely influential and innovative, but their use of symphonic elements was very sparse and not woven into the music like Emperor did.
Also do note that I did not claim they invented symphonic metal, but that they predated most bands in the genre. As far as I can recall, only 1 band was somewhat experimenting experimenting in the same direction Emperor would take, and that was Master's Hammer. Some songs in Ritual do have the same neoclassical touches and played with classical arrangements beyond just adding some keys on top of their riffing. Arcturus, too, their very early demo was from 91. So, those could be said to predate Emperor. Dimmu Borgir came in 93 and only released a demo in 94, however, at which point Emperor had not only released their EP ,( from 1993) they had also recorded In the Nightside Eclipse (in june 1993). I mention dates because of how insular and closely knit the norwegian underground was back then, with everyone going to rehearsals of each others bands, playing on each other's bands, and by and large being aware of what other bands were doing. By the time Dimmu took form, Emperor were already quite influential.
As for Therion, they only began experimenting with some very basic symphonic elements on their third album, which was recorded around the same time as Emperor's solidified their symphonic sound. So nither them nor Dimmu really predate Emperor.
Either way, all of this is kinda nitpicky music trivia. I would also argue, however, that In the Nightside Eclipse was really the first blueprint for metal that was symphonic at its core, not only via the use of keyboards, but also in the way the songs were composed. You could remove all the synths from that album and a lot of it would still sound symphonic. Add the keyboards, however, and you have something unlike anything that was being done in 1993, and something that sounds good beyond its time frame. I call that album the ground zero not just because it was experimental, but because it was successful, if that makes sense. Others were searching for the formula, Emperor was the first one to find it.
@@thegrimner Yeah, I can't say I disagree with anything you're saying here. As for "who did it first", there's a lot of debate over that; hence why I said "slightly before" instead of outright claiming that they influenced Emperor. Totally agree that we're in a grey area where all the bands were having a positive feedback loop on each other, influencing each other's writing style and aesthetics.
All those bands surely were influenced by Celtic Frost, although I'd certainly agree that Celtic Frost had far less symphonic elements and intention in their writing than any of the bands we're talking about. Sort of like how bands like Venom and Motorhead were also key influences in the early black metal scene despite both being quite a far way away from what the black metal sound became.
It is nit picky, but it is still incredibly interesting, at least to me. Thanks for explaining in more detail what you meant and taking the time to respond!
The drums where vary heavy at that show! I remermber that well and after some time i wached a video of this and question my self "where there any other sounds than the drums, really"? :)
Saw them play this last week, ooooooooft
If you want to hear Black Metal at its rawest then Transylvanian Hunger is a must
Are you an 80's music fan? If so, can you review an album by the band Fire Tiger?
The energy in this song is so intense, it feels like a sonic punch to the gut. Please reacto to Nick Thurl end up dead
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan?
The band is call "Lovebites"
They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth.
They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal.
And they have a lot die hard fans too.
The song is "When destiny align"
Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
Haha, was just thinking I'd try recommend listening to it, looks like someone beat me to it lol. Emperor are great.
Geebz your vids get massively desynced
Yep, they sure do.
i can;t engage with Emperor since i found out the drummer killed a gay guy. i love their first two albums too. it's heartbreaking.
After the first drummer went to jail, their current drummer, Trym Torson, has been the official drummer starting with the 2nd album, and he's been there ever since. This is Trym playing at the 2006 show, not the murderer.
Boomer listens to symph black metal.
Look up a band called:
Pagans Mind.
Song:
At the Gates
King Diamond cover
These guys are bad ass!
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan?
The band is call "Lovebites"
They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth.
They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal.
And they have a lot die hard fans too.
The song is "Set the world on fire"
Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan?
The band is call "Lovebites"
They all The Beautiful Queens Metal band right now in the earth.
They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal.
And they have a lot die hard fans too.
The song is "Judgement day"
Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏