Emperor
Formed: 1991
From:
Telemark,
Norway
Last Known Status: Disbanded
Background
Beginning life as a trio in the spring of '91 with Samoth (drums/vocals), Ihsahn (guitar) and Mortiis (bass). The band quickly recorded and circulated the now legendary "Wrath of the Tyrant" demo. It was this that brought them to the attention of the then still fledgling Candlelight record label . A deal was inked, Samoth moved to guitar and Bard Faust was recruited for the now vacant drum stool. By the end of the year the band had been once more into the studio to record their half of the "Emperor / Enslaved" split CD which was to eventually surface early in the following year. Mortiis departed for the band, and was after a while replaced by Tchort.
In autumn of '93 a series of headline grabbing events (which are now quite sufficiently documented. For further reading check "Lords Of Chaos". Emperor would suffer the temporary loss of Samoth and the permanent loss of Faust, due to prison-sentences. However, before Samoth has to do time, the band managed to put together a new line-up, with new bass-player Alver, and a session-drummer.
Even though the band was seriously disturbed by the unpleasant confrontations of the imprisonment's and line-up difficulties, the entity of Emperor came out even stronger in the end. By the time Samoth was paroled, Trym (ex. Enslaved) had joined the band on a permanent basis, and the bones of what would become their most epic and majestic material to date were taking shape.
By the end of '96, now fully prepared and rehearsed, they were back in the studio. First firing off the "Reverence" EP to announce their return to the fold and then following up in early '97 with what is without doubt the single most ambitious and important black metal release to date......"Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk". An album of epic savagery. Not only beautiful but bestial in it's wide ranging scope.
Emperor have now moved so far ahead of the field that it would be unfair to even consider them a black metal band any longer. Utilising elements of their more traditional metal roots, operatic vocals and of course their trademark symphonic riffing the band have created an album so mature that it may well take the rest of the competition years to catch up.
Latest Emperor News
Below is our complete Emperor news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
Displaying records 41 - 60 of 146 1 2 3 4 5 ... 7 8 Last
Brutal Assault Festival Announces 85% Tickets Sold
Brutal Assault Festival announces 85% of the tickets of its upcoming 2019 edition already being sold. Tells the festival promotion agency:
"The attractive lineup of our festival draws audience from all around the world and we've already sold 85 % of all available tickets - thank You for your interest! Our lineup also misses just a couple of last bands and the artists from our KAL stage to be completely revealed... and that is happening soon! We can only recommend to everyone not to hesitate with the purchase of the festival pass, because there are gonna be no more tickets when the currently available capacity is gone!The festival passes are 102€ (full festival passes only), but you'll also find discounted festival passes for the disabled and for kids in our e-shop HERE."
You can now also generate your own Brutal Assault poster with bands ordered according to your liking and share your taste with the world! If you share your #mybrutal2019 poster on Facebook or Instagram, you can win a free festival pass!
Brutal Assault: 90 € Early Bird Festival Passes
The Brutal Assault 2019-team has the below announcement concerning their early bird festival passes for you:
"By the end of the month we'll stop selling the 90€ early bird festival passes. These are currently available from our e-shop in two forms, physical collector’s ticket where you have to pay for shipping and electronic ticket that you'll print at home and don't have to pay for shipping. It's also possible to change your e-ticket for design hard paper ticket on spot for a small fee.
Don't miss your opportunity to get the cheapest tickets that there are!"
Brutal Assault 2019, will once again take place at the Fortress Josefov - Jaromer, Czech Republic from , 7th – 10th August.
BRUTAL ASSAULT 2019 festival pass [PRINT@HOME ticket]
BRUTAL ASSAULT 2019 festival pass [collector's design hard paper ticket] More...
Emperor And Batushka Added To Brutal Assault '19
Brutal Assault Festival announces another band update for its upcoming 2019 edition. Tells the festival promotion agency:
"As promised, here we have a couple of new bands for you!First we have Polish preachers BATUSHKA who are on fire right now and who will bring their mass of darkpsalms to the metal masses again. And on top of that we have a household name of the genre. As apreliminary Christmass gift we have Norwegian cult EMPEROR for you! With the musical visionary Ihsahnin front, we can look forward for one of the greatest legends of extreme metal that brought us treasures likeInno a Satana, Into the Infinity of Thoughts, Towards The Pantheon and many more!Unfortunately, even Brutal Assault can't be without changes and unpleasant losses. Due to organisationalreasons, DIMMU BORGIR is forced to cancel participation in Brutal Assault 2019, but we are discussing their performance for the following year. "
So far the line-up includes: More...
Report
Bloodstock 2018: Day One
Festival season is drawing to a close for another year, with the likes of Wacken, Graspop, Hellfest and others all over until 2019. This year, Metal Underground had the pleasure of attending Bloodstock Open Air, the fastest growing metal festival in the United Kingdom, held at Catton Park, Derbyshire and featuring bands from all across the globe, from legends to unsigned acts. So how did this year's edition of Bloodstock go? Read on, MacDuff.
The grounds open on Thursday, as the finishing touches are being put on the main stage, though fans are still treated to an evening of metal courtesy of the second stage, named after the SOPHIE charity (Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere) which this year was headlined by Russian folk metal band, Arkona. I was only able to catch one set, which was from British death metal outfit Bloodshot Dawn, a solid performance which attracted a decent sized crowd and a positive response from those in attendance. One thing that will hit you immediately after entering the arena area is how expensive everything is, even by festival standards. We expect prices to be raised at festivals, but £7 for a standard burger is ridiculous, add fries and a soft drink and it comes to £14.80, way more than the mediocre refreshments should cost. This is why it's useful to bring food and drink of your own and eat in the campsite during some downtime. More...
Ihsahn Streaming New Track “Wake”
Ihsahn quietly released a new song titled “Wake” earlier this month. You can check it out below. It’s off his new release “Ámr“, out May 04th.
Ihsahn Premieres New Music Video “Arcana Imperii”
Ihsahn debuts the first single from his forthcoming new effort “Àmr“. Below you can check out “Arcana Imperii” from the album, which features also a guest solo from Opeth‘s mainman Fredrik Åkesson. “Àmr” will be released on May 04th.
Comments Ihsahn: More...
Ihsahn To Unleash New Album “Ámr” In May
Emperor mainman Ihsahn reveals a May 04th release date via Candlelight/Spinefarm for his new effort “Ámr“. Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson lends a guest solo to the track “Arcana Imperii“. Tells Ihsahn of that and the performance of his longtime drummer, Tobias Ørnes Andersen on the new release:
“It’s just lovely to work with Tobias. I know that he can technically handle anything I throw at him. But more importantly, when I say like; ‘I want this to feel like the vacuum between words in a conversation with Hannibal Lecter,’ he will say, ‘Yeah, I get that!’ [Laughs] So for him, it’s not about showing off, it’s always about relating to the vibe.With Fredrik, we met first time in Oslo, when I did my debut solo show as support to Opeth and later we’ve hung out on different festivals when we happen to play the same day. Last time in Japan when we played there with Emperor and Opeth. We were talking about guitars and I said, ‘Not to kiss up to you or anything, but you’re absolutely one of my favourite players, so some day I might call you for a guest solo…’ and he says, ‘I’m in!’ He did a fabulous job.”
Speaking further of the material, Ihsahn explains: More...
At The Gates Confirmed For Bloodstock 2018
The organisers of the Bloodstock Open Air festival has announced some more names, including Swedish melodic death metal pioneers, At The Gates, as well as groove metal originators Exhorder, who will play the Ronnie James Dio stage and Sophie Lancaster stage respectively, while joining Exhorder on the Sophie stage will be sludge metal outfit Weight Of The Tide and death metal group Sangre. The festival will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire and will be held from August 9th - 12th.
The lineup is now as follows:
Ronnie James Dio Stage:
Judas Priest (Headliner)
Gojira (Headliner)
Nightwish (Headliner)
Emperor
At The Gates
Suicidal Tendencies
Devildriver
Kamelot
Combichrist
Mr. Big
Jasta
Bloodbath
Venom Inc.
Septicflesh
Wednesday 13
Fozzy
Orden Ogan
Memoriam More...
Bloodstock Open Air Adds Four More Bands To Lineup
The organisers of Britain's Bloodstock Open Air festival has confirmed a further four bands to perform at next year's edition of the festival, including German heavy metal legend Doro, who will be headlining the Sophie Lancaster stage on the Friday night. Also added to the event are death metal supergroup Bloodbath, who will also perform on Friday, but on the Ronnie James Dio stage, while Greek symphonic death metal veterans Septicflesh and the Chris Jericho fronted heavy metal group Fozzy will also play the RJD stage, on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The festival will take place in Catton Hall, Derbyshire from August 10th to 12th. More bands will be confirmed over the coming year, including plenty of unsigned talent.
The current lineup is as follows:
Friday: Ronnie James Dio Stage
Judas Priest
Emperor
Bloodbath
Memoriam
Friday: Sophie Lancaster Stage
Doro
Saturday: Ronnie James Dio Stage
Gojira
Combichrist
Septicflesh
Orden Ogan
Sunday: Ronnie James Dio Stage
Nightwish
Devildriver
Fozzy
Sunday: Sophie Lancaster Stage
Watain
Report
Graspop Metal Meeting 2017: Day One
The Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Belgium has become one of the biggest and most popular events on the European summer circuit. Seemingly every year they put together a fantastic line up, mixing the classics, the young blood and cult favourites to really give something for all head bangers. This year was no different, with such legends as Scorpions, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult all booked, as well as plenty for the kids like Chelsea Smile and Architects. It all promised to be a hell of a weekend and indeed it was.
Though the festival doesn't begin it's "official" schedule until Friday, weekend campers arrive the day before and are met with plenty on offer, including a number of live bands and the Metal Cafe. Being too tired after travelling from England to Belgium, we were only able to catch one full performance, though we also caught the last ten minutes of Belgian stoner metal act, King Hiss, who would probably please fans of Mastodon but left little impact. This was followed by the very short journey to the Jupiler Stage, which housed most of the weekend's hardcore and deathcore groups to watch Dutch hardcore veterans, Born From Pain. The quintet are regarded as one of Europe's best hardcore groups and it's easy to see why, particularly in the live setting where their brand of positive energy spreads to the audience very quickly, making for a very enjoyable live set. More...
Headline News
Emperor Reuniting For "Anthems 2017" Shows
Following the previous 20th anniversary shows for "In The Nightside Eclipse" a few years back, Emperor is again reunited for a slew of dates in remembrance of follow-up album "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk."
Front man Ihsahn just issued this update:
"Finished a very successful pre-prod with Emperor this week for the upcoming #anthemstothewelkinatdusk2017 shows! Original hand painted backdrop from 1997 in the background to set the mood. Thanks to Konsert-Service as and @tonedeafproductionsdk for making this sound right both on stage and for everyone attending this summer!"
Stay tuned for full details on the dates and venues to be announced shortly.
New Bands Added To Brutal Assault 2017
A bunch of new bands have been announced for the 22nd edition of Brutal Assault, which takes place this year in Fortress Josefov near Jaromer in the Czech Republic on August 9-12. Returning once more are heavy-weights Hatebreed, who last graced the fortress stages in 2012 and 2013. This is reportedly in response to festival-goers requests for more hardcore in the line-up.
The Dillinger Escape Plan will be including the festival in their series of farewell dates. It looks like the band's appearance here won't be affected by the bus crash that caused some European tour dates to be cancelled last month. Dillinger last played Brutal Assault in 2015.
Thrash veterans Overkill, touring in support of their recently released 18th studio album, "The Grinding Wheel", have also been added. No stranger to the fortress stage, Overkill last appeared at the festival in 2013.
Helsinki's Wintersun are newcomers to Brutal Assault, appearing for the first time. Can we assume they will be playing material from their long-awaited third album? There's no official word as yet. More...
Emperor Complete Works Set Released
Remember that Emperor complete discography boxed set announced by Blood Music back in '14? It's finally finished and been shipped off to all the lucky bastards who jumped on it while it was still available. The label issued this announcement:
"Nearly 4 years from start to finish, the Emperor official 'The Complete Works' box is finally finished. All production parts finished and shipped to everyone from whom payment was received.
"A huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered this set and patiently waited during the entire ordeal. Needless to say, every single person who worked on this set was driven completely insane by it. That's not hyperbole whatsoever, this set kicked the shit out of everyone who touched it.
"In the end, it took around 30 trips to the post office where I took up the entire back area to the point that the postal workers couldn't even move around for several days.
"I honestly wish more people could own the set, but due to the entire logistics of it and the sparing no expense portion of its production, it's only going to remain in the hands of a limited amount of people, sadly. When you build something where money is no object, that's the unfortunate side effect. But the response so far has been incredible - I've heard many times over that the value to quality of the box set was very well worth it. More...
OpEd
Metal Must Evolve
My biggest issue with metal in the 2010s is that in contrast to the past three decades, there's just a lack of creativity. Newer metalcore is being increasingly influenced by nu-metal and post-hardcore as the new musicians who are in their 20s and 30s are now playing music that's entirely an amalgam of what they grew up with as teens rather than creating anything new.
Blackgaze was novel for the first few years but now feels like the light beer version of black metal at this point that doesn't have the same edge that metal is supposed to have. I'm not sure if I want black metal to have a kinder, gentler, dare I say, “cuddlier” face when compared to the antisocial behavior that defined the second wave. When I hear a band like Alcest or Deafheaven, I don't feel like these are maniacs with serious mental issues precisely because it sounds way too calculated and professional for my aging ears.
Djent is nice but often feels too monotonous to really do justice to how technical it is. For, “progressive metal” the songwriting lacks the same level of unexpected changes in direction that make progressive rock acts like Rush and Yes so appealing. Yeah, Djent is heavy but it's also often predicable when unconventional songwriting is half of what separates metal and makes it so special and unique. Blackened sludge on the othe rhand is only going to appeal to people who want extremely raw production... who will never be great enough in number to establish a trend rather than a fad. More...
The Wretched End: Pre-Release Full-Album Streaming
The Wretched End - the studio alliance of former Emperor/Zyklon guitarist Samoth, Mindgrinder/Windir member Cosmo, and Dark Funeral drummer Nils Dominator Fjellström - premieres the pre-release full-album stream of the band's upcoming new album "In These Woods, From These Mountains", which will be out in stores tomorrow April 22 via Indie Recordings.
Check out now "In These Woods, From These Mountains" in its entirety below.
Ihsahn (Emperor) Streaming New Song "Pressure"
Ihsahn (Emperor) premieres a new song today entitled "Pressure", taken from his upcoming new sixth full-length album "Arktis", which will be out in stores April 08 via Candlelight Records and Spinefarm Records.
Check out "Pressure" now below. The album's complete track listing is as follows:
1. Disassembled
2. Mass Darkness
3. My Heart is of the North
4. South Winds
5. In the Vaul
6. Until I too Dissolve
7. Pressure
8. Frail
9. Crooked Red Line
10. Celestial Violence
11. Til Tor Ulven (Søppelsolen) More...
"In The Nightside Eclipse" Converted To Sheet Form
Composer Martin Romberg has taken on the task of transcribing influential black metal into full classical sheet music, beginning with Emperor's 1994 masterpiece "In the Nightside Eclipse."
"Martin has clearly put a lot of time and effort into transferring the 'Nightside Eclipse' record into actual sheet music," said original Emperor bassist Mortiis, "and it's cool to be a small part of that."
The 72-page score includes all instruments and chord analysis for study and performance, published by Raven Music Editions, a sheet music publisher founded in 2014 and specializing in producing scores from dark alternative and black metal music genres. The score is available at this location.
In the 20 years since the release of the album, Mortiis has gone on an eponymous journey that began as solo dark, ambient music and has since evolved into a full band playing equally dark, angry, industrial-influenced heavy music. Mortiis' long-awaited new album "The Great Deceiver" will be available March 4th, 2016. More...
Emperor's "Complete Works" Set Up For Pre-Order
Remember that "complete works" Emperor box set announced back last year? It's finally done, and will be available in three versions: marble, black, and clear, all of which include a whopping 24 LPs covering everything Emperor ever released.
Each edition is limited to 222 copies and is up for pre-order now via Blood Music for 700 Euro. The marble edition includes:
50 center labels
26 heavyweight inner sleeves
24 heavyweight LPs
10 heavyweight triple-gatefold jackets
4 heavy card stock inserts
3 posters
1 heavyweight 7"
1 92-page hardcover book
1 heavyweight 7" gatefold jacket
1 two-part heavy-board outer box
1 slipmat
1 cassette tape (for 2015 orders only)
1 signed lyrics sheet (for 2015 orders only)
* Please note that the records are pressed by hand with actual physical materials, so the amount of marbling will vary from record to record. More...
OpEd
Heavy Metal Video Games: The Return Of Music Games
With the king of music games about to make a triumphant return in less than two weeks, it seemed like a good time to take another look at the limited offerings available where video games collide with heavy metal.
For those who missed our previous three articles discussing various games with heavy metal soundtracks, be sure to go back and check 'em out (and let us know if you end up playing or re-playing any of these gems!):
Part 1: the amazing Brutal Legend, Saints Row III, Killing Floor 2, Pain Killer, and Guilty Gear X2 Reload
Part 2: Splatterhouse, Twisted Metal 2, The Witcher's bonus music disc, and Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost And The Damned.
Part 3 (the retro edition!): Rock And Roll Racing, Beavis And Butthead, F-Zero X, Earthbound, and Heavy Metal Geomatrix
Rock Band
There was this utterly glorious time where console gaming was flush with a stable lineup of music games and every weekend involved a bottle of something hard and your best friends making drunken fools of themselves in your living room till 2 AM. Typically your neighbors would not be amused, but fuck them because they don't like metal anyway.
Unfortunately that time died when Activision decided to flood the market with an absurd number of Guitar Hero entries and the era of the music game came to a sudden, crashing halt.
Obviously the Rock Band titles had plenty of rock tunes, but a handful of legitimate metal was also involved in the various incarnations and weekly DLC updates, adding in the likes of Emperor, Machine Head, and a whole lot more. Where things really took off was in the Rock Band Network, which let bands make their own tracks, seeing tons of underground groups add in their own music.
It was a truly sad day when Harmonix announced there would be no more DLC coming to Rock Band back in 2013, but an unexpected light at the end of the tunnel appeared just a few months ago. Back in March, Harmonix made a whole lot of fans happy by officially announcing Rock Band 4, which seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream up till that point.
Due out October 6, Rock Band 4's launch lineup of metal will include Dream Theater, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Baby Metal, System Of A Down, and more, with loads of metallic downloadable songs no doubt prepped and ready to drop each week.
Needless to say I'm greatly looking forward to it, except that unfortunately Guitar Hero is also returning. Maybe Activision can keep it in its pants this time around and not kill music gaming again by releasing six or so games a year.
New Rock Band Finally Coming?
Remember late night drinking while belting out some Metallica, Devildriver, or even Emperor with your buddies back when music games where still a thing?
For awhile there they were the biggest thing in gaming, with friends getting together every weekend to drag out the fog machines, drums, plastic guitars, and mics. Unfortunately over saturation with too many games, released too quickly, and featuring too many different large investment devices, prematurely killed the genre.
Rock Band hasn't released a full game since 2010 with "Rock Band 3," and the era of the game truly came to an end in 2013 when no more official DLC was being released.
It looks like the current generation of consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) will be getting a new Rock Band iteration however. Harmonix, the creator of Rock Band, recently issued a survey asking fans if they'd like to see a new version of the game for the latest consoles, after which a variety of sites such as Tech Times and Polygon released stories about how the game is now in active development. More...