Review by Ben for Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)

Complex and majestic symphonic black metal from the mighty Emperor. A definitive moment in metal music.

In the Nightside Eclipse was recorded in July 1993. Emperor had already made a name for themselves by this time, and miraculously done so purely through their musical output alone. They would soon become far more famous for all the wrong reasons, but it was their Wrath of the Tyrant demo and split album with Enslaved that were causing waves of excitement amongst a growing legion of black metal fans. The line-up had only one change between the self titled EP and In the Nightside Eclipse, with bassist Mortiis leaving due to an apparent loss of interest in metal to be replaced by Terje Vik Schei (aka Tchort). Tchort had previously played guitar for Green Carnation back when they were a death metal band in the early 90s before spending two years in prison for burglary, knife assault, and grave desecration. One can only assume that Samoth and Faust found a kindred spirit in Tchort, as the two of them were currently unidentified fugitives for crimes they committed in 1992 (Samoth burnt down churches along with Varg Vikernes from Burzum and Faust murdered a man for making homosexual advances towards him). Both of these men would eventually be convicted of these crimes, but not until they’d played their roles in one of extreme metal’s finest moments.

In the Nightside Eclipse is an astounding, landmark black metal album. Not content to simply replicate the likes of Dark Throne and Mayhem, Emperor took black metal in a whole new direction. They almost single-handedly created the symphonic black metal subgenre and did so with a level of complexity all the imitators can only dream of. From a purely metal perspective, the album is chock full of fantastic full throttle drumming, mesmerising majestic riffs and violently magnificent vocals. With these aspects alone, I'm pretty sure Emperor would have been onto a winner, but it's the symphonic element that takes their music far and above your average black metal band. In the Nightside Eclipse is like a macabre opera of dark genius, with swirling backdrops and rousing gothic compositions. The sheer wall of noise effect can initially be quite confronting, but once it sinks its claws into you, there's no escaping the grandiose brilliance that is Emperor. It’s the type of album where you stop focussing on individual instruments within seconds and let yourself get swept away by the all-encompassing whole. The riffs often don't even get front line attention and play second fiddle to the keyboards, but Emperor knew exactly when to give them centre stage with the symphonic elements intermittently withdrawing to allow the guitars to shine through.

If you listen to In the Nightside Eclipse and concentrate on the symphonic aspect alone it’s not particularly impressive from a musical point of view. Fairly simple B grade gothic horror movie ooooohs and aaaaahs kick in intermittently that could so easily have come off as cheesy and weak in someone else’s hands. It’s due to Ihsahn and Samoth’s song crafting skills that these effects don’t just work, but bestow already fantastic black metal with a huge dose of epic. Ihsahn deserves credit for his vocal performance also as his effective spoken word and full throated, high pitched black metal shrieks give the impression of complete conviction and malice. I am the Black Wizards and Cosmic Keys to My Creation and Times were the highlights of the self titled EP and both are included here in re-recorded fashion. They still stand out as high points on the full length, yet Into the Infinity of Thoughts and Beyond the Great Vast Forests are just as superb. Emperor would go on to create three more massive albums before calling it a day, but I think only 1997's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk can come close to matching this amazing debut. There's no doubt in my mind that this deserves the full five stars and I imagine I'll still be cranking this up when I'm 60 and being swept off my feet in a rush of black metal magic.