Deal of the Month

EMPEROR - Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath

So I was back home in my hometown last weekend when I decided to stop by Aunty's Shop (Swee Suat Music, Terminal One). I loathed the idea of stepping into Terminal One since it's been a hotspot for immigrants and village brutes. No offense meant but these people piss me off and I've made very few visits to this mall ever since I joined college. But anyhow, I was quite intrigued by what Mrs Lim (aunty) had on sale at that moment. For your information, she was my main supplier of records ever since school days. Being neighbours in the neighbourhood, she made it a point to update me of the latest releases that just arrived. So we go a long way back, ten years, I think. And the best part is, I always get discounts when others pay full for any of their purchases. Although I buy most of my stuff around KL now, I still make it a point to drop by her place whenever I'm back.

Which brings me to my latest purchase, believe it or not, an Emperor Best of compilation, imported on top of that. The price? A slashed RM 29.90. I got it cheaper but hell no I'm not tellin you guys how much I got it for.

Let's start of with 'WHO is Emperor?' For a start, they were the pioneers of the second wave of Black Metal that kicked off in Norway and her Scandinavian neighbours. This new wave of satanic anthems differs from it's predecessor (typical heavy metal with anti-christian/satanic lyrics ie Mercyful Fate, Satan etc) in terms of song structure. The second wave took a more extreme outlook started off by Death Metal pioneers Possessed, with heavy blast beats, tremolo picking and raspy/screeching/inhuman vocals. With that template, dozens of bands pioneered the movement among those, Emperor, Darkthrone, Satyricon and Mayhem. Dimmu Borgir and Covenant came a few years later but they were already branded the third wave, Melodic Black Metal. Till today the debate on who's the best Black Metal band still continues. Many opt for Mayhem. Some have their bets on Dimmu Borgir since they've risen to become one of the most successful Black Metal bands known in the scene. But what is my opinion? Take a wild guess.

Emperor wins in many ways. But I'll just focus on one, which is the reason why they are my favourite, and the best. Song structure. Take any Emperor song and you'll see that they are pretty diverse. Not one of them are the same. Tremolo picking bands tend to bore me but Emperor doesn't. They were one of the few who tremolo picked melodies which later became a template for the melodic bands like Dimmu and also inspired the Swedish Black Metal scene. The Swedish guys played Black Metal with melodies but without keyboards, that's the difference. A little bit of Dark Funeral and Dissection should enlighten you.

Emperor's songs differed from the rest of the scene. Most of them back then had very simple song sructures, Intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Emperor pushed the limits to become (in my opinion) the FIRST Progressive Black Metal band. They have extended song structures, defying the norm that was being followed by the rest. Most of their songs boast non-repetitive riffs, PROPER solos and slow parts, making them stand out from the rest of the bands who were in the scene. They also have simple structured songs as well, like Inno a Satanna, for those who prefer a more straight-forward approach in song listening (boring!). As years went by Ihsan (vocals) experimented his on his vocals which gave the songs more width.

This CD, released in 2003, boasts all the masterpieces they've carved throughout their reign as emperor.. I really disagree with anyone who thinks the play/played second fiddle to any other band. Emperor were and still is the Iron Maiden of Black Metal. And it was an honour for the many bands who opened for them during their reign. Among which was a very young, little known English band called Cradle of Filth, back in '94. After the opening, the rest was history. Everyone knows what dizzying heights they've (CoF) achieved since.

Track list
Disc 1
1.Curse You All Men! 04:41
2.The Tongue of Fire 07:11
3.The Majesty of the Nightsky 04:48
4.Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times 06:21
5.Wrath of the Tyrant 04:13
6.The Loss and Curse of Reverence 06:10
7.An Elegy of Icaros 06:39
8.I Am the Black Wizards 06:01
9.Thus Spake the Nightspirit (Live) 04:20
10.Ye Entrancemperium 05:14
11.In the Wordless Chamber 05:13
12.With Strength I Burn 08:13
13.Inno a Satana 04:51

Disc 2
1.A Fine Day to Die (Bathory cover) 08:26
2.Ærie Descent (Thorns cover) 05:59
3.Cromlech (Darkthrone cover) 04:14
4.Gypsy (Mercyful Fate cover) 02:55
5.Funeral Fog (Mayhem cover) 05:12
6.I Am 05:06
7.Sworn (Ulver Remix) 05:40
8.Lord of the Storms 02:08
9.My Empire's Doom 04:31
10.Moon Over Kara-Shehr (Rehearsal) 05:11
11.The Ancient Queen 03:41
12.Witches Sabbath 05:57
13.In Longing Spirit 05:56
14.Opus a Satana 04:19

Total playing time 02:23:10
The cover art is an illustration by Dor鮍

Includes two of the three songs from the "As the Shadows Rise" EP (Tracks 11 &
12).
Best of/Compilation, Candlelight Records
January 27th, 2003