Emperor: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (half-speed remaster, black, white & green vinyl) [SPINEFARM]

Why you'll love it

This half-speed remaster comes on black, white & green vinyl with a printed lyric inner sleeve and a double-sided A2 poster. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 57 among the 100 greatest metal albums, and Loudwire named it the best black metal album of all time.

This edition

• Half-speed master
• Remastered
• Black, white & green vinyl
• Printed inner sleeve with lyrics
• Double-sided A2 poster

About the album

The back cover states the mission plainly: "Emperor performs Sophisticated Black Metal Art exclusively." Not many bands print a manifesto on the sleeve and then live up to it this thoroughly. The Norwegians recorded their second album in Bergen's Grieg Hall, with Ihsahn and Samoth producing alongside Pytten, and they came out faster and more guitar-driven than on In the Nightside Eclipse, with fewer keyboards, more clean singing and blast beats to spare.

"Ye Entrancemperium" opens on a riff from an unfinished Mayhem song, credited to that band's Euronymous, and from there it's one towering piece after another. "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" and "Ensorcelled by Khaos" storm, "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" (previewed on the Reverence EP) got its own promo video, and "With Strength I Burn" builds into something close to symphonic. AllMusic's Steve Huey praised the crisper production for letting the details of the arrangements emerge, along with the classical flourishes and Ihsahn's more varied vocals.

It took top honours in Terrorizer and Metal Maniacs on its arrival and entered Decibel's Hall of Fame in 2016. Wagnerian black metal recorded in a hall named after Edvard Grieg; we suspect he'd have asked them to turn it down, then quietly taken notes.

Also at Kops: more Emperor on vinyl · browse Metal

Tracklist

Listen

On Candlelight / Spinefarm (cat# CANDLE500684), a reissue of the 1997 album.