EMPEROR — In the Nightside Eclipse (review)

EMPEROR — In the Nightside Eclipse album cover

Album · 1994 · Symphonic Black Metal

4/5 · 2010-06-11
UMUR

In the Nightside Eclipse is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal act Emperor. The album was released by Candlelight Records in February 1994. In the Nightside Eclipse was recorded, produced and mixed in the famous Grieghallen Studios, in Bergen, Norway with sound Engineer Pytten who also worked with acts like Enslaved and Immortal. The band travelled the about 500 kilometers from Oslo to Bergen in a car they bad borrowed from guitarist Samoth´s dad. Emperor were very young at the time and drummer Faust was the only one with a driver license, so he drove the car. on the remastered and re-issued edition of the album from 2004, there is an insightful interview with the band member where their feelings about the album and some of the circumstances surrounding the album´s creation are revealed. There´s for example a funny anekdote where vocalist/ guitarist/ keyboardist Ihsahn talks about the band´s time in Bergen. Ihsahn was only 17 years old when Emperor recorded In the Nightside Eclipse, so while the other guys in the band went to the local pubs to drink after they had finished recording for the day, Ihsahn, who according to Norwegian law was not old enough to enjoy alcohol, had to stay behind in the studio with Pytten. Ihsahn says in the interview that he learned a lot about studio techniques during their time in Bergen. A valuable knowledge that he was able to use further on in his career as a musician. The basic tracks were recorded in the summer of 1993, but it was not until the beginning of 1994 that the band were able go back to Grieghallen Studios to mix the album. The long time that went by between recording the album and mixing it was in large part due to the the fact that both guitarist Samoth and drummer Faust were arrested in the autumn of 1993. Samoth who was "only" suspected of arson/ church burning was released shortly after the arrest, and only later received his 16 months jail sentence for his part in the burning of the Skjold Church in Vindafjord. Faust however was suspected of a much more serious crime. In 1992 Faust murdered a homosexual man named Magne Andreassen while Faust lived in Lillehammer. Magne Andreassen had made strong sexual advances towards Faust, and that was supposedly more than Faust could handle/ tolerate. So he stabbed and kicked Magne Andreassen to death in a nearby forest. Faust remained in custody until he received his 16 years jail sentence. So needless to say that those times were very chaotic for Emperor. To top it off bassist Tchort left the band during that time too.

The music on In the Nightside Eclipse is by many considered the first attempt at symphonic black metal. The music sure is symphonic and the dominant keyboard/ synth layers create a majestic atmosphere. Unlike many later symphonic black metal releases, In the Nightside Eclipse features a really raw and harsh black metal element too. This is not a polished and slick symphonic black metal affair. The musicianship is excellent. One of the great assets of this album is the drumming by Faust. He´s got a great aggressive and powerful style and at the same time he is precise. No sloppy playing here. The synths are very well arranged and never become too much. The fact that Ihsahn was only 17 years old when he arranged the synth parts is pretty damn impressive and emphasizes how great a musician he was/ is. The sound is actually very well balanced between the raw black metal sound and the symphonic part of the sound, which can be a very hard balance to strike. The 9 tracks on the original release ( the 1999 and 2004 re-issue includes 2 bonus tracks) are all of high quality. Emperor emphasize dark and majestic atmosphere as opposed to more riff based music. A song like I Am The Black Wizards does employ a very easily recognisable melodic riff though which reminds me somewhat of the melodic leads in some of Dissection´s songs. The vocals are a bit too high pitched for my taste and a bit too low in the mix, but that´s probably an aquired taste. They are of course in the raspy black metal style.

The production is raw but very enjoyable. This is not one of those lo-fi "recorded in my own bedroom or dark cellar" recordings. Again the band strike a good balance between raw and clean but never too polished.

There´s no doubt that In the Nightside Eclipse is a seminal album in the symphonic black metal genre but not only that. It´s also one of the best albums in the genre because Emperor at this point were still basically a raw black metal act who had a vision of incorporating symphonic keyboards into their sound and did it, and not a symphonic black metal act with elements from the more raw part of black metal as they would become later on. Of all four Emperor studio albums this is probably the most simple one compositionally speaking, but it´s the album I enjoy the most. 4 stars are well deserved. This one is a must hear.