EMPEROR — IX Equilibrium (review)

Album · 1999 · Symphonic Black Metal

5/5 · 2023-09-16
LightningRider

Emperor had made it into the big leagues and stayed there forever thanks to only two albums: In the Nightsdie Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. One was a new take on traditional black metal with a whole new sound, and the second was a more cleanly-polished take on the original which a very notcurnal vibe. Emperor always loved trying new things, so where were their ventures going to take them next? Into... straightforward original black metal, apparently. This really isn't a bad decision just because of that, but could Emperor pull it off? Let's see if they "sold themselves out" instead of wanting to try a new vibe.

In some cases, Emperor were attempting straightforward black metal. And if track one, Curse You All Men, proves anything, it's that they can pull it off effortlessly. This is more brutal and maniacal than anything Darkthrone or Immortal ever put out. This is a first time for them when you think about the genre! ANd once again they shift their symphonic sound for a new vibe. It seems that the point of IX Equilibrium is to once again try new things with a very different mood from what we got before. Unfortunately, while this mood has been rarely perfected, this is the first Emperor album featuring an atmosphere that's already been attempted. This is one of the reasons it's considered inferior. But damn if that black metal energy isn't extremely thick and dense. I can't even see out the window of this aural hurricane. Rain covers everything, although I can occasionally hear the symphonic parade of musicians and soldiers marching, as if the stabbing rain didn't hurt them.

Unfortunately, because they're acting more straightforward on this album, a couple of the songs are a little too long, so they tire out pretty quickly. As for any flaws pertaining to other songs, this one's a really easy one. While the absolute maelstrom of sound on this album is nothing short of formidable, there's typical blastbeating mixed in with Emperor's strongest point: melody, so it's easy for one to outshine the other. Now the album has its share of diversity. It covers Emperor's symphonic sound with the newfound original black sound while adding bits of new stuff, including the heavier prog which would be more fleshed out on Prometheus, as well as bits of speed and thrash in sparse places. But that's also a little bit of a con as these little bits are sparse and scattered. This includes the gothic sound of Welkin, which thankfully makes it onto this release, especially during the final track, "Of Blindness & Subsequent Seers" which carries a surreal tone to it.

This third Emperor album is the point where they stopped being "just" a new sound. In an attempt to gain the favor of the followers of ancient tradition, they took part in it. There was some excellent skill in sound, technicality and melody, but there was little drawbacks to this new sound. In other words, Emperor could do just about anything, but couldn't perfect this is it was their first attempt. This is excellent black metal, but not the best compliment to Emperor's prowess.