Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)

I can still remember my emotions several years ago playing this album for the first time and actually being so scared of it that as the final seconds of, 'Inno a Satana' left my speakers I literally laid on my bed in petrified fear of what I had just heard. I can still remember the way the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and the cold sweat that covered my body. I knew I had discovered something genuine, novel, challenging and something I'd admire the rest of my life.

It's true that Emperor's masterpiece, 'In the Nightside Eclipse' truly captured my interest in a way no other album had done previously, but I don't think it was until a few months later when under the right circumstances (I seem to recall being in a fit of murderous rage) I was finally able to take in all it had to offer and I felt absolute reverence towards these four Norwegian musicians creation.

Emperor was the initial black metal band to place a large emphasis on the keyboards and through Vegard "Ihsahn" Tveitan's keyboard performance the band formed quite possibly the gloomiest evil freezing moods conceivable. Brooding with unadulterated malevolence his synthesizer wizardry had a certain elegant majesty to them that kept me and many others hooked for life and took our souls to the blackest realms of hell while we listened. Still to this day the intros to, 'Into the Infinity of Thoughts' & 'Towards the Pantheon' fill my soul with a felling of utter evil and frankly it sounds like a brooding apocalyptic scene ready to unfold.

Naturally there’s no forgetting the incredible guitar work of Ihsahn and his childhood friend Tomas "Samoth" Haugen either. Although somewhat hidden due to the lo-fi production these buzzing guitars walk hand and hand with distorted yet complex melodic riffs, which seem to intertwine with the keyboards perfectly. Bård "Faust" Eithun's drumming is also most impressive though again the production leaves his drumming somewhat buried under the vocals, synth and guitars. Bassist Terje "Tchort" Schei's work is unfortunately almost completely inaudible, but it sure would have been interesting had it been more well pronounced. On the other hand I want to point out that I have absolutely no complaints with the production as its shrouded noisy characteristics work well with the the feelings of mystery and obscurity.

Also one of the things that originally scared me (but later on I ended up enjoying) were Ihsahn’s vocals, which still to this day are among some of the best ever recorded. Although he mostly sticks to a hellish howl he occasionally switches to an outstanding clearly sung voice, which of course nowadays we can all see he's become quite proficient at. Lastly the lyrics wrote by Ihsahn, Samoth and Mortiis telling dark tales of nature and its connection to Satanic mysticism is fascinating, poetic and ultimately something I've taken to heart every sense.

Unlike a lot of bands Emperor wasn’t influenced by any other bands they were the influencers and forever shall, ‘In the Nightside Eclipse’ be hailed as not only one of the grandest black metal albums for all infinity but simply one of the greatest metal albums ever created.