In the Nightside Eclipse | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 21, 1994 | |||
Recorded | July 1993 | |||
Studio | Grieg Hall, Bergen | |||
Genre | Symphonic black metal [1] | |||
Length | 48:29 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Candlelight | |||
Producer | Emperor, Pytten | |||
Emperor chronology | ||||
|
In the Nightside Eclipse is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. Considered a landmark in the black metal scene, the album has been ranked by critics as one of the most influential albums of the genre. It also contains some of Emperor's best known tracks, "I Am the Black Wizards" and "Inno a Satana".
The album cover was drawn by Kristian Wåhlin, also known as "Necrolord", depicting a host of orcs en route to Minas Morgul. The part below the band logo is based upon a section of a larger engraving called "Death on a Pale Horse (Revelation)" by Gustave Doré. That section itself was also used as the album cover for the Emperor (EP).
The inside of the cover features a photo of the Trascau Fortress in Transylvania.
In the Nightside Eclipse has often been referred to as a pioneering influence in symphonic black metal. Although all the key elements of black metal are present, such as fast tremolo-picked guitar passages, harsh screams, and raw, lo-fi production, the use of symphonic keyboard sections is a key part of the album's distinctive sound. According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, "Even if the keyboards mostly just outline basic chord changes, they add a melancholy air to all the furious extreme sounds, turning the one-note ugliness of black metal into something emotionally complex." [2]
Most of the music was written and rehearsed before the band entered the studio. However, much of the symphonic keyboard sections were composed in the studio at the time of recording as the band did not then have a permanent keyboard player. Some of the lyrics on the final version of the album were partially written by Mortiis, before he left the band. Samoth has suggested that the frequent use of the word "emperor" in the lyrics became a kind of metaphor, "for our own entity, for the dark lord, for the devil, for the strong and mighty." Samoth has cited the power of Norwegian nature as a key inspiration on Emperor's music and this album in particular. They also expressed a fascination with the Viking age, Tolkien's literature, story of Dracula, as well as "everything related to Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains, the dark corners of Eastern Europe, and folklore." Ihsahn, however, has explained that he never read much of Tolkien's work, although he consciously made use of the language and imagery of fantasy. [3]
The album was co-produced by Pytten, who produced Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and Burzum's debut album, as well as albums by Immortal and Enslaved. Faust partially credits Pytten with the sound of In the Nightside Eclipse. Although the album was recorded in July 1993, it was not mixed until the following year due to Faust and Samoth's arrests and sentences in jail. In the end, only Ihsahn and Samoth were present for the mixing of the album, though he passed along his input to them in a letter. Ihsahn was ill at the time of recording, and Tchort recalls him spitting blood while recording vocals for the album. Some of the early vocal takes were replaced with ones recorded after he had recovered, as were some of the keyboard parts. [3]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Metal Crypt | [4] |
Sea of Tranquility | [5] |
Sputnikmusic | [6] |
In his review, Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album five stars out of five, writing, "In the Nightside Eclipse resoundingly demonstrated that there was real musical substance and ambition in the world of black metal. [...] [it] somehow managed to capture the essence of the genre while completely rewriting its rule book", commenting that it was also "the first [album] to fuse black metal with progressive and symphonic elements, setting the stage for a bevy of future experimentation in the genre, [...] As such, it certainly possesses the farthest-reaching legacy of anything from Norway's bloody first wave, and ranks as one of the most important heavy metal albums of the '90s." [1] In 2005, the album was ranked number 292 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. [7] Kyle Ward of Sputnikmusic gave the album 5/5, writing that "In the Nightside Eclipse is a masterwork because of this compositional balance. It allows the keys to be overbearing without stealing the show – an attribute that the lack of which has since proven to be the downfall of countless symphonic black metal acts. This is still, at its core, a harsh, obscenely heavy record, and one only needs to place themselves in the maelstrom of tracks like "I Am the Black Wizards" to realize there is more than just symphonies at work here." [8]
The album is widely considered one of the most important releases in black metal, particularly for the second wave of black metal, and has been frequently described as a classic by music critics. [8] [9] The album has gone on to influence countless bands, with many considering it the first true symphonic black metal album. [1] [8] Kyle Ward of SputnikMusic credits Emperor with "[taking] the genre in a direction now seen as a natural extension of black metal's sphere of influence." [8] It is the only Emperor album to feature Tchort on bass, who later went on to play with Carpathian Forest, Blood Red Throne, and others. In 2005 Decibel Magazine adopted the album into their hall of fame, writing that "upon its release in 1995, In the Nightside Eclipse established Emperor as the reigning masters of a more complex, atmospheric style of "symphonic black metal". They also called it "one of the most historically fascinating and sonically influential albums in the annals of extreme metal." [10] In 2009, Loudwire named it the 18th best debut album of all time. [11] In 2009, IGN included In the Nightside Eclipse in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list; according to IGN, "Emperor inspired the wave of overtly-technical black-metal bands that would rule the underground in the early 2000s. Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth owe a huge debt to this album." [12] In July 2014, In the Nightside Eclipse was listed at number three in Guitar World magazine's list of "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". [13] In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the best symphonic metal album of all time. [14]
Matt Heafy of Trivium wrote that "Emperor had crafted a unique sound in its combination of the classical with modern metal conventions that had not been executed with such precision before." [15]
In 1999, the album was remastered and reissued, with two cover songs as bonus tracks: "A Fine Day to Die" by Bathory, and "Gypsy" by Mercyful Fate. For the reissue, the opening tracks "Intro" and "Into the Infinity of Thoughts" were combined, whilst the album was packaged in a paper slipcase covering the traditional jewel case, with both featuring the same artwork. A second reissue followed in 2004, which included videos of live performances from 1997. In 2014, in celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, the band reissued a remastered deluxe version of the album. It also featured the bonus tracks from the As the Shadows Rise 1994 EP, as well as a previously unreleased alternative mix of the album and pre-production rehearsal tracks from 1993. The album was remastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in 2014.
All music is composed by Vegard Tveitan and Tomas Haugen, except where noted
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | Instrumental | 0:51 | |
2. | "Into the Infinity of Thoughts" | Haugen | 8:15 | |
3. | "The Burning Shadows of Silence" | Tveitan, Haugen | 5:36 | |
4. | "Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times" | Håvard Ellefsen | 6:06 | |
5. | "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" | Haugen | 6:01 | |
6. | "Towards the Pantheon" | Tveitan, Haugen | 5:57 | |
7. | "The Majesty of the Night Sky" | Tveitan | Tveitan | 4:54 |
8. | "I Am the Black Wizards" | Ellefsen | 6:01 | |
9. | "Inno a Satana" (Italian for "Hymn to Satan") | Tveitan | 4:48 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro/Into the Infinity of Thoughts" | 9:06 | |
2. | "The Burning Shadows of Silence" | 5:35 | |
3. | "Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times" | 6:06 | |
4. | "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" | 6:00 | |
5. | "Towards the Pantheon" | 5:58 | |
6. | "The Majesty of the Nightsky" | 4:53 | |
7. | "I Am the Black Wizards" | 6:00 | |
8. | "Inno a Satana" | 4:48 | |
9. | "A Fine Day to Die" (Bathory cover) | Thomas Forsberg | 8:28 |
10. | "Gypsy" (Mercyful Fate cover) | Kim Petersen, Michael Denner | 2:57 |
Total length: | 59:51 |
Emperor
| Additional personnel
|
Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991, regarded as highly influential by critics and emerging black metal bands. The group split up in 2001, but reunited from 2005 to 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours, and again reunited in 2013 to 2014. Emperor reformed for the third time in 2016. The group was founded by Ihsahn (guitar/vocal) and Samoth.
Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements.
Samoth is a Norwegian guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the country's black metal scene. He is well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formation of the death metal band Zyklon. In very early Emperor releases, he was called Samot, and with the formation of Zyklon he became known as Zamoth. Samoth was the owner of the record label Nocturnal Art Productions and had a close relationship with Candlelight Records.
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released on 19 May 1997 through Candlelight Records and Century Black.
Thou Shalt Suffer were a band that was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. It formed in 1990 at Akkerhaugen, Norway, under the name "Dark Device". Its style was mainly death metal, though it included some black metal traits, alongside Ihsahn's trademark keyboard melodies. The band split up in late 1991 when its members formed Emperor and Ildjarn.
Ildjarn was a Norwegian cult black metal project that formed in 1991. Ildjarn recorded music until 1997 but did not officially end until 2005. The man behind Ildjarn was Vidar Våer, although some releases were collaborations with a musician known as Nidhogg.
My Arms, Your Hearse is the third studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released in August 1998. It was the band's first album to be released simultaneously in Europe, through Candlelight Records, and in the United States, through Century Black.
Vegard Sverre Tveitan, better known by his stage name Ihsahn, is a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer who is best known for his work with the black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Thou Shalt Suffer, where he played guitar and keyboard in addition to vocal duties, and Peccatum, a project in collaboration with his wife and fellow musician Heidi Solberg Tveitan, also known as Starofash. Since 2006, Tveitan has primarily devoted himself to solo albums and occasional guest appearances.
Ember to Inferno is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 14, 2003, through Lifeforce Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and the band themselves.
IX Equilibrium is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released on March 15, 1999, in Europe and on April 27, 1999, in the US through Candlelight Records.
Matthew Kiichi Heafy is a Japanese-American musician, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist for heavy metal band Trivium. He was also the lead vocalist for the band Capharnaum, along with Trivium's former producer Jason Suecof. In 2017, Heafy was voted sixth on the Ultimate Guitar list "Top 25 Greatest Modern Frontmen".
OM is a concept album by Negură Bunget, released on October 20, 2006, on the Code666 label. It was recorded in Negură Music Studio and produced, mixed and mastered by the band. A double LP of the album with a bonus track was released by Enucleation Records in 2008. Another double LP edition, remastered but without the bonus track, was released by Blood Music in 2014.
Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise is the fourth and most recent studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released on October 21, 2001, through Candlelight Records. Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise differs from Emperor's previous recordings with a focus on a more progressive style.
The Shadowthrone is the second studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. It was released on September 12, 1994, by Moonfog Productions. A newly remastered version was released on May 28, 2021, with different artwork.
Defending the Throne of Evil is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest. It was released on September 23, 2003 by Season of Mist. A remastered, deluxe double LP version with a bonus track was also released in 2007.
Pentagram is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth, released in September 1994 by Embassy Productions. It followed the band's two demo cassettes, A Sorcery Written in Blood and Promo '94. It was the only album to feature Samoth on bass and Goat Pervertor on drums.
Wrath of the Tyrant is the first demo album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was recorded in May 1992 and self-released by the band shortly after.
Terje Vik Schei, better known by his stage name Tchort, is a Norwegian musician. He is known for his time spent playing bass for the black metal band Emperor and for leading the progressive metal band Green Carnation. He has also played with Carpathian Forest and Blood Red Throne, Satyricon and Einherjer. Tchort is known to be married and to have a son and a daughter.
Blacken the Angel is the debut studio album by the German symphonic black metal band Agathodaimon. It was released on 25 August 1998 through Nuclear Blast records. A limited vinyl record edition of 1,000 copies was also released in 1998. On 25 August 2008, Polish record label Metal Mind Productions reissued the album as a remastered digipak edition. The reissue is limited to numerated 2000 copies and was digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden disc.
Emperor is the debut EP by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released in 1993 via Candlelight Records.