Customer Reviews

Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is truly a mind-blowing black metal extravaganza. "Anthems" is probably the best black metal album of all time and one of the best albums (all categories) of all time. The album builds slowly with the opening track and then goes into high gear with "Ye Entrancemperium". My favorite songs on the album are "The Acclamation of Bonds" and "Thus Spake the Nightspirit". The songs all blend together well and this album is best listened to in its entirety at high volume.

I picked this one up noting that they are a highly respected black metal norweigen type band. Sure, they've had problems with the law up there in coldy norway (though not as bad or disgusting as like, uh, Mayhem) and this is before Tchort joined I guess. But I digress...

This is really good! You have this super harcore black metal poudning drums, blazing guitars crazy ass screaming. With symphonic orchestra works in the backround and melodic singing vocals. Really! I wasn't really expecting that second half. This is really good. I have to read the lyrics, but i'm guessing some of it is probably satanic and probably more serious than the obviously not serious satanism in Dimmu Borgir. But satan or no, it's a really good album.

This is where it all began in Black Metal for me. 7 years later and it is still in my top ten favorite cd's. It is also a great gateway album. If you like the harder stuff on here work your way backword from here with the Emperor cataloge. If your really into the mellow stuff with some hard moments work your way forwards.

If you have not gotten into black metal but are a serious metal head, then you need to give Emperor a try. Their album "Anthems to the Welkin at dusk" is probably one of the best metals albums available, with taking all genres of metal into consideration. The riffs of both the guitars and keyboards are very dark, yet chilling. Ishahns vocals, both grim and clean, fit this masterpiece perfectly. On such songs like "Thus spake the night spirit" and "With streignth I burn" have some of the best guitar riffs along with oprah style vocals on the album. "Encorcelled by chaos" has some great keyboard riffs layered by the guitars which makes it one of the best on the album. Even if you are more a fan of death, thrash, gothic, or prog metal, you need to give this album a spin. It will go down in history as one of the best!

Emperor is nothing but a guy who can't sing or scream, coupled with a drummer who doesn't know anything other than blast beats, and two guitarists that you can't even hear under Trym's constant pounding. Emperor's lackluster attempt to reignite old metal guitar riffs by marketing them to the 'evil' satanic crowd falls short miserably. I'd rather record myself farting and put it on replay instead of hearing this 'black metal' jizzunk. BTW Ihsahn isn't smart, he's an idiot and he looks like a choir boy.

I've had this album for many years and don't usually write reviews, but I saw there were 99 for Anthems and figured I'd give it a quick 5 stars to make the 100th review. Much has clearly already been said about this record (I have this on vinyl) in previous reviews, so I'll keep this short. The Amazon sound clips don't do this music justice; the songs (and entire album) must be heard as complete works to be understood. So buy the CD. It's noisy and poorly produced, and this is the mind-boggling music of Emperor! Enjoy..

While many reviewers, professionals in the media as well as amateurs on places like Amazon, have called this album things like "the defining metal album" or "the best metal album ever," I am hesitant to say the same. This is not to say that these reviewers are wrong -- this is probably the best metal album ever -- but such statements are misleading. This album is so well-made, so beautiful, so powerful, now with delicate melodies, now with harsh guitar riffs, that it transcends the metal genre that people want to pigeonhole it into. I was never a fan of metal, and even now I only own about ten metal CDs in all, but this album grabbed me instantly and still has not let go.

There are many wonderful things going on in this album that testify to the overall musicianship of Emperor. First, the songs are generally very well-written. Seldom do I find myself feeling that a certain part is out of place, or that a certain progression does not flow into the next one well. There are few bumps and ruts in this musical road. In addition, the very melodies and progressions each song is built with are very original and very beautiful, incredibly evocative of precisely the emotion you can tell the songwriters were shooting for. Then, the very intensity and power of the music compliments the melodies perfectly, doubling the effectiveness of both. An interesting thing about Emperor is that they never wimp out. They will pound out the most intense section, and just when you think they couldn't take the intensity any higher - sure enough, they do. However, after that, they take it to another level, and another level even after that!

The production of this CD has been criticized, and yes, the vocals are a bit buried in the music, but believe me, you will not find yourself caring about that after you plug yourself into this. Pu ton the headphones and enjoy. Highly recommended.

This was the first black metal album i picked up, so i did not know what to expect. When i popped the cd into my cd player, i wasnt impresses. And so the cd sat on my shelf until i decided to give it a second listen. Upon my second listening i liked the cd alot more. Tracks like 'The loss and curse of Reverance' and 'With Strength i Burn' a very very good. The rest of the album is mediocre. All in all, its a nice work of orchestrated black metal.

YES YES YES! this album makes me want to sleep! and also makes me miss the emperor that recorded romantic savagery like wrath of the tyrant, hordanes land and nightside eclipse. i'll stick to those 3 albums thank you.

Emperor is like the lasagna of metal. There are so many layers to the music that simply talking about the riffs would be like scraping the cheese off the top. This is a brilliantly complex record and probably their best. It has been hailed as a classic in many circles and I find it hard to disagree with that assertion.

There is just so much going on with this record. Granted, the production is not great, but it's perfect for what they've done. When I first listened to this, I didn't know what to think. It's just so damn complex that it takes your mind a long time to wrap around everything that you are hearing. When I said that they were the lasagna of metal I wasn't joking. The riffs do take the forefront most of the time(and this is great stuff from Ihsahn, too), but you peel those back and you'll see the complex keyboard work with all the symphonic effects and operatic "aaah" vocals that give the record it's atmosphere. And that's just scratching the surface. Trym's drumming is impeccable. I'm surprised his legs don't fall off because he is constantly going full speed. He's definitely the foundation upon which the house was built. Ihsahn's vocals are perfect pitched black metal shrieks which blend themselves right into the music backing him and his operatic vocals are the stuff that evil dreams are made of. There's just so much here and after all the time I've spent with it, I still don't grasp the complexity.

As with most metal albums, it's all about the songs. The album is great right from the get go. "Alsavtr" is simply setting a mood starting off very melancholy, but becoming more evil as Ihsahn adds harsh whispers and then it transforms and begins a majestic march right into "Ye Entrancemperium" which is my favorite song that Emperor has ever done. It is something that just transcends metal completely. It is brutal, evil, beautiful, and uplifting all at the same time which is something I never thought I would say about any band, especially a black metal group. It is quite possibly the greatest song I've ever heard. You would think that the rest of the record might slack a little after that, but then you go right into "Thus Spake the Night Spirit" which is also a classic. I'd have to say my favorite moment on the record comes towards the end of "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" as this sick staccato riff kicks in with Trym's blast-beat preciseness keeping up effortlessly. It is just so damn cool.

This is a must if you're into any kind of black metal, symphonic or otherwise. If you're somewhat new to the genre and are only familiar with the current poster boys Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth, then I HIGHLY recommend that you check this out. One of the greatest black metal recordings of all time without a doubt.