EMPEROR - EMPERIAL LIVE CEREMONY (2000) [DVD5] [NTSC]

DVDs 5
NTSC
4:3
DD 2.0

I never thought I'd be fascinated by such dark and heavy music that Emperor plays. First a very short intro, and then... It's hard to describe. Madness? Darkness? Lost in a storm of sounds? Cosmic visions? This Music throws a man out of the ordinary world, takes him to a completely different dimension. Where other stars shine in the sky, the wind sings in the night, the trees move their branches to the rhythm played by the darkness. Many will call it madness, noise, it will be eradicated at all costs. But it's hard not to succumb to such dark magic. So you keep listening, you go deeper and deeper, because every sound, every second counts. Old gods, lost worlds, deepest fears. Darkness.

Each of the musicians - Dark Guides to the Kingdom of the North - has great passion and strength. Ihsahn's voice is the fear of what is unknown, indescribable by man; this "black singing" becomes at times very pure, almost choral (whatever that means - editor's note). Samoth's guitar and Grimloch's Charmand keys create cosmically perfect, frenzied melodies. Each composition has something unique about it (wonderful riff, amazing solo). These masters are hard to match. In addition, the listener is impressed by the almost magical atmosphere of the concert (at the end of the album, you can only hear hundreds of people shouting: "Emperor... Emperor..." - it sounds great).

I recommend this album to all fans of Darkness. There is something amazing about this music - great space, wind from the North, pagan madness... Lately, we've been ruled by extremely simple (even crude) and easily digestible pop, so it's nice to step into the Empire lost in the night for a moment. And feel the power of a great storm.

Tracklist:
Recorded live at LA2 London, UK 14th of May 1999

Imperial Live Ceremony
1. Curse You All Men! 4:27
2. Thus Spake The Nightspirit 4:21
3. I Am The Black Wizards 5:26
4. An Elegy Of Icaros 6:10
5. With Strength I Burn 7:39
6. Sworn 4:30
7. Night Of The Graveless Souls 3:13
8. Inno And Satan 4:33
9. Ye Entrancemperium 5:19
Videos:
10. Empty 4:25
11. The Loss And Curse Of Reverence 6:12

Personnel:
Ihsahn - vocals, guitar
Samoth - guitar
Trym Torson - drums
Tire - bass guitar
Charmand Grimloch - keyboards