In 1993, black metal (or the second wave to be specific) made headlines for all the wrong reasons, sending shockwaves around the world with incidents including murder and church burnings. Yet the actual music was released that year, away from all the sensationalist headlines, was the sign of a change in extreme music, and this was basically as extreme as it got. With albums like DARKTHRONE‘s Under A Funeral Moon, IMMORTAL‘s Pure Holocaust, and BEHERIT‘s Drawing Down The Moon making a splash with their epic darkness, this nascent second wave was already gathering pace at a rapid level.
The stakes were raised higher still for black metal in 1994 with a slew of exemplary albums released. This included ENSLAVED‘s Frost, SAMAEL‘s Ceremony Of Opposites, and ROTTING CHRIST‘s Non Serviam. With quality like this on offer, the music was the main focus instead of the controversy.
In February 1994, there was quality in the shape of DARKTHRONE‘s Transilvanian Hunger, CRADLE OF FILTH‘s debut Dusk And Her Embrace, and ENSLAVED‘s debut Vikingligr Veldi. Released within the same week of all of these was EMPEROR‘s debut In The Nightside Eclipse. Though the album would stand alone with their black metal onslaught exemplified with flourishings of keyboards. This would be one of the first examples of symphonic black metal and the band was able to create a sublimely haunting atmosphere. The mature and grandiose feeling still sounds timeless after all these years.
The band weren’t immediately hyped up as masters of black metal though as may have happened in subsequent years. In fact, the mainstream metal media regarded EMPEROR and entire second wave of black metal as an object of humour. This humour turned increasingly sinister as news broke of the seeingly weekly crime reports come in; even involving some memebers of EMPEROR. However, it’s all about the music and In The Nightside Eclipse still not only stands up but stands tall as a masterpiece all these years. The album is not only a perfect example of the grandeur of black metal and how powerful it can be, but of metal in general.
Ihsahn (vocal/guitar/keys), rhythm guitarist Samoth (guitar), Faust (drums,) and bassist Tchort (who replaced previous member Mortiis) entered the studio with producer Pyrenees (who also worked with MAYHEM, ENSLAVED and IMMORTAL) to create the album. The results were groundbreaking in bringing an element of vast splendour to the rawness of black metal, something which would ultimately influence many bands in the future. Some even outside of the black metal realm which is impressive.
The album as a whole is a breathtaking piece of work from start to finish. Listening to it from start to finish is similar to a cinematic experience when combined with the artwork of In The Nightside Eclipse adding its own layer of ambience. From the atmospheric intro segueing into the immediate dark grandeur of Into The Infinity Of Thoughts all the way through to the closing Inno A Satana, this is EMPEROR at full throttle. In terms of making a statement, they did this without a shadow of a doubt. Tracks like Cosmic Keys To My Creations & Times, Beyond The Great Vast Forest and The Majesty Of The Nightsky were all vast soundscapes while the evergreen I Am The Black Wizards, EMPEROR had something akin to a metal anthem.
Ultimately, In The Nightside Eclipse still stands up. While the three follow up albums made when EMPEROR whilst active were grander in terms of their outlook, their 1994 debut was the spark which make them such a special band.
In The Nightside Eclipse was originally released on February 21 1994 via Candlelight Records.
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