Review Summary: A great look into Emperor's menacing live performance.
Emperor " Emperial Live Ceremony
Emperor have been one of the most influential and important bands in black metal history. This is a live album that was released in 2000 and is one of the finest live performances that I have come across in a live time. Every member is displaying great musicianship, and you will see the details about that later on in the review.
Let me start off and say that the production of this album is great unlike some of their past recordings that make you want to vomit because the quality sounds like it was made fifty years ago. This is professional quality so you can hear everything great.
The concert starts off with haunting keyboard effects for a little bit over a minute until you can hear the crowd scream, and then "Curse you all men!" is screamed, and they mayhem commences. The concert starts off with one of my favorite Emperor songs. The drums are insanely fast during this track; sometimes I find it hard to believe that it"s not a machine. Every band member in this song is showing off great skill, especially the drums and guitar (great solo in this song). This song is a great opener and shows that the show is going to be promising. The next song that you will hear is Thus Spake the Nightspirit, and it does not disappoint. I was once again blown away by the drums, and the keyboards play a prominent role in this song as well. The vocals sound like they always do, but they just make you want to bang your head. You"ll also hear some good clean vocals near the end of this song.
Now, we have reached what could be Emperor"s most famous song, I Am the Black Wizards. This, along with Curse You All Men, is the best songs on this performance. The guitar work is phenomenal, as well as the blast beats. The song is just so enjoyable that you will find yourself listening to it time and time again. You might find yourself laughing at the side talk in between tracks because of the funny accent, but I think it just adds to the European feel of the show. For those of you who like the clean vocals An Elegy of Icaros, the next song, gives you just that. The vocals are the best part of this song, but the music is still top notch. After this we come upon the next and longest song, With Strength I Burn. This song is a real head banger, and is much heavier than the last song. Three minutes into this song there is a quiet part with evil chanting that just makes you want to throw up the devil horns. There is also an impressive guitar solo near the end of this song.
The sixth track is called Sworn, and I think it"s the weak point of the album. At this point you"ve heard everything that this song has to offer. The fast drums, shrieking vocals and brutal guitar riffs. It"s not a bad song, but it"s nothing you haven"t heard already. After this we go back to an older Emperor song called Night of the Graveless Souls. It opens with a great drum intro, and then the song takes off from there. The riffs in this song are great, and the vocal work is awesome as well. And finally, we have reached the final song of the album, Inno A Satana. The show definetly ends with a bang, showing off every band member to the fullest. It"s a great way to end the show. But wait! There"s an encore! The band then comes back and plays a final song off of their album Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, Ye Entrancemperium. This song contains the best drumming of the night with what are some of the fastest blast beats ever recorded. The crowd then starts chanting "Emperor! Emperor!" over and over until the album fades out. Wow, what a crazy and awesome show.
Pros:
--Great drums and guitar work
--Almost all of the songs are great
--Good production quality
Cons
--The show could have been longer!
--Only one weak song, Sworn
This is one of the best live performances that I have come across in a long while. If you are a fan of metal, or are a drummer, this album is a must have. Trust me, it"s worth your while.
Final rating " 4.5/5
