Emperor Emperial Live Ceremony CD

This is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

As black metal's fully enthroned reigning kings, Emperor are truly an interesting, intriguing act, combining the soaring, operatic, orchestral sensibilities of classical music with the pomposity, technical skill, and brutality of various types of heavy metal. What emerges from that Norwegian cocoon is something entirely new, or if not entirely new, then a fully realized version of something that had been attempted by other acts. This live disc, which also incorporates multimedia -- a video for "I Am the Black Wizards" and Emperor screensavers -- was recorded and engineered during European touring for Equilibrium IX. Whether or not the tracks have been overdubbed -- after all, black metal is not an easy medium to work in -- remains fairly dubious. The drums have certainly been triggered, but whether additional vocals or guitars were cut, who knows. One thing is certain, Emperor prove mightily adept at conveying the full range of human emotion in song; from soaring, anthemic leads, to deep, murky Mahler-esque moods; to capturing the frightening solitude of a cold Scandinavian winterscape. Emperial Live Ceremony is not one of the best live albums ever recorded -- or, for that matter, overdubbed and studio crafted, but it does indicate this outfit's superior abilities, songwriting abilities that eclipse most others working in the black metal idiom. ~ Patrick Kennedy

One of the best-known Scandinavian metal bands of the 1990s, Emperor was widely considered to be among death/black metal's top live bands, and the 2000 DVD Emperial Live Ceremony doesn't disappoint. Recorded during a tour stop in support of the IX Equilibrium release at London's packed and sweaty club LA2 (on May 14, 1999), the quintet rips through a total of ten tracks, including such dark compositions as the opening "Curse You All Men," "I Am the Black Wizards," "Night of the Graveless Souls," and "Inno a Satana," among others. With the group having retired from the concert stage by the early 21st century, Emperial Live Ceremony may be the closest thing to an Emperor concert that new admirers will be able to experience. ~ Greg Prato

Recorded at the Astoria Theater, London, England.

Emperor (Black Metal): Ihsahn (vocals, guitar); Samoth (guitar); Charmand Grimloch (keyboards, background vocals); Trym (drums).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "[T]his is the sound of one of the all-time great metal bands on blistering form."