Enslaved

Like many bands of Norway's second wave of black metal, ENSLAVED formed from the ashes of a defunct death metal band. The death metal band in question--Phobia--managed to put out a demo before breaking up.

By the time of the demise of Phobia, band members Grutle Kjellson, Ivar Bjornson, and newly recruited drummer K. Johnny (later to go by Trym Torson) set about creating material for this new project, Enslaved. While the sound was definitely firmly in the Norwegian black metal style, the lyrical content moved away from the Satanic and toward Norway's pre-Christian past. Their early demos--1991's Nema and 1992's Yggdrasil (a classic!)--showcase this sound.

"Allfadr Odin" is one of Enslaved's classic demo tracks

Citing Bathory's mature viking metal albums (Twilight of the Gods and Hammerheart) as inspiration, Enslaved viewed their Norse pagan heritage more philosophically than most. For them, it wasn't ideological fodder or reactionary drivel, but a real, meaningful set of beliefs. This philosophical orientation permeated their song lyrics. At the same time, Enslaved's songwriting began to transcend the simpler aspects of the Norwegian black metal template. Beginning with the amazing 1993 EP Hordanes Land (which was also released as a split with Emperor), songs with multiple motifs and long, epic passages started to become the norm for this viking metal band.

One of Enslaved's more well-known songs, this is "Heimdallr"--off of Vikingligr Veldi

Following this EP, Euronymous--who had been a supporter of the band since the beginning--released Enslaved's full-length debut (Vikingligr Veldi) on his Deathlike Silence Productions. This album was a more mature effort at their epic viking metal. Thematically--and to a lesser degree, structurally--this album was quite different than what other Norwegians were doing, but it still fit in the camp of Norwegian black metal in terms of sound. The guitar riffing style, lo-fi production, screeched vocals, and focused use of atmospheric snyths were still a key component of Enslaved's sound.

Since Deathlike Silence went under with Euronymous's death, Enslaved had to search out a new label. Within a few months, not only had they landed a deal with French label Osmose Productions, but they had also released their second full-length album, Frost. This album did continue the viking-themed lyrics, but in terms of sound, Frost was a much more aggressive album. The synths were almost entirely absent, and the song structure resembled that of other Norwegian bands.

"Loke" is an amazing track off of 1994's Frost

Frost was a cold, harsh, unforgiving album. Like much of Enslaved's work from this era, it is an absolute classic of Norwegian black metal. They followed it up with 1997's Eld (Trym Torson had left to join Emperor, so they recruited new drummer Harald Helgeson). Also released on Osmose, Eld was yet another change in style. The production, song structure, and even musical approach stayed true to Enslaved's viking metal ethos, but it was pretty distinct from both Frost and Vikingligr Veldi. 

"Glemt" is my favorite song off Eld

1999's Blodhemn gives us songs like "I Lenker til Ragnarok" 

With these classic releases under their belt, Enslaved was now the master of the viking metal subgenre. With one more solid black metal album in the viking vein to come (1999's Blodhemn), Enslaved had more or less exhausted the possibilities of that particular style. There was nowhere left for them to go but to change the face of black metal completely.

With 2000's Mardraum: Beyond the Within, they did just that. While this album rested on a clear black metal foundation, it bore the influence of more progressive fare at the same time. Epic, long songs filled with time and motif changes, non-standard riffing, and vocal variation dominated this masterpiece. 2001's Monumension took it even further, with song structures that were not only progressive in nature, but borrowed from other genres.

Listen to the new direction evident on Monumension's "The Voices"

Since those early 2000s albums, Enslaved has continued to push the boundaries of their music. Their work still retains elements of the Norwegian black metal from whence they came, but they test the limits further and further with each release.

Select Discography:

Nema (demo) (1991)

Yggdrasil (demo) (1992)

Hordanes Land EP (1993)

Vikingligr Veldi (full-length album) (1994)

Frost (full-length album) (1994)

Eld (full-length album) (1997)

Blodhemn (full-length album) (1999)

Mardraum: Beyond the Within (full-length album) (2000)

Monumension (full-length album) (2001)

Next time: BEHEMOTH

Emperor

By 1991-1992, the Norwegian black metal boom of the second wave was in full swing. While some bands date to the 1980s (Mayhem, Darkthrone, Thorns) and others formemop in 1990 or 1991 and were becoming more widely known (Immortal, Burzum, Arcturus), some bands didn't form until 1991 or 1992, and therefore were--relatively speaking--'latecomers' to the scene. The almighty EMPEROR could (loosely) be characterized as such a band.

As stated in my entry on the pre-boom Norwegian scene, the core of Emperor centered around members of the recently-disbanded Thou Shalt Suffer. Thou Shalt Suffer was, as mentioned earlier, more on the death metal side of extreme metal than black metal, but they still centered around occultic, evil themes, and had a blackened aura. Samoth and Ihsahn had started crafting black metal compositions in their last few months in Thou Shalt Suffer, and had soon recruited Mortiis on bass.

An early band photo, from 1992

This trio set about writing material that soon would become their 1992 demo Wrath of the Tyrant. Featuring a raw sound very dissimilar to what they would later become known for, this is one of the essential demos of second wave Norwegian black metal. Yet at the same time, it was not a clone of what bands like Mayhem or Burzum or Darkthrone were doing.

"Moon Over Kara-Shehr"is from that 1992 demo

This demo really caught the attention of metalheads worldwide. They were courted by many labels, but ended up signing with the fledgling label Candlelight Records. Having recently recruited Bard "Faust" Eithun on drums, they put out another epic release, their 1993 self-titled EP. This EP was also released as a split album with Enslaved's Hordane's Land EP the same year. This proved to be hugely influential in the black metal scene. Emperor's sound really stood out from the black metal masses on this release: their use of focused keyboards to enhance the music gave the EP an almost mystical feel.

Their self-titled EP gave us "Night of the Graveless Souls"

With this EP, Emperor was now considered one of Norway's black metal elite. They were being mentioned in the same breath as Burzum, Mayhem, and Immortal. Their newfound success that resulted from the self-titled EP led to more opportunities. After replacing Mortiis on bass with Tchort, Emperor was given the opportunity to tour the UK with up-and-comers Cradle of Filth (who were themselves on the cusp of releasing their first full-length album). This helped spread the Emperor name far and wide.

The opening track of Emperor's now-legendary In the Nightside Eclipse

Following this tour, Emperor entered the studio to record their first actual full-length album. The result--1994's In the Nightside Eclipse--is one of the ultimate masterpieces of all black metal. One of the earliest efforts of symphonic black metal, Emperor's use of synths on this album truly enhanced the music, carrying the dark, mystical atmosphere of their earlier work to new heights. Simply listen to "Into the Infinity of Thoughts" (above) to hear how epic the synths complement the metal. This album was truly a game-changer. To my ears, every symphonic black metal release since Eclipse owes at least a partial debt to Emperor.

However, all was not well in the world of Emperor. As the activities of Norway's black metal Inner Circle drew attention to the scene--and not in a good way--the deeds of the musicians caught up to them. Samoth, for example, was implicated in several church burnings and imprisoned for a few years. As the main composer for the band, this put Emperor in a tough spot. At the same time, Tchort was imprisoned for assault and Faust went to jail for a very highly-publicized murder he committed in 1992. This left Ihsahn as the sole member of the band not in prison.

Here is the music video for Emperor's "The Loss and Curse of Reverence"

Samoth was released from prison a few years later, and Emperor resumed their musical activities with newly-recruited drummer Trym Torson (formerly of Enslaved). They quickly reminded the world of their epic style with releases such as the Reverence EP in March of 1997 and their second full-length album Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk in May of 1997. These albums highlighted a new sound for the band. Taking the symphonic darkness of Eclipse in a more progressive direction, Anthems is one of the most well-received albums in black metal history.

The late 1990s saw Emperor basically becoming the face of Norwegian black metal. They also worked on expanding the boundaries of the genre. In 1999, for example, they released a collaboration with Snorre Ruch's Thorns (Thorns vs. Emperor) that featured an excellent cover of Thorns's classic track "Aerie Descent".

This is Emperor's cover of "Aerie Descent"

1999 also saw the release of Emperor's third full-length, IX Equilibrium. This album can be seen as a continuation of the slightly more progressive stylings of Anthems. Emperor had also begun to incorporate clean singing and at times, the influence of death metal could be heard. Their next--and final--studio album (2001's Prometheus: Discipline of Fire and Demise) featured more of the same.

My favorite track from IX Equilibrium, "Decrystallizing Reason"

In the wake of the release of Prometheus, Emperor disbanded. The members of the band simply had different musical visions and wanted to pursue new projects. Ihsahn has since gone on to a self-titled solo project, as well as being a member of bands Peccatum and Hardingrock. Samoth focused his energy primarily on black/death metal band Zyklon, along with Trym.

Emperor has re-formed a couple of times since their initial disbanding, and has played several well-received tours and live shows. In my opinion, Emperor will go down in history as one of the greatest black metal bands ever. Period.

Select Discography: 

Wrath of the Tyrant (demo) (1992)

Emperor EP (1993)

In the Nightside Eclipse (full-length album) (1994)

As the Shadows Rise EP (1994)

Reverence EP (1997)

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (full-length album) (1997)

IX Equilibrium (full-length) (1999)

Thorns vs. Emperor (split album with Thorns) (1999)

Emperial Live Ceremony (live album) (2000)

Prometheus: Discipline of Fire and Demise (full-length album) (2001)

Next time: DEIPHAGO