Emperor

[Eoin McLove]

It seems there is no dedicated thread to Emperor so let's get one going. One of the first BM albums I picked up in the 90s was a promo copy of In the Nightside Eclipse for a pound in Freakout, if anyone remembers that little place. In retrospect it was one of the more fucked up and dark albums in my collection at the time and it still stands up alongside any of the other classics of Norwegian BM. It sounded unique with its combination of ultra violent yet catchy riffing, sweeping keyboards,  shrill vocals and occasional explosions of ultra noisy samples. The production is nasty as Hell but the drums sound monstrous in that Grieghallen kind of way. Add some iconic artwork and brilliantly pretentious waffly lyrics for good measure. Total winner!

Today I ordered the half speed master vinyl, which will be my third purchase of this savage album having picked up the CD remaster some years ago as well.

Can anyone explain what half speed master actually means or does for the sound? I simply want it on vinyl but really have no clue if that provides an actual sonic improvement or is a cool new gimmick?

[John Kimble]

First experience of Emperor was hearing In the Nightside Eclipse on the Metal Show back in the day, I think it occupied top spot on the Soundcellar Top 10 for a number of weeks. It wasn't the kind of metal I was listening to at the time, so I didn't really appreciate it, but I remember being struck at how evil and other worldly it sounded. Obviously those were more innocent times but it's rare I can look back on any form of music and think, yeah, that freaked me out a bit. It's by far my favourite Emperor album now, but I can appreciate all their stuff, even the more technical later material which lost a bit of the atmosphere.

[Eoin McLove]

Oh absolutely. That innocence is gone. First of all it was the innocence of youth, so when we were hearing this absurdly dark and creepy music being made by who we assumed were adults, it threw us off kilter. It seemed genuinely dangerous.

I wonder nowadays with the internet is it possible for youngsters to experience that? There is literally zero mystery left. It's a shame.

[Eoin McLove]

Even trying to make sense of the band photos was near impossible back then. The whole thing was murky and, as you said, otherworldly.

[Nazgûl]

Half speed mastering:

"That difference is that the master lacquer is made with the signal source and cutting lathe both running at — wait for it — half-speed. So 16.65 rpm instead of 33.3 and, as an example, 15 IPS instead of 30 IPS when using tape.

The claimed advantage of this process is that, by cutting at half-speed, the cutter head can engrave the lacquer with greater accuracy since it's moving more slowly.

Ideally, greater accuracy translates to greater fidelity."

This is I guess a simplified description, but if you're interested there's loads of the technical ins and outs online. Apparently it works well when cutting high frequencies in general, as it can process them much easier when reading at half speed.

[Eoin McLove]

Ok,  so it's how the thing is made rather than how it's played. I was thinking initially that it might be a 2 LP edition with the songs spread over more vinyl space but it's a single LP which confused me.  Cheers.

[Nazgûl]

I suppose if it's a 45RPM album then it will sound more high fidelity than a 33. I definitely notice a big difference in the few 45 albums I have. But yeah I'd say you're safe in assuming it's gonna sound daycent, either way.

[Nazgûl]

...in fact I may have just answered my own question, usually a 45 will come as a double LP to fit the music. So I'd say this just their way of improving a 33 without the need for double vinyl.

[Eoin McLove]

Yup, sounds likely.

[Don Gately]

What the fuck are ye on aboot?

Love Anthems for the Welkin at Dusk. Great band.

[open face surgery]

IX Equilibrium was the first Emperor I bought at about 14 and while I liked it, it wasn't what I was looking for which incidentally turned out to be Nightside. I got the loan of that off a mate when I was 16 and remember exactly where I was on the street when Into the Infinity.. kicked on the discman. Bliss, and everything I wanted and hoped for from black metal based on the albums I had heard prior to that. I like all the albums to differing degrees but most notably went back to Prometheus in the last 6 months, which is a masterpiece.

[John Kimble]

I wonder nowadays with the internet is it possible for youngsters to experience that? There is literally zero mystery left. It's a shame.

Sadly, I doubt it. I can remember hearing that album every week, and then I think Metal Hammer or Raw maybe carrying an interview of Ihsahn with one or two silhouetted photos of him. The whole thing was just shrouded in mystery. It just can't be done now. I'm not a luddite or anything, and I appreciate time moves on, but everything now is instantly accessible.

[Eoin McLove]

What the fuck are ye on aboot?

Love Anthems for the Welkin at Dusk. Great band.

What the fuck are you on about what the fuck are we on about?

[Eoin McLove]

IX Equilibrium was the first Emperor I bought at about 14 and while I liked it, it wasn't what I was looking for which incidentally turned out to be Nightside. I got the loan of that off a mate when I was 16 and remember exactly where I was on the street when Into the Infinity.. kicked on the discman. Bliss, and everything I wanted and hoped for from black metal based on the albums I had heard prior to that. I like all the albums to differing degrees but most notably went back to Prometheus in the last 6 months, which is a masterpiece.

I liked a couple of songs of IX, but the whole album was a slog. Not into Anthems at all. The clinical production kills it for me but maybe I'll pick it up at some point and see if I can crack it. I don't think I've heard a note off Prometheus.

[hellfire]

I've loved this band for so long now. I remember picking up in the nightside and being in awe of it. It's not a stretch to say that without Emperor or early Cradle of Filth I may not have ever taken an interest in black metal.