Hey, Tubbs. Finished Anthems, and given your musical taste, it makes sense that you like it best. It's so polished. I'm not sure if it's my fave or not. It seems so different from Nightside. I shall have to listen more....
Anthems is their best album in my opinion, I think it lacks the sheer aggression of Nightside and Tyranst and the progressiveness of Equilibrium and Prometheus, but nontheless I feel it carves it's own almost perfect niche somewhere bewteen the two. So far as I'm aware it's a concept album, which is a major departure from anything they'd done before. The production quality is superior in spades to Emperor/Tyrants and even to Nightside, probably because Candlelight, realising they were probably the best band they had on the label, gave them more money. There's a lot more keyboards (something which some people say detracts from the overall album), plus better compositions and generally more of a chance to tell the epic stories of good, evil, darkness and harsh Scandanavian winters, Ihsahn is so good a telling.
What Anthems... had was shiny production job, more traditional (rock-based) arrangements and open, consonant intervals that give it an accessible, heavy metal aesthetic. The increased use of keyboards and formally 'technical' elements in instrumentation provide an attractive veneer of surface complexity, while hiding the fact that it is a far less complex work at a structural and creative level than the band's previous materiall.
In any event, to answer the original question, In the Nightside Eclipse is the essential Emperor release, although the very best material can be found on the split with Enslaved. Do not accept the annoyingly re-mastered Emperor EP from Century Greedia, it sounds like crap, seek out instead the original (or just download the OOP original here).
Even though it's true that I like quality production, I still like all of their albums. I'm not actually sure if I like Anthems best though, I might like IX Equilibrium just as much.
Pretty much, the original split for Candlelight has a fairly open, organic sound. The Century Greedia version is almost unlistenable. The same is true of Wrath of the Tyrant, which sounds far, far better in the original Wild Rags imprint.
In defence of Nightside, Ihsahn's scream at the beginning of Black Wizards may be the single most blood curdling, terrifing sound I've ever heard.
You mustv heard burzum tho. Varg actually sounds like hes dying, he sounds 'real' when he says each and every word. Ishahn, as much as i love his voice, its more of a novelty or somethign that just has to be there to fit the music. For me the music speaks more in emperor...oh yeah in my honest opinion.
I have listened to Burzum and I really just can't get into them. I don't know if it's just the music or the fact that I consider Varg to be a total shithead, but eitherway, it isn't for me.
no go into teh deep for3zt and trink blood and howlz at teh fullmoon like teh wolf 4 bes black metelz effect. thx!!11
