Emperor
The following is an interview w/ Samoth of Emperor, published in PIT magazine, #21.
Atop a cold, snow-covered mountain stands the mighty Emperor. Triumphant in his glory, knee deep in the death of his enemy, blood stains his hands and upper forearms but the shaft of his sword gleams unstained in the shimmering moonlight.
Nordic gods emperor dominate much in the same way. Their debut, In The Nightside Eclypse, was the book of law for many imitators looking to cash in on the cryptic scene. Now Emperor have outmatched even themselves, and have given us Anthems to the Wilken at Dusk, an opus of utilized darkness, bestial witchery, gothic lust! Read on, fuckers, or taste the blade!
Pit: Explain "Alsvartr (the oath)". What type of chant is this?
Samoth: It's a very dark, mood- setting song. It developes into a majestic and epic mood before we blast off with "Ye Entancemperium". It's a hym to the spirit of the night where an oath is being sworn.
Pit: The songs seem to be faster than ever, such as "Ye Entrancemperium". Was speeding up a natural progression, or is this from the addition of Trym?
Samoth: We never sat down and said "Yeah, let's play faster." So yes, it was a natural progression. Trym is a very fast drummer, so of course his addition made an impact on the speed of the songs, as well.
Pit: Some say Immortal are the black gods of speed. Your speed is just as prominent, and also chaotic.
Samoth: I think Immortal made speed their main priorety for a while. Their songs were more or less blasting off in total speed all the time, but still you'll find lots of wierd and even melodic stuff goin on with the guitars. Emperor has more varied tempo changes, but when we totally blast off like on "Ye Entrancemperium", it might sound a bit more chaotic. The riffing on that is very direct and intense, not melodic, and that's maybe why it sounds more chaotic.
Pit: Ihsahn has incorporated clean vocals into some of the songs- why is this? What influence does gothic music hold on you? Your vocals seem to bounce from a gothic tone, to a Nordic opera.
Samoth: This is not the first time we've used clean vocals; we used clean vocals on the song "Inno a Satana" from our previous album, as well. Our new material is also a bit more varied than before, but yet more raw and intense. We wanted to use a bit more epic and opera- like vocals to strengthen the mood in some of the songs, as well as making them even more interesting. We're not very influenced by gothic music. Nordic opera, yeah, fine by me.
Pit: Who painted the cover of the CD, and what does it represent?
Samoth: The basis of the picutre is painted by Gustave Dore. He's a french painter, illustrator and sculptor, who lived in the 18th century. His drawings and illustrations are originally in black and white, like our MLP/ Split CD cover, which is an original from Dore. We also used DORE art on our seven- inch EP, As the Shadows Rise. The front cover of the new album is not exlusivelt done by Dore, it is also the work of Stephen O'Malley (editor of American Decent Magazine). It's all been done through a computer. There's several pictures that have been altered together. Some of them are even real photographs. Also, the backside of the CD booklet and the actual CD print are illustrations of Dore. Dore has illustrated great works such as Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno and lots of biblical stuff. The Anthems...cover is another visual presentation of our majestic spirit empire.
Pit: Who are the "Welkin"?
Samoth: "The Welkin" is the monumental heavens above. Haven't you checked your dictionary?
Pit: Who programmed the keyboards for the CD? They seem to be more dominant this time, almost as if they continue throughout whole songs.
Samoth: All the keyboards have been done by Ihsahn. Some of the sounds were worked out by both of us. Actually, I don't agree with you, I think the keyboards were much more dominant on our previous album. This production is a lot more guitar- based.The keyboard is a lot more varied this time. On teh previous album, you'll find a lot more choirs and strings, this time we have used different stuff like trumpets, horns, and some ambient sounds.
Pit: How did you choose Charmand Grimloch as your keyboard player. He is very talented and plays like no other. His playing is very Transylvanian, if you will.
Samoth: It's always been hard to find decent keyboardists who actually have a keyboard as their instrument. I met Charmand quite a while ago, and he gave me a tape of some stuff he was doing. I listened and heard the potential. Without really knowing him, we asked him if he was interested to join us as a live keyboardist. He was interested, and after a while we started to rehearse. The guy is very talented and interesting on a personal level, as well. He's been with us on all the shows we did this year so far. He will also play with us on our upcoming European tour. He's not really a member of Emperor, however, he did the keys for a Mercyful Fate cover we just did for another tribute album. Check out Charmand's TARTAROS; the MCD The Grand Psyphotic Castle is Excellent!
Pit: Do you still socialize with the evil troll Mortiis?
Samoth: You know, Mortiis has been living in Sweden for some years, and seems to be doing very well there. However, when he's home to see his parents (which is not often) then we usually meet up and have a laught at things.