Emperor
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

THE REVIEW

I want to embark on a journey, to go far away to an unknown and dreamlike place, so I take the album in question by the Emperor (brilliant Norwegian symphonic black metal band), I open my CD player and insert the precious digital medium, then I lie down on the bed, close my eyes and let the tour begin.

Immediately the world around me closes in a vortex and in its place appears a dark, gloomy place, but at the same time fascinating and strangely welcoming and, while a soft and melancholic background makes the splendid notes of "Alsvartr (The Oath)" reach my ears, an old man appears before me who I am sure will be my guide on the pilgrimage that awaits me. Without saying a word, he invites me to move and as we descend a hill, the music around me changes, there is no longer that calm and medieval melody that had kept me company at the beginning, in fact now I am struck by the blind (but never chaotic) fury of "Ye Entrancemperium", a fast, evil but tremendously epic ride with its clean vocal break.

Having completed the descent, my companion and I find ourselves immersed in a path completely studded with very tall trees whose impenetrable tops seem to form a shield towards the sky and, while I admire such beauty and savor the smell of damp earth, my ears, still struck by the previous song, find themselves having to listen to that example of dark poetry that is "Thus Spake the Nightspirit", during which the old man accompanying me points to the end of the path, where torch lights illuminate four individuals sitting in a circle, holding hands inviting the spirit of the night to embrace their souls. Instinctively, I prepare to join those men, but my guide takes me by the arm and, leading me behind a tree, for the first time he speaks and tells me about an ancient and perpetual battle that shortly will see those shady figures involved, which I can only witness in silence.

After his words, the sound of hooves announces the arrival of other men on horseback, and those who were previously sitting rise, take up their weapons and, to the notes of "Ensorcelled by Chaos", the clash begins. The battle is fierce and marked by the devastating black bursts of songs like "Loss And Curse Of Reverence" and "The Acclamation Of Bonds", but at a certain moment, while "With Strength I Burn" fills my head with its enveloping and epic majesty (the clean break is exceptional again), the four dark knights, as if impregnated by the spirit they had previously invoked, prevail over their opponents, rest their weapons, and as if nothing happened they move away from the place of the conflict.

The old man comes out of our hiding place and invites me to return to the place where I started, but I keep watching the warriors who appear smaller and smaller to my eyes, and he, with a sarcastic smile, tells me: "They are the four emperors and this is their kingdom! Now go away, however, they have tolerated you enough!" So, to the notes of the final "The Wanderer", I head towards the hill previously descended and as I climb, I wake up from my stupor, open my eyes and put the CD back in its case, knowing that soon I will embark on that mysterious and beautiful journey again.