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Rating: Two years after the acclaimed "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk," Emperor returns with another full-length, releasing a work that pushes even further the stylistic innovations of its predecessor, continuing a coherent and increasingly mature discourse: cleansed from the image of hoodlums, desecrators of sacred places, and Satanists, the Norwegians have progressively changed their music as well, making it, if possible, more extreme, hard, and concise.
IX Equilibrium is a truly difficult album: Emperor is the only Black Metal band that has gained an ever-growing audience by constantly intensifying their sound. They are certainly among the founders of this new way of conceiving this music, so tied to a modern sound, made of electronics, thrash, and death that ties into the well-established Norwegian Black.
The second track, "Decrystallized Reason" effectively represents the spirit of the album; the rhythm is always very fast and accompanies Death Metal riffs, which, in their violence, always maintain a distance from cacophony. There is absolutely nothing minimalistic about these Emperors, from the sophistication of the keyboard inserts to the lyrics, always long and fascinating. Electronics play a key role, combining with the rhythm section to create a captivating and tense atmosphere: the sound of IX Equilibrium is the child of a grand and majestic, mad and regal imagination; the compositions are all played on epic and delirious tones, dictated by Ishan's screaming, Samoth's solo hysteria, and Trym's exhaustive rhythms.
Perhaps it is this very frenzy that makes this album hard to digest: the compositions are rich and articulated, the music is often captivating, the technical skills are at their best... but there is never a moment to recover from all these emotions. The heavier soul of the Emperors, represented by Samoth, has taken precedence over that of Ishan's melodic nature: the tracks signed by the latter indeed showcase greater variety, alternating choral and solemn moments (as in "An Elegy Of Icaros") with more thoughtful and reflective passages. But these are rare moments because it immediately returns to the most exasperating fury.
There are certainly cases where this style yields fruits of unexpected beauty, as in "Curse You All Men", but often there's a certain air of routine. Emperor shares both strengths and weaknesses with the latest Mayhem, those of Chimera to be clear: technique, style, and class are often the only positive aspects of these works, which alternate sublime tracks with moments where inspiration is dangerously lacking. Whatever happens, Emperor has certainly done much better, at least in terms of image, compared to the meteors that have passed through their sky: vulgar hooligans, guys dressed as witches, even one of the stupidest murderers, who became a celebrity in the field more for his fascist and intolerant statements ("Homosexuals are cute to stab" - nonsensical if not for the fact he really did it) than for talent. Having freed themselves from such abhorrent humanity, the remaining three continued with consistency along a difficult path, without repeating past masterpieces, but undoubtedly marking their course.
Praise to them.
Rating: 7+
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Decrystallizing Reason (06:25)
Reason
This demigod
Unto which you cluster
Sacrilege
You sacrifice this purity
Of the air beneath your wings
A slow and painful ritual
To burn the youth you lost
Demigod
Blasphemers walk among your flock
Despite your blindfold
Proudly you carry the stone on your back
Disillusioned
You plant your feet safely to the ground
Demigod
Blasphemers walk among your flock
As the stone
You have become
Not once did you cry
For the lost ones of your world
Your care is limited
To this demigod
Unto which you cluster
Reason
Decrystallize me
Demigod
I do blaspheme
The fallen you condemn
Your heart even free of hate
Yet, scared to death by their disbelief
To ordinary common sense
And with autumn closing in
Forcing life away
No mercy will impale your sin
03 An Elegy of Icaros (06:41)
[Music: Ihsahn]
[Lyrics: Ihsahn]
Icaros, I dare you
For I possess the wings of faith
Though, heavy on my shoulders
(No measurement can prove their weight)
Still, a burden are they not to me
I am the challenger of gravity
The fear is not the fate I seek
My destiny will build upon
The mighty turbulence beyond
If I fall I will rise again
Some of envy
Some of fear
Asmonish by the graves of those who fell
Praise the fool that pure of heart
Leaps off your finger
Into grace
Icaros, your voice once melted
Into the choir of the fallen ones
I hav eheard, I have seen
The purity of their song
Icaros
Your fate embrace
A manifold of angels
I summon thee
From shattered graves
And call upon the wind
Recieve my bow of reverence
Then spread your wings
And fly into oblivion
04 The Source of Icon E (03:44)
The land was created
In the name of the chosen
And the waves thrown
For men to see
The one who made men
To be
Prevailed from the source
Of Icon E
The waves of fury
Prevailed from the source
Of Icon E
Were mine to be
Ordered to destroy and bury
No remorse!
The destiny of the wave
Was not to be found
Nor was I travelling
The deadly sea alone
The sun never rose
And my rose
Was not to be
For what purpose
I gave my return
Is still standing alone
And as the raven dropped
A feather on me
I was again to be
The chosen one...
05 Sworn (04:31)
[Music: Ihsahn, Samoth]
[Lyrics: Ihsahn]
Four eyes as two in one
The forward circular view
That never ends
An orbital voyage
Throughout the endless sphere of all
Where time is lost and everything transcends
A graceful presence
At stolen time
As ghosts to the world
Ghosts to the world
For ice, outside, are we apart
As cold and eerie mist to the hand
Ever floating on its course
Towards the heights of shadowland
Thus appear the truly sworn
To be seen
To be feared
Yet, not to be reached
Four eyes as two in one
Thus appear the truly sworn
As ghosts to the world
Thus appear the truly sworn
For ice outside, are we apart
Thus appear the truly sworn
Cold and eerie mist. Burning
Thus appear the truly sworn
A graceful presence
At stolen time
Thus appear the truly sworn
06 Nonus Aequilibrium (05:50)
Hark
For I speak of purity
I am unconquerable
In my worship
I am invincible
On my crusade
However hard the strikes may be
However deep the wounds
This blood immortal
Bleeds for Thee
Blessed was I with the consecration
To indomitable dedication
In every breath I hear
The silent whisper of your name
In every harmony
In every thought
You make my water into wine
Remember
I am ever Thine
Blessed was I with the consecration
To indomitable dedication
Two bound as one
In a trinity
Where I comprise
Infinite forms of unity
In unity reborn
To a state
Where all past burdens
No longer shall be worn
I pledge to perfection
No compromise can touch my woe
Nor questions reach my faith
In immortality
In the name of
Nonus Aequilibrium
I am thine
IX times IX...
07 The Warriors of Modern Death (05:01)
All raised
To be men
Given image and path
Idolised warriors
Bright steel
Burning rage
Never too late to try
Stand tall
Never plead
Live and let die
I see the spirit
Of these ancestors
And reconsider the faith
A primitive sword
Can not win my war
Cold fury
Flaring eyes
Calculated verbal gun
My pride
Justified
Stiritual steel shines bright
Beyond the sun
The pride of the warrior
Is far from dead
The colours of death
Are still black and red
Though modernised
Blood will be shed
08 Of Blindness & Subsequent Seers (06:49)
Ever behind me
Rise a shadow
Taller than I
Yet, with a certain resemblance
How many times
Do I have to contemplate my own reflection
And say; I have been blind?
I have been blind
Yet, I saw the search and dreams
Of my rejection
Walking behind me
Every time
I am bound to have been granted
The gift of better sight
But my anxiety
Built one more brick
Fearing again
To choose the wrong step
Vaguely I remember
The blurred eyes
Of someone small
These strangers often come as blind
A troubled mind
I left behind
Yet, was it I
Or my shadow
Walking in the past?
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