Emperor

Watch: All-Star Black Metal Lineup Covers Mayhem’s ‘Freezing Moon’

January 4, 2022

Watch members of Emperor, Gorgoroth, Gaahl’s Wyrd and Cadaver pay tribute to True Norwegian Black Metal institution Mayhem.

Mortiis Talks New ‘Z.A.S.T. Zine Anthology,’ Early ’90s Extreme Metal Scene

November 16, 2021

Cult Never Dies publishes a Z.A.S.T. zine anthology. We chat with the former editor, one Havard “Mortiis” Ellefsen, all about it.

Five Heavy Albums that Changed My Life with Mic Dion of Altered Dead

February 11, 2021

To celebrate the release of Returned to Life, we caught up with Altered Dead‘s Mic Dion to find out what five heavy albums changed his life.

Watch a New Clip from Green Carnation’s Live DVD

August 13, 2018

Watch an excerpt from Green Carnation‘s upcoming live DVD, Last Day of Darkness.

Feel the Heat: The Top 10 Songs About Burning

August 3, 2018

It’s August. It’s really hot outside. So hot that it BURNS. Burning is pretty metal though, right? So here’s ten great songs about burning!

An Interview With Heavy Montreal Bookers Daniel Glick and JF Michaud

June 7, 2018

Emperor is playing this year’s Heavy Montreal. We talk to the dudes who booked them (and the other bands).

A History of When Black Metal was “Over,” Part II

March 5, 2018

Krieg’s Neill Jameson recounts another round of instances in which black metal was falsely pronounced dead.

A History of the Times Black Metal was “Over,” Part I

February 26, 2018

Krieg’s Neill Jameson recounts various times throughout history when black metal was falsely pronounced dead.

Knowing Your Limits: Consistency vs. Experimentation

December 22, 2017

Watain’s upcoming album, “Trident Wolf Eclipse,” is a fantastic explosion of straightforward blackened death metal. This return to form is a good chance to think about why some bands do better experimenting, whereas others should stick to what they’re good at.

Mortiis: From Black Metal to Dungeon Synth and Beyond

October 16, 2017

In perhaps his most in-depth interview ever, Mortiis dives deep into his past as the unwitting progenitor of dungeon synth.

Emperor – ‘Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk’ 20th Anniversary Hall Of Fame Edition Vinyl Now Available

April 26, 2017

Emperor‘s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is a black metal classic, further cemented by its induction into Decibel‘s Hall of Fame. Now you can own the 20th anniversary Hall of Fame edition album on vinyl. 

Track Premiere: Mortiis – ‘The Great Leap (Godflesh Remix)’

February 27, 2017

Industrial outfits Mortiis and Godflesh collide on this remixed track from Mortiis’ 2016 release, The Great Deceiver. 

Hall of Fame Countdown: Emperor’s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

October 13, 2016

Emperor’s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is one of black metal’s finest moments; join us as we revisit the songs in detail and attempt to rank them in order from worst to best.

Top 5 Old-School Underground Metal Fliers

July 25, 2016

From England to Florida, from Tokyo to Oslo, from Australia to San Francisco, postal workers were the bandwidth by which death metal, black metal, doom metal, and every other underground form of metal communicated. Open a letter and out poured legion! Here’s a tribute to Decibel‘s fave old-school fliers.

Q&A with ex-Emperor/The Wretched End main man Samoth

July 11, 2016

We sit down with the Wretched End‘s Samoth to discuss In These Woods, From These Mountains and why it’s different from its applauded predecessors.

Driving in Nails with the July 2016 Decibel Meter

June 17, 2016

f.y.e. is happy to assist in your hearing lost, and we’re happy to help. 

Emperor – “Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk”

June 6, 2016

The grandiose, striking and remarkable rush forth mere minutes into Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’s prologue “Alsvartr (the Oath).” Nightmarish berceuses haunt mercilessly from the darkest corners of imagination, while frontman Ihsahn poetically invokes the illustrious nightspirit, as if there’s ordinary business in need of attending on the edge of town.

Can Norway’s Black Metal Pioneers Escape their Extreme Roots?

June 1, 2016

Emperor‘s Ihsahn, Ulver‘s Garm and Darkthrone’s Fenriz venture beyond the genre’s confines.

 

Behold, the Monolith: Blood Music’s J Discusses His Massive Emperor Box Set

March 17, 2016

When it comes to heavy metal collectibles, it doesn’t get much bigger than Blood Music’s Emperor: The Complete Works box set. We caught up with label mastermind J to talk about the logistics of taking this monolith from concept to reality.

Ihsahn (Emperor) interviewed

July 28, 2014

** Hall of Famers Emperor are celebrating the 20th anniversary of black metal classic, In the Nightside Eclipse. As part of our journalistic duties, we couldn’t pass up a chance to talk to icon/good guy Ihsahn about two decades of black fucking metal and why this time Emperor are taking the stage with them to…

What Happened To Charmand Grimloch?

January 6, 2014

Charmand Grimloch (aka Joachim Rygg) was, at one time, black metal’s preeminent keyboard player. His stints with Emperor as a session player propelled him to heights unknown. Well, his black metal solo project Tartaros produced notoriety, but nothing on the scale of what he accomplished by coat tailing Ihsahn and the boys. After Tartaros went…

Dayal Patterson, author of Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult give us his Top 10 BM albums

November 11, 2013

We’re all listed out after totalling up the scores for the albums of the year and putting together our Top 100 Black Metal Albums of All Time special issue. But author Dayal Patterson, a man in league with unfathomable evil, kindly dipped into his wellspring of arcane ancient darkness to muster the energy to give…