In The Nightside Eclipse
| In the Nightside Eclipse | ||||
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| Studio album by Emperor | ||||
| Released | 21 February 1994 | |||
| Recorded | July 1993 | |||
| Studio | Grieg Hall, Bergen | |||
| Genre | Black metal, symphonic black metal | |||
| Length | 48:29 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Candlelight | |||
| Producer | Emperor, Pytten | |||
| Emperor chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Sputnikmusic | 5/5 |
In the Nightside Eclipse is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was the last album to feature drummer Faust and the only one to feature one-time bassist Tchort. Considered a landmark in the black metal scene, the album has been ranked by critics as one of the most influential albums of the genre. It also contains one of Emperor's best known tracks, "I Am the Black Wizards".
The album cover was drawn by "Necrolord", also known as Kristian Wåhlin, depicting a host of orcs on route to Minas Morgul. The part below the band logo is based upon a section of a larger engraving called "Death on a Pale Horse (Revelation)" by Gustave Doré. That section itself was also used as the album cover for the Emperor (EP).
In the Nightside Eclipse has often been referred to as the first true symphonic black metal album. Although all the key elements of black metal are present, such as fast tremolo-picked guitar passages, harsh screams, and raw, lo-fi production, the use of symphonic keyboard sections is a key part of the album's distinctive sound. According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, "Even if the keyboards mostly just outline basic chord changes, they add a melancholy air to all the furious extreme sounds, turning the one-note ugliness of black metal into something emotionally complex."
Most of the music was written and rehearsed before the band entered the studio, however much of the symphonic keyboard sections were composed in the studio at the time of recording as the band did not have a permanent keyboard player at the time. Some of the lyrics on the final version of the album were partially written by Mortiis before he left the band. Samoth has suggested that the frequent use of the word 'emperor' in the lyrics became a kind of metaphor, "for our own entity, for the dark lord, for the devil, for the strong and mighty." Samoth has cited the power of Norwegian nature as a key inspiration on Emperor's music and this album in particular. They also expressed a fascination with the Viking age, Tolkien's literature, the story of Dracula, as well as "everything related to Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains, the dark corners of Eastern Europe, and folklore." Ihsahn, however, has explained that he never read much of Tolkien's work, although he consciously made use of the language and imagery of fantasy.
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