Wrath of the Tyrant

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Wrath of the Tyrant
Studio album (Demo) by Emperor
Released	July 1992
Recorded	1991-1992
Genre	Black metal
Length	32:12
Label	Wild Rag Records Candlelight Records Century Black
Producer	Emperor
Emperor chronology
Wrath of the Tyrant (1992) Emperor (1993)
Alternative Cover
Century Black version

Wrath of the Tyrant was the demo released in 1992 by the seminal black metal band Emperor. Because of the poor production, many have found this release offputting and/or frightening, although it is not unlike the low production quality demos of many other Black Metal groups of the time. This was the only time Emperor ever utilised downtuned-guitars: the album was recorded in D, which was determined by Ygg's and Samot's experience with death metal. "My Empire's Doom" eventually metamorphosed into "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" on the band's debut album, In the Nightside Eclipse.

In 1998, the demo was remastered with four tracks from the 1993 Hordanes Land split with Enslaved that preceded the original tracks. The sound still retained a "raw" quality, perhaps in order to maintain the "grim" atmosphere expected by many in black metal music. Two versions of this re-release exist; the Candlelight version has the cover of the "Emperor" demo and features video footage of live performances from the band, while the Century Black version has the "Wrath of the Tyrant" cover (below), but lacks the video footage of the Candlelight edition.

Curiously, although Mortiis plays bass on Wrath of the Tyrant, the band's official website has a picture of a band member (the same picture on the album) with the filename "tchort_wrathcover", implying that Tchort, who didn't join until In The Nightside Eclipse was recorded, is the person who appears on the cover.^[1]

[edit] Track listing

Wrath of the Tyrant

1. "Introduction" – 2:20
2. "Ancient Queen" – 3:17
3. "My Empire's Doom" – 4:34
4. "Forgotten Centuries" – 2:51
5. "Night of the Graveless Souls" – 2:56
6. "Moon over Kara-Shehr" – 4:25
7. "Witches Sabbath" – 5:41
8. "Lord of the Storms" – 2:10
9. "Wrath of the Tyrant" – 3:58

All music composed by Samoth & Ihsahn. Lyrics by Mortiis

1998 Edition Emperor EP Tracks 1-4 / Wrath of the Tyrant demo

1. "I am the Black Wizards"
2. "Wrath of the Tyrant"
3. "Night of the Graveless Souls"
4. "Cosmic Keys to my Creations & Times"
5. "Introduction" – 2:20
6. "Ancient Queen" – 3:17
7. "My Empire's Doom" – 4:34
8. "Forgotten Centuries" – 2:51
9. "Night of the Graveless Souls" – 2:56
10. "Moon over Kara-Shehr" – 4:25
11. "Witches Sabbath" – 5:41
12. "Lord of the Storms" – 2:10
13. "Wrath of the Tyrant" – 3:58

All music composed by Samoth & Ihsahn. Lyrics by Mortiis

[edit] Credits

• Ygg – Guitars and Vocals
• Samot – Blasts, recording vocals on "Witches Sabbath".

[edit] Footnotes

v • d • e Emperor Ihsahn · Samoth · Trym Alver · Tchort · Mortiis · Faust Studio albums Wrath of the Tyrant · In the Nightside Eclipse · Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk · IX Equilibrium · Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise Live albums Emperial Live Ceremony Compilations Emperial Vinyl Presentation · Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath Extended plays Hordanes Land (split) · Emperor · As the Shadows Rise · Reverence · True Kings of Norway (Split)