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Part of the initial wave of Norwegian Black Metal in the early '90s, Emperor was one of the more musically ambitious chapters of the bleak, Satanic family of bands. Even from these earliest demo-quality recordings, the band showed a unique interest in melding their torturous black metal motifs with elements of classical, folk, and even guitar tones so harsh they transcended metal and edged closer to ambient textures. While the four songs that made up their debut EP are by no means as lo-fi as early black metal could get, the sound on these songs is rougher around the edges on versions of classic tracks like "I Am the Black Wizards" than the re-recordings that would show up on later albums. Though short, Emperor's induction into being is raw, unrefined, and at times terrifying. ~ Fred Thomas
