This album is absolutely brilliant, and the best black metal album I've ever heard. I love the intro track to this, with very slow, mournful guitaring, and eerie chanting/spoken word in the background, and when Ye Entrancemperium starts, it's orgasmic. I love the way the keyboards interact with the guitar and tight double bass-blast beat drumming. When the song changes tempo it's done so well, and it reaches so many climaxes that the first time you hear it it's quite overpowering! Ihsahn's clean vocal parts add a new dimension to the songs, in one of the more diverse black metal albums out there. The riffing varies from lightening fast to mournful and slow, where the keyboards continue to find powerfully original ways to interact with the guitar and Ihsahn's shredding vocals. I feel privileged to own this album, along with In the Nightside Eclipse, and I view Emperor with godly status. :) IX Equilibrium is quite good too, although it seems to run out of ideas.

This review is credited to:
Julian Forbes