Emperor interview with Ihsahn

(Originally from 5/18/04)

Emperor is a legend, not just for black metal fans, but for a great portion of the entire metal community also. Around 1994, with their album In the Nightside Eclipse, Emperor was enthroned a-top the underground metal scene, and praised for bringing black metal more into the public eye. With their next release, 1997's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, the band received even more praise, for taking black metal to new heights with their "trademark" complexity and experimental concepts. 

In 2001 Emperor disbanded, but the legacy lives on. Emperor's frontman, Ihsahn, has recently remastered and compiled a 2-disc set of Emperor's greatest hits, Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath. A re-issue of the 2000 DVD is also in the works, as well as Ihsahn's own solo project coming. From this interview, I only hope you atleast gain even the slightest insight into the legendary force that once was Emperor...

I know you've probably been over this a million times before, but for those who are unfamiliar with Emperor, can you give us some details on what led to the band's formation?

Ihsahn: Me and Samoth had been playing in different bands together for some years, from more straight forward Metal trough Trash and Death Metal with keyboards and all. At a point, Samoth wished to take things more back to basic, in the vein of early Bathory, Celtic Frost and Hellhammer, and this is what lead to the forming of Emperor. After the rather “minimalistic” demo, Wrath of the Tyrant, we soon brought in keyboards and started working on a more “epic” style.

What are your thoughts on some of the ideologies in black metal today? Did Emperor ever start with an ideology?

I’d rather say that the ideology came with the music, and that the two developed side by side over the years.

What influenced the decision to end Emperor?

Over 10 years with Emperor and even more with me and Samoth playing together, we naturally came to develop musical differences. Well, these differences have of course always been there, and has, I believe, developed much of the Emperor sound in a constructive way. Though, we came to a point where they no longer “blended” naturally, and we decided that it was better to leave it while it was still good, and not go on for the wrong reasons. Emperor started out as an uncompromising act, and I think we ended it in the same manner to pursue new musical challenges with the same sincerity.

Do you have a favorite Emperor song? Album?

I guess all the albums have been personal favourites at some point, and I guess in chronological order. But looking back, I do of course have some favourites from each album, but rarely the same as public opinion!

How did you usually go about writing lyrics or music for a new album?

In most cases, the music came first, and lyrics later. Often in the last minute too. In the early years, I guess we worked traditionally as a band, combining and developing riffs and ideas at rehearsals. But on “Anthems…” we actually did much by exchanging recorded tapes and I also started sequencing a lot of the arrangements. Since then, it has only progressed more in this direction, till the last “Prometheus..” album where I did a full pre-production of the songs in the studio, and then re-recorded it after a short period of rehearsal. Today I am very dependent on the tools of Steinberg, and usually work much with computers from idea to finished product.

Who are some of your influences, or favorite musicians/bands?

There are so many. Both old and new and from a variety of genres, and also for different reasons. So, I can’t really start on a list!

You also play with your wife in the band Peccatum, can you tell us what thats been like?

Peccatum is a rather experimental constellation and is often hard to describe musically. Our latest release “Lost in Reverie”, combines the extremes of metal with electronics, jazz and sound-collages, but is consistent in its dark and decadent atmosphere. Both I and Ihriel share a passion for this experimental approach to musical work, and I think the experience gained by seeking new challenges is of great value for all future work, be it with Peccatum or other projects.

Besides Peccatum, do you have any other future plans as a musician?

Well, “Lost in Reverie” is the first release on our own label, Mnemosyne Productions, and apart from being an outlet for our own music, we now wish to work with new acts too, and hopefully take on some production work in Symphonique Studio. We’re currently working with some new Peccatum material, and I’ve also started working on an Ihsahn solo-album. I’ve also recently transcribed 13 songs from Emperor’s “Scattered Ashes”, for guitars and bass, which hopefully will come out as a book this autumn.

Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring musicians or bands?

I always think it’s important to keep an open mind to all kinds of music, as you can usually learn something from all of them. If you don’t like the music, there may nevertheless be technical aspects that are interesting. Also, I would like to emphasize the importance of musical theory, at least the basics, to be able to communicate with other musicians as well as for achieving a better understanding of both your own and other people’s music.

I would like to thank Ihsahn for willingly taking the time to be interviewed. You can visit the official Emperor website at www.emperorhorde.com. Emperor's last "release", the compilation entitled - Scattered Ashes: A Decade of Emperial Wrath is available for purchase, along with several of their other albums.