Emperor - Emperial Live Ceremony (2000)

The dust has mostly settled over what was the Norwegian black metal scene now and it is time to take stock. The scene produced some great bands and some not so great bands. Emperor was head and shoulders above the rest of the bands though and their final three studio albums are great.

Emperor developed from a pure black metal band to a much more progressive symphonic death/black metal band at the end. That's when they broke up. Their reign ended at the top and it is very few bands who has the wisdom to split up at their creative best.

This live album proves beyond any reasonable doubts why Emperor was such a great band. Almost an hour of top quality metal compositions. From the catchy I Am The Black Wizard to the more multi-layered progressive rock styled An Elegy of Icaros. This album has it all. Yes, the music is brutal as heck. But it is also melodic too. The vocals are a bit of an acquired taste though.

This is one of my alltime favorite live albums and one of the highlights of the Norwegian black metal scene. Not true black metal, but still a great live album. It is a live album everyone into progressive music should have.

4 points