The shitty production really takes away from the music here

Never in my life have i ever wanted to like something this much. I could have spent that time reading on the millions of beetle species. The more i listened to this the more i hated it. This is exactly what non metalheads mean when they say metal is just noise.

The instruments feel like they were recorded and just marshed together to produce this cacophony of noise. The vocals are at the front of the mix, grating to ear while at the same there is overuse of synths, keyboards add to the melee and the guitar and drums were just thrown in to qualify this as metal.

This is simply a poor man's version of Anaal Nathrakh. How bad is this album? worse than Blackwater Park, worse than Lulu which is at least tolerable. This will make you cut your legs and tits off.

Written by Maasai Mara on 04.01.2019 at 20:16

Never in my life have i ever wanted to like something this much.
[...]
This will make you cut your legs and tits off.

So you are a worthless, frustrated and amputated Kenyan Maasai shemale in a wheelchair now?
That would explain pretty much of your trolling behavior, you have my deep regrets.

Written by Starvynth on 04.01.2019 at 20:28

Written by Maasai Mara on 04.01.2019 at 20:16

Never in my life have i ever wanted to like something this much.
[...]
This will make you cut your legs and tits off.

So you are a worthless, frustrated and amputated Kenyan Maasai shemale in a wheelchair now?
That would explain pretty much of your trolling behavior, you have my deep regrets.

Dude cutting legs and tits off are lyrics from Lulu.

Written by Maasai Mara on 04.01.2019 at 20:42

Dude cutting legs and tits off are lyrics from Lulu.

Gotcha.
So you do know Lulu but are considering Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, Images And Words and Blackwater Park to be the worst shit ever (1/10)?
What is wrong with you NOT reserving this inglorious title for Lulu or something being equally god-awful?

BTW, I never wasted one second of my life listening to Lulu. Hearing bad music just for the sake of rating it is like turning to the most horrible dentists of your city again and again just to be sure who of them is the worst and most pain inflicting bastard.

Written by Starvynth on 04.01.2019 at 21:41


Gotcha.
So you do know Lulu but are considering Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, Images And Words and Blackwater Park to be the worst shit ever (1/10)?
What is wrong with you NOT reserving this inglorious title for Lulu or something being equally god-awful?

BTW, I never wasted one second of my life listening to Lulu. Hearing bad music just for the sake of rating it is like turning to the most horrible dentists of your city again and again just to be sure who of them is the worst and most pain inflicting bastard.

Mr. Policeman I am no pokemon that you gotcha catch.

You claim Lulu is bad music yet you profess to have never listened to it. Have you actually listened to the 3 aforementioned garbage, or is your rating based on hearsay? Lulu is more tolerable than the 3 aforementioned junk, if you like them then you should immediately find yourself a copy of Lulu.

Written by Maasai Mara on 04.01.2019 at 22:24

You claim Lulu is bad music yet you profess to have never listened to it. Have you actually listened to the 3 aforementioned garbage, or is your rating based on hearsay? Lulu is more tolerable than the 3 aforementioned junk, if you like them then you should immediately find yourself a copy of Lulu.

Why ffs should I enter the cacophonous purgatory of Lulu when legions of die-hard horsemen fanboys failed to prevent its status quo of being Metalstorm's top bottom album of all time? 800 ratings below 5/10 can't be wrong. Life's too short listening to something when chances are like 1% it sucks and 99% it sucks big time.
Would you piss into a plug socket just to assure yourself the announced power breakdown is real? I wouldn't.
Besides, "Lulu" is "piss" in German language, so I already had a significant clue before I even read the first review. Google it if you don't believe.

Anthems: heard it in the 90's and occasionally, every single song of it several times throughout the years. Didn't impress me and I thought it was not worth a purchase, but still far beyond your impudent 1/10 rating.

Blackwater Park: bought it around 15 years ago but it didn't age well -> 7/10

Images And Words: prog metal is not my cup of tea but if you were a metalhead in the 80' or 90's, it was impossible to ignore Dream Theater. I am pretty sure I heard every single track DT released on I&W at least once and blockbuster stuff like Pull Me Under and Another Day round about 20-50 times because the videos were on heavy rotation. Not the style of music I enjoy but 1/10 is an insult and you know it.

I am quite fussy with my ratings, I only rate albums I physically possess and after a couple of spins. Sometimes, it can take months to finally make up my mind because lots of stuff is just not worth coming back to it regularly.
Does this answer your question?

Now lean back, make yourself comfortable, take your favorite drink and read on carefully.
Once again, it's a very simple question. A question you already heard before but didn't answer:

What is wrong with you?

What is wrong with you, calling people gay cuckold and faggot solely based on music taste and MS ratings?

Written by Starvynth on 05.01.2019 at 00:44

...

I like you. So you agree with me that the 3 albums are not that good and even anthems was not worth purchasing and the only problem is that they don't deserve 0s.
Actually Lulu is a goldmine of comical lines and catchy phrases, read only the lyrics at least.
Yes you have answered my question though i'm still curios if after your multiple spins of albums you only physically possess whether your have ever come to a conclusion that any album is worth a 0?

Because only fluffybunnies* will rate those albums less than 9.

*edited by MS Staff

Written by Maasai Mara on 05.01.2019 at 22:34

I like you. So you agree with me that the 3 albums are not that good and even anthems was not worth purchasing and the only problem is that they don't deserve 0s.

Basically, that's all I said.
I just find it hard to believe you are questioning the content of my statements NOW, since I expressed my opinion very clearly and right from the beginning:
"Are you very sure you understood the rating system? I'm not a big Opeth fan either, but 1/10 is plain absurd and you know it."

Written by Maasai Mara on 05.01.2019 at 22:34
Actually Lulu is a goldmine of comical lines and catchy phrases, read only the lyrics at least.

Still seeking out the humorous aspect of lines like "I am the table" but I guess I just won't get the joke. This very special humour is either a matter of taste or too sophisticated for non native speakers.

Written by Maasai Mara on 05.01.2019 at 22:34
Yes you have answered my question though i'm still curios if after your multiple spins of albums you only physically possess whether your have ever come to a conclusion that any album is worth a 0?

Actually, that is quite a good question.
I heard quite a lot of utter crap just to assure myself it really sucked. After listening to two songs of Liturgy's The Ark Work I was quite sure this was pretty close to 2/10 or 1/10. And I really abhor European flower metal, chances are high there are some canditates for very low ratings.
But again, why should I urge myself to check this out intensely? I am neither into masochism nor willing to spoil and castigate my sense of hearing.
Until now, my lowest MS rating is 2/10 for an album from Stratovarius. Looking at that stupid dolphin artwork I knew it sucked right from the beginning. But it was a present and to show respect to the donor, I had to hear it through. I hated every single track and its' excessive keyboards usage and guitar wankery.
But I will never post something in the Infinite thread showing my disgust just to piss off Stratovarius fans. It's just a matter of taste and telling people again and again their taste is "wrong" is as pointless as most of your exaggerated and over the top bashing.

But to answer your question, I am very sure there could be a very distinct 1/10 even for me.
It would be Manowar's Karl Logan on guitars and you immitating Rob Halford's voice, covering Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger (but with the lyrics of Lulu), emulating drums and bass by alternately farting the squits through a mutually used and abused harmonica.

Written by Starvynth on 06.01.2019 at 13:45


Actually, that is quite a good question.
I heard quite a lot of utter crap just to assure myself it really sucked. After listening to two songs of Liturgy's The Ark Work I was quite sure this was pretty close to 2/10 or 1/10. And I really abhor European flower metal, chances are high there are some canditates for very low ratings.
But again, why should I urge myself to check this out intensely? I am neither into masochism nor willing to spoil and castigate my sense of hearing.
Until now, my lowest MS rating is 2/10 for an album from Stratovarius. Looking at that stupid dolphin artwork I knew it sucked right from the beginning. But it was a present and to show respect to the donor, I had to hear it through. I hated every single track and its' excessive keyboards usage and guitar wankery.
But I will never post something in the Infinite thread showing my disgust just to piss off Stratovarius fans. It's just a matter of taste and telling people again and again their taste is "wrong" is as pointless as most of your exaggerated and over the top bashing.

But to answer your question, I am very sure there could be a very distinct 1/10 even for me.
It would be Manowar's Karl Logan on guitars and you immitating Rob Halford's voice, covering Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger (but with the lyrics of Lulu), emulating drums and bass by alternately farting the squits through a mutually used and abused harmonica.

I am yet to listen to either of the aforementioned albums so i do not know what they sound like. Meh, you are simply too nice of a person then.This is Metalstorm, a collection of fans from various subgenres and not a fan website of one band. If you find The Ark Work to be stupid then go ahead and express yourself. Hope at least you made the person who gave you the gift aware that it sucked monkey balls in order to spare yourself a repeat of such gifts from them.

personally i would give such an attempt a 0/10.

And then we all remembered music is subjective...

A true masterpiece.

I still found the symphony's excellent which still gave that same dark, and epic atmosphere just like ITNE, but I found the vocals harder to listen too this time, they tried to balance out a more raw sound with the symphonies, it just wasn't as crisp sounding as ITNE for me, otherwise I would of rated a 10 along with ITNE, because the songwriting itself is excellent.

The opening track had an amazing instrumental build up into the first song, and there is still great moments to be heard in the album. It's a shame they never continued to produce great work like this, and ITNE, considering how popular they were in the Norwegian black metal scene.

I've spun Anthems more in my life than most die-hards to Emperor have and like them, that was during my sixth-form/ 11-12th Grade years in which when it came to being introduced to Emperor, let alone black metal, this stands to be prestigiously over them all as being by far, the most accessible entry point both gates had to offer.

Naturally, I got more inclined into The Nightside Eclipse prior to seeing them perform it in its entirety in front of me at, well, night, and then this album 4 years after at sunset, it wasn't until seeing A Night Of Emperial Wrath (guess which was the most popular album performed?) and going outside on busting sprints to the fazing burning skyline glazing on the trees did the connection dawn on me that there was not one part of this album I didn't not get moved by upon return. In formulaic fashion. Anthems is the virtuoso-refined Blackwater Park to in the Still Life's spellbinding Eclipse.

[Tl; Dr] The atmosphere was never abandoned.

It's strange to me how there's plenty of gossip surrounding its production when it would be weird to disregard the same bias against Nightside when the two are similar in that department. On the parallel contrast if Emperor, including everyone, would downright repeat the same album it would also fall into the same trap of equal measure. Obviously, Nightside is beloved for its literal haze abundance across being ever so free and afloat that it rarely changes form. Coating over the performance shown that honestly after a while do you notice specifics in their musicianship. I'm not sure Nightside is remembered most importantly for its performance.

Anthems, at the dawn of black metal significantly experimenting, focused on focusing everything to be specific at different measures by choosing when. Leading the portmanteau of other symphonic acts to tighten their syhmphos within the musicianship to be fused notes, as main instruments as opposed to always keeping radiant aurora. Specific synths (Ensorcelled By Khaos and The Loss And Curse Of Reverence) uncompromisingly ascending, rising the heit-ening tension. Uplifted alongside extreme dual-ranged vocals reminiscent in black metal not since Bathory (Thus Spake The Nightspirit and With Strength I Burn) at equal balance. All in all, are blessed in recipie of the cleverest, most thoughtful technical display of guitar detail that Emperor ever had to offer and that's saying a lot considering the amount of atmospheric bm that has come and gone harkening the styles from Wodensthrone to Wolves In The Throne Room's latest and still be worse-off for it. I mean there are effects on this album that always sounded like Owls to me (The Acclamation Of Bonds), FFS!

IX was a gateway bridge crossing from this towards Prometheus that I can't help but see as their avantgarde Ordo Ad Chao before Mayhem did it. Emperor made other artists who dared to copy Gustave Doré automatically at risk of being irrelevant since after this album it was never taken seriously on the same league ever again.

So yeah. After buying this sedimental grail again for what's likely a record new price on OG vinyl, this imperator of an album is more than deserved to be my 1000th comment here. ^_^

I am the 1000th vote!
Well, it took many listens, but this album has finally clicked with me!

I was introduced to Emperor through In the Nightside Eclipse, one of my first exposures to black metal. It was way too much for me - the onslaught of guitar riffs and the raspy, barely-audible vocals in the background made it all sound like white noise.

Since then, I've delved here and there in black metal, trying out different albums. I tend to enjoy Swedish black metal the most (Dissection, Necrophobic, Sacramentum, Lord Belial). With the exception of At the Heart of Winter, I shied away from Norwegian black metal, fearing to encounter Emperor-esque music.

Little did I know that there was a metal gem waiting for me: Anthems to the Welkin At Dusk. For whatever reason, I find this album far more enjoyable than their debut. Every song captivates me with a broad selection of entertaining riffs, melodic solos, demonic vocals, operatic chants, complex drumming, and, of course, the enthralling atmosphere! It's difficult to choose favorite songs, from the bombastic "Ye Entrancemperium" to "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" with the phenomenal instrumental section (so many riffs and solos!)... from the energetic "The Acclamation of Bonds" to the eargasmic intro ("The Oath") and outro ("The Wanderer") instrumentals... every song is epic, and I would say the climax, where all of Emperor's talent comes together, is "The Loss and Curse of Reverence".

In conclusion, a fantastically evil, majestic, unforgettable landmark of black metal!

The 2nd best black metal album of all time IMO (after Dissection's 'Storm Of The Light's Bane') and in my top 50 albums of all time.

9.4/10 for me - 'Ye Entrancemperium' and 'With Strength I Burn' are the standout songs. 'Thus Spake The Nightspirit', 'The Loss And Curse Of Reverence' and 'The Wanderer' are all also great.

So far my favourite of the 'black metal classics'. Enjoyable though not very well produced. Is that a "For Whom The Bell Tolls" tribute in "The Acclamation of Bonds" I hear?