Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Studio album by Emperor
Released	July 8 1997
Recorded	October 1996 – December 1996
Genre	Black metal
Length	43:55
Label	Candlelight Records Century Black
Producer	Pytten, Ihsahn, Samoth
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Emperor chronology
Reverence (1996) Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997) IX Equilibrium (1999)

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is the second full-length album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was released in 1997 (see 1997 in music). The album was recorded in the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway, where many other black metal bands have recorded. In 1996, the EP Reverence, which included the track "The Loss and Curse of Reverence", was released as a teaser for the album. In 1998, the album was remastered and re-released in with the three non-album tracks from Reverence. The band made a promotional video for "The Loss and Curse of Reverence." The first two tracks are notably linked both aurally and compositionally; the ending strains of "Alsvartr (The Oath)" lead directly into the opening of "Ye Entrancemperium." This is in stark contrast to the rest of the record, where each song is treated as its own separate entity. However, when Emperor performed "Ye Entrancemperium" live, they would often leave out "Alsvartr," possibly because of the lack of energy present in the latter in comparison to their other live material. This is evident on the band's DVD Emperial Live Ceremony. The opening guitar riff to "Ye Entrancemperium" is taken from an unnamed Mayhem song. As such, Mayhem guitarist, Euronymous, is credited in the album liner notes even though he died two years before the album was written and recorded. A recording of this unfinished track can be found on the Mayhem bootleg "Ha Elm Zalag".

Track listing

1. "Alsvartr (The Oath)" – 4:18
2. "Ye Entrancemperium" – 5:14
3. "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" – 4:30
4. "Ensorcelled by Khaos" – 6:39
5. "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" – 6:09
6. "The Acclamation of Bonds" – 5:54
7. "With Strength I Burn" – 8:17
8. "The Wanderer" – 2:54

Credits

• Ihsahn – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, arranger, producer, mastering
• Samoth – guitar, arranger, mastering, producer
• Alver – bass
• Trym – drums, percussion
• Pytten – engineer, producer
• Yens – photography
• Stephen O'Malley – design
• David Palser – photography
• Cristophe Szpajdel – illustrations/logo
• N.A.P. – design
• Euronymous - opening riff on "Ye Entrancemperium"