Emperor reigns supreme on the 'Anthems to the Welken at Dusk' Tour

Posted by Ramon Gonzales in Culture on July 5, 2023

The Norwegian legends mark their first US tour in 15 years with a set that leaned heavily into their 1997 classic while covering ground from their last three decades of mastery.

Black metal pillars Emperor delivered their first live set in the domestic U.S. since 2007, as one of the most anticipated headliners of last year’s Psycho Las Vegas. The milestone event proved to be an anchor of the destination festival last year and one of the highlights of the banner’s well-focused, strongly-curated performance history.

The monumental event was figured to be a one and done, however, the band threw fans for a loop when they confirmed they would parlay the U.S. show into a short run of U.S. tour dates in 2023 – the band’s first stateside tour in fifteen years.

Touching down in Chicago, New York, Dallas and closing their run with two Southern California dates, Emperor’s grand return to the stage proved triumphant with a live set that framed the grandeur of the band’s celebrated sophomore album, Anthems to Welken At Dusk – an album unanimously revered as as a watershed moment in the history of black metal.

For the band’s Los Angeles play at the Youtube Theater in Inglewood, CA., live renditions of “Thus Spake the Nightspirit”, “The Acclamation of Bonds”, “The Loss and Curse of Reverence”, and “With Strength I Burn” consumed the capacity crowd with their prodigiousness and power – proving still so effective nearly three decades in. The album theme would remain a constant throughout the evening, as Emperor would punctuate their time with a performance of “Ye Entrancemperium” that shook the house.

The band would trek further band into their catalog, showcasing “Towards the Pantheon”, “The Majesty of the Night Sky”, “I Am the Black Wizards” and the sinister “Inno a Satana” from their 1994 full length debut, In the Nightside Eclipse – giving the most die-hard fans the feeling that fifteen years proved well worth the wait.

Rightfully regarded as one of black metal’s most esteemed, evolved entities, Emperor offered testament to the notion of timelessness. Revisiting songs that have endured for nearly thirty years and still resonate as extreme as ever, serves as testament to the kind of evergreen songwriting that has become signature for Emperor. Prodigious, provocative and ever so powerful live, Emperor continue to reign as one of the genre’s finest and their first tour in 15 years further asserted that.

See the complete gallery of images below, captured by photographer Maurice Nunez.