Emperor at Ex Theater Roppongi, March 2nd 2023

 


When I first saw Emperor in 2019, just a few months before the pandemic started, it was definitely a memorable experience, my favorite concert of that year. When I saw the announcement of their return in March this year it was a no-brainer, I needed to get that ticket. They upgraded the venue to the somewhat posh Roppongi Ex-Theater which made it an even more attractive option.

I got there early on the day of the show and I had the number two printed on my ticket, which it meant I was going to be the second person to get inside the venue. In Japan concert tickets at all-standing shows are numbered, apparently in the order they were bought . It means that the earlier you bought your ticket the lower your number you got. At the venue a staff member calls the numbers in order and people get inside. It didn’t work out this way for this show. They sold two categories at the same price alleging standing and seated areas. Besides a small balcony with probably a hundred seats, the show was all standing, but a large group of people got in first. Unlike normal circumstances in Japan, and justifiably so, the group of us that were kept waiting voiced our dissatisfaction loudly but nothing changed. It was a true disorganized mess. Luckily I got a not so bad spot near the front and waited there until the show started. 

They opened with the industrial leaning In the Wordless Chamber and it was an onslaught from there on. They played most of their second album Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk in the first half. Epic songs like With Strength I Burn, which they played to close this section of the show, sent shivers down one’s spine just like it did the first time I saw them.  That record is definitely in the running for the best black metal album of all time.

Just as the masterpiece status of Anthems… is indisputable , it wouldn’t be insane to call In the Nightside Eclipse the best black metal debut album of all time. Among fans, me included, it’s hard to choose between the two. In the Nightside... leans more towards the relentless and rawer aspects of the genre, there’s some proto-prog in there too, though. But then again who’s to say that Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times is not as epic as they come. The second half of the show, dedicated to their first album and first EP opened with this chef-kiss of a tune, right after a run through Curse You All Men! The set finished with Inno a Satana with some audience interaction that was quite funny.

They then returned for an encore in which they played the two opening songs of their aforementioned two albums. I think the first experience witnessing an incredible artist is difficult to surpass, but this was close. Standing near the keyboard player and second vocalist, I could appreciate the intricacies and anthemic (what else could it be?) nature of the harmonies even more. They delivered a complex canon with precision and that’s what makes the experience of seeing them live an emotional and unmissable event.

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