Metalcatto
The year is 2001. A new era of world terrorism falls upon the world. China joins the World Trade Organization. The Second Intifada is taking place. And there’s no smartphone in sight. Right, I’ve gotten carried away again. The Metal was spectacular—we got timeless classics from Opeth, Tool, Converge, and System of a Down. However, we’re not going to dig even deeper into the underground. We’re going to talk about Emperor‘s Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise.
It’s been some time without a retro-review. I know what you’re asking: why not any other Emperor album? Why Prometheus? You see, this is the album that got me into Emperor and Avant-Garde Black Metal. The songwriting was nothing but an overture of what Ihsahn‘s career would become later—something truly genre-defining. The band had always been at the top when it came to creativity and writing, but I believe Prometheus was the point where the band reached its highest thematic ambition.
Mixing Greek tragedies and Nietzschean philosophy, you’ll enjoy this album more if you’ve read Prometheus Unbound and Thus Spoke Zarathustra—though not compulsory. The whole idea of a deity defying the capricious gods that imprison him, and when not being able to exist on his own terms, choosing death—this is reminiscent of many themes in 19th-century intellectuals. However, it’s also pretty freaking Black Metal, which is why you’re here. Not just for me to brag about my book collection—that’s what my social media is for.
Now, when it comes to the music, this album could come out today and still sound great. It’s basically the only Emperor album ever recorded without an old computer microphone. Don’t get me wrong—I love vintage Emperor like any other weirdo—but it’s nice to fully be able to appreciate all the details that make this album a humble wink to post-war classical music. So if you’re a full-blown music nerd, you can appreciate its conceptual intricacies, which aren’t exactly super technical either. So it’s still loyal to the Norwegian school.
This is the album to not only get into Emperor, but also getting into the weird stuff—or as we call it today, Avant-Garde. It showed me that Black Metal could be more than just a bunch of angsty and privileged teens making music in their parents’ basement. It could aspire to be a respectable art form. As in, people who wear suits could play this and get some admiration from society. So show this to your curious classical music friend—if you have one. They might surprise you.
Label: Candlelight/Nuclear Blast
Release date: 21st October, 2001
Website: https://candlelightrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/prometheus-the-discipline-of-fire-demise
Country: Norway
Score: It’s Emperor people, everything is a 5/5, except IX
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