Emperor

Wow, a live black metal album that sounds good! Recorded live in London, England, in early 1999 at a sold-out show, these Norwegian lads sounds great (although who knows how much has been re-recorded in the studio afterwards). Cutting their teeth on nine songs that cover their three full-lengths, the band proves to be a much more viable live force than their Toronto show that year indicated (when a member of the band was denied access into Canada). The CD has an added bonus included on it for those with computers quick enough to run the extra data track. Included on it, along with some Emperor screen savers, is a nicely shot live performance of the track "I Am The Black Wizards," from the same show. If you are a collector, however, I recommend tracking down the Emperial Vinyl Presentation five-LP boxed-set, all of which are picture discs containing the band's entire catalogue and unreleased material.