Darkthrone and Emperor were revelations for me, having only recently been exposed to them. (“Recently,” as in the last few years and they both originated about 20 years ago, fuck me.) I’m STILL discovering those bands, because their bodies of work are too dense to process in any short amount of time. I realize they’re not the originators, but I will hazard a guess to say that the metal genre as a whole benefited from those two band’s extrapolations on the black metal “tradition” (if you could have called it that, at that point) they inherited. Darkthrone and Emperor are solid and stand on their own merit alone, but when you view the black metal sub-genre from the perspective of the work that’s been done building off of their legacies, I would say it’s all tragically lacking. (And in saying that, I acknowledge the dangerous ground that is trod in making generalizations. My views are just that – mine.)

I know I shouldn’t harp on the stagnation of the black metal sub-genre because, really, there are many factions in metal that are guilty of much the same AND I can’t claim to be particularly knowledgeable about all the sub-genre has to offer, but Ihsahn’s comments on defying those who would place limitations on his creative expression really hit home with me. It’s wearying and, worst of all, BORING. Similarly, before I heard *The Age of Nero* last year, I regarded the fact that Satyr was inexhaustible in his comments to the press about being fed up with the micro-genre classifications and all the “tr00″ and “kvlt” bullshit debates people were dragging his band into as an encouraging sign that I would dig the new album. And I wasn’t disappointed. I loved that album.

I must say, I sort of adore and idolize Emperor since IX Equilibrium hit shelves. It was THE ALBUM that got me into metal and out of mainstream shit when I was young. When I first heard Curse You All Men! I knew I would never ever ever be the same person. Hail Emperor forever.

On their reunion tour, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that I got kicked out their show for underage drinking. A couple months away from being 21. Well, at least At the Gates was worth it..

Yes. Exactly. The people who act like nazis when it comes to music and decide what’s good or not based on rigid genre lines probably aren’t musicians in the first place, and are the shitheads who hate on 99% of all music.