''Wrath of the Tyrant'' is the first demo album by the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. It was recorded in May 1992 and self-released by the band shortly after.

Releases

''Wrath of the Tyrant'' was originally distributed by the band as a demo shortly after it was recorded. This original demotape had a picture of a

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

on the cover. In 1994 it was re-released through Wild Rag Records with two bonus tracks and different artwork.

Tchort Terje Vik Schei (born 7 July 1974), better known by his stage name Tchort, is a Norwegian musician. He is known for his time spent playing bass for the black metal band Emperor and for leading the progressive metal band Green Carnation. He has ...

, who didn't join the band until 1993, is the person who appears on this cover. A limited edition 12" vinyl was released by Head not Found records in 1995; this version featured a photograph of the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

in Edinburgh as new cover art. In 1998, it was re-mastered and released with the tracks from the ''Emperor'' EP. There are two versions of this re-release; the

Candlelight Records Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal ...

version has the cover of the ''Emperor'' EP and features video footage of live performances from the band, while the

Century Black Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...

version has a different cover and lacks the video footage. Most of the songs on ''Wrath of the Tyrant'' were later re-recorded by the band. "Wrath of the Tyrant" and "Night of the Graveless Souls" were re-recorded in December 1992 for the ''Emperor'' EP. "Ancient Queen", "Witches Sabbath" and "Lord of the Storms" were re-recorded during the same session and released on '' As the Shadows Rise''. "My Empire's Doom" was re-recorded and renamed "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" on the band's debut album, ''

In the Nightside Eclipse ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. ...

''. "Moon over Kara-Shehr" was re-recorded with Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg on drums and released on the compilation ''Nordic Metal - A Tribute to Euronymous'' in 1995.

Track listing

1998 edition

Personnel

* Ygg –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Samot –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, guitar, vocals on "Witches Sabbath" *

Mortiis Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the ...

– bass guitar

Additional personnel

Christophe Szpajdel Christophe Szpajdel (; born 29 September 1970) is a Belgian-born international calligraphist and illustrator, principally known for designing band logos. Life Szpajdel was born on 29 September 1970 in Gembloux, Namur, Belgium, and grew up in ...

– logo

References

{{Authority control Emperor (band) EPs 1992 albums Demo albums Black metal albums by Norwegian artists