Norway's own astound on their first North American line of shows in 15 years.
Text, Photographs by Ekaterina Gorbacheva (@ekaterinagorbacheva.art) at the
YouTube Theater on June 30, 2023:
After a grand return stateside during last year's Psycho Las Vegas festival, Emperor ran it back for a 5-show run that delivered big, meeting the high anticipation that was had for the band's revered discography to hit the live setting. The penultimate show at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA showed for it with an enthusiastic crowd that gave a great welcome to Huntington Park's own Maleficent — a black metal ensemble cloaked in black robes and corpse paint. Piercing screams radiated throughout the venue's towering acoustics, making for an ideal opening to the evening's special occasions.
The room filled soon after the opener's conclusion and all were thrilled for what came next — the iconic In The Wordless Chamber,
Emperor's Ihsahn and Samoth walked onstage to a roar, tearing right into a setlist that spanned all ends of their catalog. In The Nightside Eclipse (1994) and Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk (1997) were the focal point of the night's performance with gems such as The Majesty of the Nightsky, Ensorcelled by Khaos, With Strength I Burn, and Ye Entrancemperium among others stirring movement among the audience with many staring in awe at the musicianship on display. Exquisite strobe lights shined down upon a band ripping through minute after minute of blazing black metal, looming over all in attendance. It was a spectacle of melody and aggression that warranted the great anticipation it had riding on it prior to its arrival. Lucky those in attendance, ourselves included.
Enjoy an extensive photo gallery of the performance below and hope that the band don't take another 15 years to return for what was experienced that evening was nothing short of majestic.
Emperor Photo Gallery
