A legend makes its exit. After the release of PROMETHEUS The Discipline Of Fire & Demise, the band will definitely be parting ways from each other after 10 years of band history. It’s all over and done with! Of course, Samoth, Ihsahn and Trym will survive and we will see them again in one of their projects. Nevertheless, for a lot of fans the big crying will break out.... is there no worthy replacement for this finest extreme metal band. So here as final escort Ihsahn's utmost detailed and very interesting last words while the coffin is sinking down with dignity ...

Dajana: Next Monday your new and last album will be released after 10 years of band history. Is there a bit of melancholy ?
Ihsahn: No

Dajana: Not a bit ?
Ihsahn: No, not at all.

Dajana: Hmmm...
Ihsahn: Personally I’m just very happy with the new album, but it’s also very liberating that it is the last one.

Dajana: When have you decided to call it quits after this new album ?
Ihsahn: We decided to leave it at that.

Dajana: Have you made this decision only for artistical reasons or is there more behind it ?
Ihsahn: Oh I think, of course there are different factors and reasons, but in the end it boils down to the fact that we have done what we can as Emperor. We have developed quite differently over the years and now it’s a good time for a turning point, for us to go our seperate ways while it is still good.

Dajana: How have the reactions been, what did your label have to say about your decision?
Ihsahn: Oh I think they respected our desicion to take this choice ourselves. To leave it while we still feel good about it and they wished us all the best.

Dajana: Did they try in general or even try to get you under pressure or anything to get you to continue ? Because in the meantime you can rake in a lot of moneys now with the name EMPEROR...
Ihsahn: They are not like that and if they were, we are out of the contract anyway. So, there wasn’t really any and there couldn’t be any pressure from that side.

Dajana: This decision is pretty resolute. Did you also think about just taking a longer break and then seeing how it could go on again ?
Ihsahn: No, that’s very definite.

Dajana: That‘s the end forever and ever ? No more EMPEROR again ?
Ihsahn: No!

Dajana: What about a tour ? Will there be a last tour for this last album ?
Ihsahn: No. We did consider doing a final live show. We never have had this kind of continuity. Live performances haven’t been a natural consequence of our work. So, the writing and recording of a new album has been a kind of project in itself and then getting a live act together has been a different project where we always had to hire session musicians and such. We did this ending among us. We decided this before we started writing the new album that this was going to be the last one. So the ending period had been quite long already, so extending that with yet another project- doing live shows, that would not be for the better. Because then you start doing just one more thing and one more thing. We would be around for ages just to wrap it up. I think it is better to be consequent and say "this is it!". Now we go on to do other stuff.

Dajana: Will there be another release after this album like live videos and rare stuff, special editions or best of CD’s, anything like that?
Ihsahn: Probably not. There is not that much stuff to pick from. You know it’s not that long ago that we have released a live video and an album, so we got that already covered.

Dajana: Since your debut album you were something like the spears’s point of the Black Metal scene, especially in Norway. According to your fans you always made this balancing act to be true and innovative though. Even your good productions and skills were not an obstacle for purists, so Black Metal fans of all levels like your music. What did it mean for you ?
Ihsahn: Of course, that is a good thing that people feel so about the band. I think what we tried to do was just to do what we wanted, to be honest and uncompromising in our work. We never really considered that many outside factors and kept doing what we feel is the thing to do and that is how we started out and that is, how we now are ending the band. I think we’ve been mostly uncompromising and honest in whatever we have done.

Dajana: How did you deal with the fact that your last album IX Equilibrium got extremely good reviews, but the fans took it more with mixed feelings ? Take your reproaches hard, that IX Equilibrium is a commercial album ?
Ihsahn: Well, I respect the people’s opinion. I’m like that myself you know? My favourite Bathory album is not necessarily the last one by far. That will probably always be Blood Fire Death. The people have different musical tastes. I don’t think IX Equilibrium was commercial, I mean, I would claim that we’ve never done anything to please the audit, please the market to sell more records and I think by quitting now at the commercial peak of our career is the proof that we don’t really care about being the biggest metal band around. So, I mean, on the one side they want you to be true and individual and do whatever the hell you want to. On the other hand some people don’t realize that they, too, are part of the market and they want to form the artists and make them do stuff that they wanna hear. That’s not what you honestly want from an artist. I think that’s a big paradox. So, we have always stuck with what we wanted to do and people like this. That’s a good thing! That’s a big plus but, it shouldn’t be a factor in, or any reason for why you make music.

Dajana: Also the reviews to the new album are extraordinarily good. Against Emperor, genre mates like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth are fading and mutating to garden gnomes. How do you take that ?
Ihsahn: I think, I’ve seen some reviews that make comparisons to other bands like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth and I never see, and never really have seen, releasing albums as a competition. So, for me personally, that’s somewhat irrelevant, because, how it fares in comparison, would mean that you could compare it to any album in the world *laughs*. It’s just reference. It’s just like you know, labels’ and genres’ names are references for people. And musical taste is so subjective anyway. So, I take no notice of how we are compared to other bands. I respect that other people in other bands do their thing and we do ours. I don’t see that as a competition.

Dajana: It seems to be a typical statement. I think every band says, music is not a competition. It’s interesting...
Ihsahn: Yeah, I mean, when you are in the hitlist kind of the music scene, then there’s a competition. But, I thought, that extreme metal was kind of rebellion against that. So, I see no reason why we should see this as a competition.

Dajana: In principle you got the same fate like a lot of other bands and musicians. What do you think is the reason that often after the third or the fourth album fans get problems to comprehend the developments of bands, no matter what directions they are going by then?
Ihsahn: I think it’s a question of when you work very closely over such a long period of time. There is bound to , the controversies and difficult opinions and different developments. The process is just quiete natural. Some bands manage to work it out to develop and have kind of a common goal, other’s don’t. Usually it takes between maybe 8 to 10 years for people to release three or four albums and by then they may be fed up with what they are doing and want to go on to other things.

Dajana: On your new album you come loose from almost all conventions, you are nearly unleashed in music and singing ... is that the freedom of the last album ? To do whatever you want ?
Ihsahn: I think, even though this album is very much built on the musical foundation we have as a band. I think always we tried to stretch the borders, within the limits of who we are as band. Personally I feel very complete with this album. And in comparison to the previous albums there are far less things that I would go back and change. I feel like I’ve been doing my very best work in Emperor so far. So I feel very complete. In the sense that there are no loose ends that I want to keep on with the band, that would tie you up. I’m just ready for any kind of other musical work with more of the same challenge.

Dajana: I noticed, on your new album there are a lot of classical elements. It reminds me a bit of your project Thou Shalt Suffer. The classical elements sound like Schoenberg ( the austrian composer ).
Ihsahn: Oh, you think so ?

Dajana: Yeah, I think so.
Ihsahn: I’m not too familiar with his work in particular, but there is a classical influence. Especially that kind of instrumentation has come quiete natural. Actually, originally I wanted to use more electronic sounds on this album. That didn’t fit sonicly into the music, so we got strings and the orchestral sound that went in more and more easily. That’s natural. That’s was true for arrangements as well.

Dajana: How is it going with you and your side projects ? Are you planning completely new stuff ? If yes, what kind ? What about your musical future in general?
Ihsahn: Personally, my main priority is, of course, the next Peccatum album. And Samoth and Trym are already very occupied with Zyklon. And beyond me and Peccatum I will definitely do more solo work, not under Thou Shalt Suffer though. And maybe other collaborations with other musicians.

Dajana: Are there already concrete plans to work with other musicians ?
Ihsahn: I have some ideas and I have contacted some people. But, it all depends, because first of all my main priority is the next Peccatum album and we just recently started working on the material. It’s a kind of unpredictable future, as far as what I will be working on outside of Peccatum. But I kind of like that. Having something that it is a bit unpredictable.

Dajana: Samoth is married as well as you. Does that have any effect on your artistical work ?
Ihsahn: I wouldn’t say so. Me and Ihriel work together on Peccatum and she is also doing stuff outside of Peccatum, so we work pretty closely with music all the time, in the studio as well as at home. I would say the effects are that it has come in a very constructive and a positive way. I suppose we are very happy to have that common interest and be able to work together like that.

Dajana: What is your opinion in general about the fact of the automatically inevitable commercialization when you get popular as band or as musician. To be called commercial is pretty the worst invective you can get for your work. How to combine this fact with the basic idea of Black Metal ?
Ihsahn: What I think about this whole thing of whether something is commercial? I think, when you make a commercial product, for example Goth, it's just to sell a lot of records. When you talk to people from the scene who say you are commercial, they mean you make music in order just to make money. I think, there's a big difference between doing that and making music that people like and then making a lot of money. I’m very glad that we’ve been very lucky to sell a good amount of records so that we can make a living out of this and spend our time doing music. That's what it's all about. Otherwise you get quite compromised if you have to work, when you have a regular job and doing music on the side. We never made music just to make a lot of money. But, when you are lucky to actually make money when you’re doing music, I would say it’s a big plus. The other side of it, of course is what you have to do. Like me, now doing two hundred interviews instead of spending time at a studio to sell that. That’s the point of it. That, I think, must be balanced, because I do not wish, personally, to end up doing ten per cent music and ninety per cent being a businessman and selling it. So, I try to keep quite a distance mentally between the musical work I do and the commercial world.

Dajana: Well, I think the question aimed more at the fact, that the Black Metal scene want to be underground, not to be commercial, not to sell too many CD’s ...
Ihsahn: That is, just to be honest a bad excuse. It’s easy to say that you don’t want to sell a lot of records when you don’t have the potential to sell a lot of records. I would say that usually it’s just a bad excuse. Of course, there are elements, that people, if they become accepting of, they become too superficial and get caught up in this commercial spiral. Yes, that may ruin some of your artistic expressions. That there is such a strong individualism as people claim to be in the Black Metal scene. That’s a general idea and opinion that you should be. That shouldn’t really be a problem and you should be able to cope with that. I think, some impressions I get from this so called underground of the Black Metal scene is so narrow-minded then. There is sooo much bullshit in that scene! A lot of gossip. You know, if people think, I’m not Black Metal enough or true enough. I’m just sad. It’s something I’m generalizing now, I know, but a lot of people in this scene are stupid fucks. They don’t have anything better to do than spending time on making up all these strange ideas about things like what is true metal and what is not true. Whereas I’m quite true, because I do whatever the hell I want and I write the music I want and I’m able to. So, I don’t really give a shit!

Dajana: What do you think about especially these bands in the scene who try to impart ( mostly dull and right-wing orientated ) ideologies? How do you think we can resist and avoid that ?
Ihsahn: I think it’s very important to look at this from a wider perspective. That is also very much, what the new Emperor album is about. There to step up and view things in the wider perspective. And there are very small groups of the right-wing extremism, who talked about the survival of the fittest and everything. All they fear to realise is that they themselves, being that extreme and being that uniformed in their way of the dress codes and moral structures of how you are supposed to be and how you’re not supposed to be, they themselves are a minority. It is not the white aryan society, that loathes them to death? They are outcasts among this western civilization I think. It’s so much easier to take this view and to kick down on other minorities to try and hide the fact, that they themselves are the outcasts in this society and they themselves are just a minority. I think, if more people realized that if you want is to be an individualist and become a black sheep together, is just whining about the same stuff over and over again. And whining about how much better things were in the past. If it was up to me, I think they should play country music, so they could sing about how much better things were in the past...

Dajana: ... it's just to notice, especially here in Germany. Some Black Metal bands are right-wing orientated and I mean, in general the Black Metal scene is called non-political and activities or bands like i mentioned can grow unhindered. A lot of people don’t realize that. I think that’s a problem here.
Ihsahn: It’s also the fact that people... Because I have had some other discussions as well, concerning this right-wing thing in the Black Metal scene. It’s a theme of the political correctness, that people are really occupied with it. I can understand that people are concerned about these tendencies in the scene. I often make it very clear... on subjects concerning nazism and racism. And I hope you will also understand where I stand with my comments on that. That the fashism is based on total ignorance and stupidity. However, it is also a very popular theme. And people are kind of casting out accusations to any band who they misinterpret. Even if bands deny that they are right-wing or whatever. They will go on and claim they are. It’s a very popular theme and a popular accusation to bring out. Other aspects of the things that are also quite politically incorrect; I would say in this metal scene in general is the violence of things that people said. That is something that people, an influence in the metal scene that people are very little concerned about: the sexism of this metal scene. I hear very little people accusing metal bands of being sexists. Even politically that is quite discriminating. But you’ve got see the whole picture. If people discriminate against coloured people, of course, that’s bad. But they ought to see that other bands they praise for not being nazis may well be very sexist. But that’s ok, because that’s the way it's always been in metal? I think that’s also a bit narrow-minded.

Dajana: Do you know the book Lords Of Chaos ? Your opinion about it ?
Ihsahn: Yes, I have heard of it. I never bothered it to read it. But I think I answer your question. My opinion about the book is ... um ... I can’t have any opinions on this book, but my general attitude towards the book is I didn’t bother to read it.

Dajana: When you take a look at your own band history: What were the most beautiful moments or the the most embarrasing moments for and in Emperor?
Ihsahn: *groans* There’s certain things here and there. With our work, of course, there were ups and downs and I have been in a lot strange situations. But picking out some stuff - not mentioning other stuff you know - when I look back, then I see the whole. I think we had a lot of things that might or may have been quite embarassing and when you look at how we were portrayed and also how we portrayed ourselves in the media in the first years. Stuff like that. But we have also had some nice things happen. I kind of just look back at and there is a whole and I don’t want to pick out any certain part of that, and say that means anything more than the band and the rest.

Dajana: Do you think an artist could be happy only to create music for itself or is it neccessary to spread your outpoorings via CD’s, videos and stuff like that ?
Ihsahn: That’s a hard question. Because it’s the ... in principle yes. I think on the one hand I would be very happy just making music. Don’t know. On the other hand it is something about satisfaction of ... you know the confirmation of having it done. When you get it presented a CD with the booklet and the cover, then it’s finished. When you release that you kind of give it away and you kind of start on white paper again, you start from scratch again. When you’re finished with that it and it’s an out of the world kind of thing. So, it’s a mixture and of course, technically of course, there is a necessity to release it, to make a living so that you can go on making music. But sometimes, of course, it can be tempting to just leave the public life and the music industry and just to do your own stuff.

Dajana: In times when people of famous BM bands listen to Techno at home ( Fenriz for example ), it would be interesting to hear, what kind of music you listen to in your private time?
Ihsahn: That can be really anything. I listen to classical music, to contemporary music, some rock music. I try to listen to anything that I don’t have any special experience with. I hardly listen to extreme metal. I try to learn something and enjoy other sorts of music in general. I very much like things like a lot of releases stuff from Jester Records, some jazzy things. I just recently got a lot of Nine Inch Nails albums and I like listening to David Sylvain and I’m quite a big fan of Prince. I’m pretty open minded to all kind of music and the more and more I see there is, the more and more I can learn from other kinds of music as well. I’m so fed up with extreme metal, so .... *laughs*.

Dajana: What do you think when people say, that your Live Album is just a Rip Off for people who never saw you playing live.
Ihsahn: A rip off ? How is that ? People are entitled to their own opinion. I don’t know why! Why they say it is a rip off ? It is a live album with a very good sound and our live pictures of us, us playing the music live. So, I thought that’s what a live album was ? So you can go and buy it, how can that be a rip off? It is their own choice, really!

Short Cuts:

Who is cooking in for your family, today in the evening ?
Probably not me.

You’re a good cook ?
Not very much, but I’ve got some special dishes, that I’m quite good at.

Your favourite beer ?
My favourite beer ? It all depends, really, just like everything else. Different brands of norwegian beer. I don’t drink that much beer.

What are you drinking then? More wine, Whiskey?
Wine, occasionally.

Your last show you have seen ?
Oh... that was a long time ago. Oh no, it was a local teenage punk band of one of my guitar pupils.

Last Words:

EMPEROR says THANK YOU to all of those who supported us through all the years. I hope people will still check out what we are doing in the future, as we will still go on being uncompromising and honest musicians. So, we are far away from the dead! People are so nostalgic about Emperor. I suppose that’s fine, but personally I’m not. It is just another chapter finished.

Dajana: But a legend is dying now ...

Ihsahn: Well, if that’s how you see it. The EMPEROR albums we have released are not going away.