Emperor of a Dimension Unknown (Darkwave/Cold Meat Industry)
by Chris Dick
Are you looking for the perfect music to listen to while role-playing? If you are, Mortiis‘ fourth album, regally entitled Emperor of a Dimension Unknown, is for you. Mortiis, who used to play in the sonorous black metal outfit Emperor, has ascended past the foul and clangorous aspects of metal to a place of melancholy and majesty. While Emperor… has no guitars or conventional drumming, it still makes for an exhiliarating and extreme listen. Mortiis, who claims this is suicide music, really isn’t “classically” proficient with the keyboard, but that doesn’t make his music any less impressive. Emperor… contains two songs and clocks in at around 50 minutes, leaving each song approximately 25 minutes of depressing, sometimes climatic soundscapes. Opening track “Journeys to Deserts and Dungeons” leaves a lasting impression on those who take the time to absorb its textural grimness, while the title track resembles something like a medieval funeral composition. The label, Cold Meat Industry, is renowned for its exquisite packaging and utterly beautiful layouts, and Mortiis’ 50-minute movement is no different. At first glance, the forest green and gold packaging will draw you into Mortiis’ dark world; while the inner sleeve, photos and all, conjures up images of a dark, moldy dungeon. Such cooperation between the two has made Emperor of a Dimension Unknown completely convincing in its glory. To quote Mortiis, “I’ve spent enough time in this world. Now I can enter the dimensions still unknown to all mortal fools.” Haunting, isn’t it?