Seminal Norwegian black metal band Emperor formed in 1991 with bass player and lyricist Mortiis at the helm. Mortiis recorded two acclaimed EPs with the band: Wrath of the Tyrant and Emperor, later compiled as Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant—but by the time Emperor started work on their debut full length, Mortiis had stepped away to focus on his solo project.

During his time with Emperor, Mortiis was able to dabble in atmospherics, but it took going solo for him to be able to explore musical interests outside the constraints of Norwegian black metal, still retaining the genre’s visual aesthetics. Influenced by the likes of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, he set to work creating music entirely with synthesizers, in the process helping create the sub-genre dungeon synth with his groundbreaking al

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