Emperor will stage a reunion in 2017 and play a handful of shows to mark the 20th anniversary of their Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk album, the band have announced.
Frontman Ihsahn, guitarist Amoth and drummer Trym have confirmed just one appearance so far, at the Czech Republic’s Brutal Assault Festival in August.
It will be three years since the band, then featuring drummer Faust, last performed.
Emperor say in a statement: “We will return in 2017 for a few exclusive appearances, performing the Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk album. The first confirmed show is at the Brutal Assault Festival. Emperial regards, Ihsahn, Samoth, Trym.”
Although they’ve reformed several times since first splitting in 2001, it seems unlikely that they’ll record a follow-up to that year’s Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire And Demise.
Ihsahn said in April that a fifth studio title would be “absolutely pointless” because it would be too similar to his solo material, adding: “I ended up writing the last album on my own. I was kind of bound in this direction of going it alone. So if it was up to me to decide, Emperor would sound like this.”
Samoth, who’s concentrating on his band The Wretched End, later argued: “The way Ihsahn makes music is how he would make metal music. For him to compromise his progressive nature with a more metal focus would feel like a step backwards for him.
“It would be hard and forced for us to try to make that compromise happen. I’m not sure it would feel natural.”
In 2014 Ihsahn reported that he didn’t foresee any more Emperor performances after they’d reunited for the anniversary of debut release In The Nightside Eclipse. He added: “The main goal was to keep it very limited and not get greedy.
”Before we even booked one show we said, ‘Let’s not repeat what we did before. This is a celebration for us and those who have a relationship with that album. Make the most of it, but keep it limited.’”
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