Review by Adam on March 20, 2001.

..And no one could be more thrilled than me! Now this band had the difficult task of creating an album worthy enough to rise above the standards they set with their previous disc Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. With this album they come pretty damn close I'd say, and this time around there is a little bit more to offer as well. The melodies are a bit more thought out this release, and the production of the record overall is the best that they have captured yet. Songs like The Source of Icon E brutalize you with maniac drumming delivered by the allmighty Trym, lightning quick guitar riffs supplied by Sammoth, and awsome leads, bass, keyboards, and vocals by music meistro Ishahn. Emperor make it easy for any metal fan to get into black metal, and with this being their third album they have now shown themselves as an unstoppable force in the heavy music scene.

Bottom Line: Buy this cd if you are looking for some good well-produced black metal with speed, melody, and intensity.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Adam on March 20, 2001.

..And no one could be more thrilled than me! Now this band had the difficult task of creating an album worthy enough to rise above the standards they set with their previous disc Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. With this album they come pretty damn close I'd say, and this time around there is a little bit more to offer as well. The melodies are a bit more thought out this release, and the production of the record overall is the best that they have captured yet. Songs like The Source of Icon E brutalize you with maniac drumming delivered by the allmighty Trym, lightning quick guitar riffs supplied by Sammoth, and awsome leads, bass, keyboards, and vocals by music meistro Ishahn. Emperor make it easy for any metal fan to get into black metal, and with this being their third album they have now shown themselves as an unstoppable force in the heavy music scene.

Bottom Line: Buy this cd if you are looking for some good well-produced black metal with speed, melody, and intensity.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by JD on April 27, 2011.

Seattle based Stabbings is self proclaimed Goth/Horror Rock outfit, with metallic leanings but that is not what I heard once in my player. Noisy, unrefined and not even close to being talented or even organized. The band is less about music and more like listening to septic tank gurgling before it breaks down.

With some of the worst muddy sounding recording, the most terrible songwriting and a complete lack of musical talent I have had the un-pleasure of finding, listing to the two songs on the album makes me shake my head. There are some minor spots that seem to hint something better than what is on the disk but the reality kicks you in the ass.

Because there are only two songs on this disk, I felt so damned lucky that it did. With music this bad, I was considering reviewing Polka albums or simply making the decision to start ‘stabbing’ my eardrums out with a icepick. It was an experience that I would never want to have. I would rather have a colon check done by a sadistic mass murderer than to listen to this very short EP ever again.

I now go and put the CD containing Stabbings songs in the dumpster and hope that it is not like the cat and it comes back the very next day. If it does, I would consider the job of Polka reviewer the instant I saw the album again. This is not even good for skeet shooting, as a toy for a dog. It is just that bad.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 2
Atmosphere: 1
Production: 1
Originality: 1
Overall: 1

Rating: 1.2 out of 10