For almost three decades, symphonic black metal pioneers Emperor have consistently ranked among extreme metal’s elite. Their origins in the snowy forests of Norway positioned them at the forefront of a movement that injected a bombastic grandeur into the raw sound of contemporaries like Mayhem and Burzum. And within their discography, one track stands out as the closest the subgenre ever came to a mainstream hit: I Am The Black Wizards.
The opening track of the band’s self-titled EP and a harmonic high-point of their lauded 1994 debut, In The Nightside Eclipse, I Am The Black Wizards has remained a fan favorite for a quarter of a century. Yet, even for those within the band, pinpointing the song’s enduring appeal proves elusive. When asked about its impact, Emperor’s Ihsahn admits to a degree of bewilderment.
“It’s hard to say,” Ihsahn reflects. “You could say that it has a rather strong hook and a melody line that is very distinct. I would say that it’s a very typical example of some of the early Emperor stuff. [Guitarist] Samoth would come up with the opening chords and I had a sometimes annoying tendency to find melody in those progressions. I Am The Black Wizards is an example where chords are tweaked into something that feels almost like a singable melody.”
The song’s impact isn’t merely musical. The opening moments of I Am The Black Wizards are legendary for their cathartic energy. Ihsahn’s frantic strumming quickly descends into a breakdown, where lead guitar shredding dances over thrashing rhythms and powerful drumming. It’s a jolt of energy both on record and in live performance, a feeling that seems to have emerged organically.
“There was nothing conscious about the songwriting or any thinking about hooks in those days,” Ihsahn insists. “It was pure intuition; it was never as cynical as, ‘Oh, OK, let’s get the people going!’ At the time, we wanted to have a limited group of people, [and] not the ‘wrong’ people listening to our music.”
The song’s lyrical content, steeped in dark fantasy, is a hallmark of early Norwegian black metal. Ihsahn acknowledges the abstract nature of the lyrics, penned by former bassist Mortiis, and their surprising resonance with listeners.
“It’s similar to Quorthon in Bathory,” he explains, referencing the influential Swedish black metal artist. “He was inspired by Motörhead and he wanted to sing about girls and driving fast cars, but he was only 16: he didn’t have a girlfriend and he definitely didn’t have a driver’s licence. Ha ha!”
Ihsahn continues, “With I Am The Black Wizards, it’s Mortiis’s lyrics – who other than him can actually make sense of them? I still can’t make sense of them, but there’s an energy behind them that just fits. It’s so abstractly expressed that it resonates with other people who are in a similar space. I Am The Black Wizards’ lyrics don’t make sense, but you see people singing along, thinking, ‘I am them!’”
The song’s epic imagery, evoked by lines like ‘Mightiest am I / But I am not alone in this cosmos of mine’ and ‘Summon the souls of macrocosm / No age will escape my wrath’, builds throughout the six-minute track. The mid-section and conclusion of I Am The Black Wizards feature a captivating blend of lead guitar work and keyboards, arguably the key to its enduring popularity.
The song’s power extends beyond the studio. Ihsahn recounts a recent experience that underscored its emotional impact on fans. “I came back from playing a show in Poland yesterday: I saw grown men cry when we played I Am The Black Wizards. It’s a humbling experience, as a music fan that has close relationships with songs from when I was growing up, to realise that you’ve created a song that has had a similar effect on some other people. They’ve attached emotions and memories to that soundtrack.”
I Am The Black Wizards, then, isn’t simply a song; it’s a cultural touchstone for a generation of metal fans, a testament to the power of intuition, and a reminder that sometimes, the most enduring art is born from happy accidents.
