Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. Over the years, the band's music changed to what can be called "extreme symphonic metal" in their later days. They dissolved in 2001, and reformed in late 2005. The group was founded by Samoth on drums and Ihsahn on guitar and vocals.

Emperor is a seminal Norwegian black metal band who represent a synth laden yet brutally aggressive and chaotic part of the genre, something quite different from the minimalism of other originators of the Norwegian black metal sound, e.g. Darkthrone . The band was formed around the core members Samoth (Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen, now member of Zyklon ), Ihsahn (Vegard Sverre Tveitan, Peccatum , Hardingrock ) and Mortiis (Håvard Ellefsen) in 1992, and released their critically acclaimed and wide