The compilation set is split up in two discs, with the first disc (the black disc) containing material from their studio releases, and the second (silver disc) going for more unreleased and harder to obtain material. The black disc kicks off with the opening tracks of the bands last tour, "Curse You All Men" from the "IX Equilibrium" album, the last album that the band toured for. From this record also "An Elegy Of Icaros" is featured, although a personal favourite of mine, "Sworn", is left off (well more or less, more about this track in the silver disc part of the review). The second track of the black disc is "Tongue Of Fire" from the final opus, "Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire And Demise", which finds his record brother in "In The Wordless Chamber". I personally would have liked to see "Thorns On My Grave" since that's my favourite track, but although it took me a long time to appreciate this album it has grown greatly on me to an extent that I appreciate any of the tracks on that recording. The contrast with the next track, "The Majesty Of The Nightsky" is huge though. This track was recorded for the highly-acclaimed "In The Nightside Eclipse" record, and is more atmospheric and less complex than the newer material. The song builds up nicely to the following two tracks ("Cosmic Keys To My Creations And Times" and "Wrath Of The Tyrant"), which both came from the self-titled EP of the band. Not only is the style comparable, also the production of the albums are closer together than any of the other EMPEROR recordings.

After those two tracks is finally the first track from my favourite EMPEROR disc, "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk", and a great one! "The Loss And Curse Of Reverence" is probably the best known track by the band as a video was made of it and it was featured on quite a few compilations. With 4 tracks "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" is the leader in featured songs, although the version of "Thus Spake The Nightspirit" is in fact the version from the live album "Emperial Live Ceremony". Anyway, with "Ye Entrancemperium" and "With Strength I Burn" Samoth (who helped making the compilation) selected in my opinion two of the best tracks ever written by the band, although some might miss "Ensorcelled By Khaos". Then again, you can't please everyone. Two unmentioned tracks remain, both coming from aforementioned "In The Nightside Eclipse" and with "I Am The Black Wizards" and closing track "Inno A Satana" two of the most popular tracks ever made by the band are included. All together this disc is an incredibly summary of the potential of the band, and it gives a great overview of what the band stood for and how incredibly far they were beyond any other band in the genre.

As if it wasn't enough already, the silver disc gives us another fourteen tracks. In addition to the "normal" tracks on the black disc, the second CD is filled with harder to get material, covers, bonus tracks and such. The great BATHORY cover "A Fine Day To Die" and the MERCYFUL FATE song "Gypsy" were already found on the re-issued version of "In The Nightside Eclipse", but, together with the DARKTHRONE and MAYHEM covers, were also recorded for tribute albums for the covered bands. The second and sixth track of the silver disc are both off the split CD that EMPEROR recorded with THORNS, and probably will be in the possession of the dedicated EMPEROR fans. I must say that I could have done without the track "I Am", but it serves its purpose perfectly on this compilation album. The same goes for the remix of "Sworn", done by ULVER for the limited edition DigiPak of "IX Equilibrium". Again, this is a song that belongs on this CD filled with bonus material but this version doesn't do much justice to the original album version of this fantastic song. Following this remix are two tracks from "Wrath Of The Tyrant" and then a rehearsal track from the "Nordic Metal" compilation CD. The final four tracks of the second EMPEROR compilation disc are from the both remaining EPs of the band, "As The Shadows Rise" and "Reverence", and most likely will be familiar to the people that have the re-issued versions of the self-titled album and "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk". Most people will have the majority of the tracks on this album, but on separate CDs and not more than two tracks per CD. This is pretty much the best gathering of extra tracks by EMPEROR imaginable, covering pretty much all extra tracks they ever recorded!

If above is not enough reason to own "Scattered Ashes: A Decade Of Emperial Wrath", maybe the fantastic booklet will help to persuade you? It contains old band photos, a brief history, full discography and truly fantastic cover artwork. This IS the ultimate ode to one of the best bands in Metal history! I think it's rather simple. If you don't have any EMPEROR albums, this is the perfect start to discover one of the best things in Metal. If you have a few of their albums, what a great way to determine which EMPEROR album to buy next! If you have all their albums, then the compilation format, the presence of bonus tracks and the great artwork are all great excuses to spend your money on this ultimate overview of the career of the Norwegian Black Metal gods.

Now that EMPEROR is gone, lay thorns on their grave… (Online April 16, 2003)