Emperor's Return is an EP from the Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, released on Noise Records on 15 August 1985. It was their second release, arriving a year after the debut album Morbid Tales, and it was the first to feature the American drummer Reid Cruickshank, also known as Reed St. Mark.

The band's bleak publicity photographs from this period went on to influence the look and style of the emerging black metal scene. The EP's tracks were later remastered for the 1999 edition of Morbid Tales, then remastered again for the 2017 edition of To Mega Therion, the album that followed it in 1985. That makes it an easy record to revisit as part of the band's early story.

Emperor’s Return: tracklist and credits

5 tracks · 21:11

Tracklist

  1. 1Circle of the TyrantsThomas Gabriel Warrior4:28
  2. 2Morbid TalesMartin Eric Ain and Thomas Gabriel Warrior3:24
  3. 3Dethroned EmperorThomas Gabriel Warrior4:33
  4. 4Visual AggressionThomas Gabriel Warrior4:11
  5. 5Suicidal WindsThomas Gabriel Warrior4:35
Produced by
Rick “Lights”, Thomas Gabriel Warrior, Martin Eric Ain, Horst Müller, Thomas Gabriel Warrior, Tom Warrior, Martin Ain, Karl Walterbach
Recorded at
Line In Recording Studio, Caet Studio
Recorded
October 1984 at Caet Studio in Berlin, Germany (tracks 2 and 3), April 1985 at Line in Recording Studio in Zürich, Switzerland (tracks 1, 4, 5)
Mixed at
Line In Recording Studio, Caet Studio
Engineered by
Thomas Süsstrunk, Horst Müller
Labels
Noise Records, Noise (Europe), Enigma/Metal Blade (USA)
Length
21:11

Line-up

  • Martin Eric Ain · bass guitar
  • Reed St. Mark · drums (drum set)
  • Thomas Gabriel Warrior · guitar, lead vocals
  • Steven Priestly · drums (drum set)

From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date musicbrainz only
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz15 August 1985
Wikipedia infoboxAugust 1985
Wikidata1985
2 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
15 August 1985DENoise Recordsoriginal
19 August 2022—Noise Records4050538841220other
Cover art sources

fanarttv · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)

SourceSizeVerdict
fanarttv ✓1000×1000upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
coverartarchive953×953upscaled