IMPERATOR

Imperator (Latin for "Emperor") was formed in 1984, when Bariel and Adrian joined together to rehearse and play covers of Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Sodom, among others. Bassist Mefisto joined the group in September - as a 3-piece they played their first concerts.

In December 1986 the band recorded their first demo entitled Endless Sacrifice, which was well-received despite the substandard sound quality of the tape. The second live demo Deathlive released in 1987 established Imperator as the most extreme Eastern European metal band at that time. New drummer Moloch was then introduced, collaborating with the group in the recording of the third demo Dronor the same year and Eternal Might in 1988. That year the band also performed music for a theatrical performance of Dracula, and performed numerous shows in Poland.

Bariel planned at the time a side project (Moon) with Dead and Euronymous. This was shelved after Dead's suicide. At the same time, the awaited debut album The Time Before Time, meant for release through Deathlike Silence Productions was eventually published through a minor Polish label with big distribution problems called Nameless Productions. This practically bankrupted the band.

The last recording session with Bariel still in the band took place in 1995, but nothing came out of it. Tomczyk later emigrated to Australia.

In 1997, Pagan Records reissued the debut album on CD with two additional, previously unreleased tracks: "Love Is the Law (Love Under Will)" and "The Rest Is Silence". Imperator reformed in 1998, playing some shows and recording a demo with new material entitled Existential Prophecy without Bariel, featuring Mefisto as the only former member in the band. They split-up in 2000.