On August 21, 1992, then-Emperor drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun stabbed a man named Magne Andreassen to death. Eithun was convicted in 1994 and served a little under 10 years before being released in 2003. Now in an interview with Metal Hammer, Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth said Eithun confessed the murder to him during a party in 1993. Filth said Eithun was drunk at the time, and that he thought Eithun was actually joking.
"We played at the Royal Court in Liverpool, then had a massive party. Faust came up to me pissed out his head and told me about murdering a gay guy. I dismissed it as a load of crap but when it all came out I felt like an accessory to murder after the fact."
Filth added that Emperor in 1993 wasn't exactly all doom and gloom, so taking Eithun seriously was difficult.
"But if anyone had seen Emperor at that time, they'd never have taken them seriously. There's, like, Samoth, Lord of Silence, but he wasn't Lord of Silence that night – he was Lord of Giggles and Laughter… Everybody was either high or taking Es, drinking – all fucked."
Eithun would eventually rejoin his Emperor bandmates for reunion shows in 2013, 2014, and 2021.