black metal
*Disclaimer: I'm really drugged out on paracetamol, ibuprofen and sinutabs at the moment, so bear with me on this one. I take no responsability for the dumb things I write. Blame the pharmaceutical industry.*
A sort of normal day at the MOA affilliate office (that would be my livingroom). The weather is nice-ish, my cats are breaking down the house during playtime. My dog is sleeping on the sofa. Garbage trucks are rolling down the street. I called my work that I won't be in today since I have a bad case of the flu. Since I'm practically never ill I feel pissed off about this. In a last resort to feel sort of useful, I decide to go and review the new Satyricon that Serge passed on to me a few days ago. "Hey I've got the new Satyricon from Napalm, wan't to review it?". So I'm going "yeah sure" and he sends it out to my mailbox...
But then it dawned on me, like in some existentialist nightmare: I haven't listened to any new Satyricon since the 'Intermezzo II' EP. I. Haven't. Listened. To. A. New. Satyricon. Album. In. 18. Years. There were 5 albums between this and 'Nemesis Divina'! Five! And I only heard some fragments of 'Rebel Extravaganza'! What should I do? I can't just say 'yeah Satyricon really came a long way and the progress between this one and 'Volcano' and 'Age of Nero' and 'Satyricon' is really impressive' because I wouldn't know because I haven't heard them! And I can't just compare it to 'Nemesis Divina' because that happened 21 years ago! Should I start listening to all the albums in between? Really take them in so I have some comparison material of what happened in that time? Well, if Metal Archives is anything to go by, 'Satyricon', the eponimous 8th album, really sucks and the others don't really seem to do any better: so do I wan't to find out if that's true or not? Not to mention the time that would take!
Should I just not do it then? Pass it back to Serge or any of the others to see what they feel about it? Honestly, I don't think any of us have followed Satyricon in the last decade or so, which would only move the problem to someone else. Should Merchants Of Air not review it then? That would be a shame, because as a writer/reviewer it's sort of nice to do some really well-known big bands now and then. Plus, Napalm Records has been really nice to us so far (not that that influences our opinions on releases, mind you) and it would make us look like dicks if we skipped this. So after long consideration I decided to do it the way you are about to read next...
Satyricon hail from Norway and originated in 1991, founded by multi-instrumentalist Satyr with drummer Frost joining in 1993. Their debut album 'Dark Medieval Times' was released in 1994. Then, lots of things happened and here we are in 2017 and here's 'Deep Calleth upon Deep', the 9th full-length. The opening track 'Midnight Serpent' jumps right out of the gate and what we get served is very intricate, complex and progressive black metal. The song is peppered throughout with little spidery guitar riffs, accompanied by eerie synths as well as some musicians of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. It's a realy excerise in restraint and subtlety. Nothing is in you face, it just creeps into your head like a little earworm. Very cool. It's also my favorite song of the album and it really demands repeat listens to fully appreciate the intricacies. Actually the whole album is great to dissect with good earphones because it's a real feast to explore all the details. Sometimes 'Deep Calleth upon Deep' strays into straight up accessible hard-rock territory which might have some people frowning, but it keeps it progressive touch and never gets boring. As is expected the album sounds like clockwork and the guest musicians of the orchestra deliver some awesome contributions. I totally respect Satyr for really knowing what he wants and this album is testament to that vision.
As a fan of the earlier albums this album came as a complete surprise. It's one thing hearing people say how much Satyricon has changed (some might say: started sucking) over the years, it's another to experience it yourself. It's really hard for me to keep myself from comparing it with the early work. But that wouldn't be fair because people get older, their visions change, they become better composers and musicians. I cannot and will not do it. I will view it in its own right and in its own right it is a monumental album full of highly progressive, detailed and intricate black metal.
Bjorn
A sort of normal day at the MOA affilliate office (that would be my livingroom). The weather is nice-ish, my cats are breaking down the house during playtime. My dog is sleeping on the sofa. Garbage trucks are rolling down the street. I called my work that I won't be in today since I have a bad case of the flu. Since I'm practically never ill I feel pissed off about this. In a last resort to feel sort of useful, I decide to go and review the new Satyricon that Serge passed on to me a few days ago. "Hey I've got the new Satyricon from Napalm, wan't to review it?". So I'm going "yeah sure" and he sends it out to my mailbox...
But then it dawned on me, like in some existentialist nightmare: I haven't listened to any new Satyricon since the 'Intermezzo II' EP. I. Haven't. Listened. To. A. New. Satyricon. Album. In. 18. Years. There were 5 albums between this and 'Nemesis Divina'! Five! And I only heard some fragments of 'Rebel Extravaganza'! What should I do? I can't just say 'yeah Satyricon really came a long way and the progress between this one and 'Volcano' and 'Age of Nero' and 'Satyricon' is really impressive' because I wouldn't know because I haven't heard them! And I can't just compare it to 'Nemesis Divina' because that happened 21 years ago! Should I start listening to all the albums in between? Really take them in so I have some comparison material of what happened in that time? Well, if Metal Archives is anything to go by, 'Satyricon', the eponimous 8th album, really sucks and the others don't really seem to do any better: so do I wan't to find out if that's true or not? Not to mention the time that would take!
Should I just not do it then? Pass it back to Serge or any of the others to see what they feel about it? Honestly, I don't think any of us have followed Satyricon in the last decade or so, which would only move the problem to someone else. Should Merchants Of Air not review it then? That would be a shame, because as a writer/reviewer it's sort of nice to do some really well-known big bands now and then. Plus, Napalm Records has been really nice to us so far (not that that influences our opinions on releases, mind you) and it would make us look like dicks if we skipped this. So after long consideration I decided to do it the way you are about to read next...
Satyricon hail from Norway and originated in 1991, founded by multi-instrumentalist Satyr with drummer Frost joining in 1993. Their debut album 'Dark Medieval Times' was released in 1994. Then, lots of things happened and here we are in 2017 and here's 'Deep Calleth upon Deep', the 9th full-length. The opening track 'Midnight Serpent' jumps right out of the gate and what we get served is very intricate, complex and progressive black metal. The song is peppered throughout with little spidery guitar riffs, accompanied by eerie synths as well as some musicians of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. It's a realy excerise in restraint and subtlety. Nothing is in you face, it just creeps into your head like a little earworm. Very cool. It's also my favorite song of the album and it really demands repeat listens to fully appreciate the intricacies. Actually the whole album is great to dissect with good earphones because it's a real feast to explore all the details. Sometimes 'Deep Calleth upon Deep' strays into straight up accessible hard-rock territory which might have some people frowning, but it keeps it progressive touch and never gets boring. As is expected the album sounds like clockwork and the guest musicians of the orchestra deliver some awesome contributions. I totally respect Satyr for really knowing what he wants and this album is testament to that vision.
As a fan of the earlier albums this album came as a complete surprise. It's one thing hearing people say how much Satyricon has changed (some might say: started sucking) over the years, it's another to experience it yourself. It's really hard for me to keep myself from comparing it with the early work. But that wouldn't be fair because people get older, their visions change, they become better composers and musicians. I cannot and will not do it. I will view it in its own right and in its own right it is a monumental album full of highly progressive, detailed and intricate black metal.
Bjorn
