Satyricon
The Shadowthrone
Satyr - vocals, guitars
Samoth (Emperor) - bass, guitar
Frost - battery
1. Hvite krists dod
2. In the Mist by the Hills
3. Woods to Eternity
4. vikingland
5. Dominions of Satyricon
6. The King of the Shadowthrone
7. i en svart kiste (great instrumental)
This album is probably Satyricon's masterpiece. The songs are really aggressive but not at all sloppy sounding. Satyr's vocals are very, very clear, you can hear what he's saying without looking at the lyrics. The keyboards are great. The last song is an excellent instrumental done by the session keyboardist. This entire cd is just really high quality black metal with crystal clear production, excellent songwriting and flawless execution.
Production rating 9/10
Songwriting rating 10/10
Nemesis Divina
Satyr - vocals, lead guitars, bass
Kvelduluv - guitar
Frost - battery
1. The Dawn of a New Age
(guitar tab)
2. Forhekset
(guitar tab)
3. Mother North
(guitar tab)
4. Du Som hater gud
5. Immortality Passion
6. Nemesis Divina
7. Transdental Requiem of Slaves
Where do I begin?
This album is a prime example of black metal. This recording is probably one of the best black metal recordings ever! The songs are really cool, and the production is excellent. This album is guitar based. They combine weird riffing, evil chromaticism and a medival folk sound.
The vocals are a typical of the black metal scene, but that's not to say they're bad. The lyrics are taken from place such as the "Book of Revelations" and some of them are in Norwegian (as if you couldn't tell by the song titles.) Satyr actually pronounces words sufficiently that you might not need the lyric booklet to understand what he is screaming. There's lots of tremolo picked riffs in here, and the drums are really great. Frost is in the same league as Hellhammer and Nicholas (except more insane).
I just can't get over how great this album is. If you listen to some black metal bands for a while, you get kind of tired listening to "Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming--in your mouth! ..." and the same sounding riffs in very song. Not with Satyricon! They keep you intrigued with odd riffs and somewhat strange chromatic songwrting. This album is a real fucking pleasure to listen to.
Production Rating 10/10
Songwriting 11 or 12/10
Intermezzo
Satyr - vocals and fx
Sanrabb - guitar
Frost - drums
Ingar Amlien - bass
Vegard Blomberg -fx
1. A Moment of Clarity
2. INRI
3. Nemesis Divina
4. Blessed From Below
Satyr shaved his head and it looks as though he's gotten a tatoo that spans over most of his cranium and face. I think it is cool, but some people on the net have expressed their dislike to this. The music is still intense, but sometimes it kind of slow and dirge like. The bass drum tone is almost nonexistent but the guitars and vocals are well recorded. I think Satyr uses a distortion pedal to add a little edge of distortion to his vocals, which is ok, but you can tell the difference. "Blessed From Below" is a techno/industrial track (it's not even finished), and I like it so far, but the hardcore Darkthrone/Darkfuneral/Emperor/Burzum/OnlyNorwegianBlackMetalRules type of person will probably not dig it. I think it is very lame to include "Nemesis Divina" on this cd, fuck I bought the fucking "Nemesis Divina" album already, so don't waste my time with shit I already own!!!!!! If you wanna spend your money on a 4, oops I mean 3 song cd, be my guest. I don't think it is really worth all that much considering how few songs it has on it.
Production rating 8/10
Songwriting rating 8 or 9/10
Rebel Extravaganza
Satyr - vocals, guitar, bass, baritone and synth
Frost - drums
1. Tied in Bronze Chains
2. Filthgrinder
3. Rhapsody in Filth
4. Havoc Vulture
5. Prime Evil Renaissance
6. Supersonic Journey
7. End of Journey
8. A Moment of Clarity
9. Down South, Up North
10. the Scorn Torrent
Despite its cheesy, comical name a la used car sale, "Rebel Extravaganza" is no joke! This album knocks you down and kicks you in the head repeatedly with psychotic drums, insane vocals, frenzied dissonant riffs, and much welcomed abrupt time changes. People will complain that this album is "too calculated" and "too clinical" to be any good; I disagree. That's like saying you didn't like Jeffery Dahlmer because he was "too clinical" and "too calculating" but you think Postal workers who go off on shooting sprees are cool. This philosophy is just plain reetart-ed!
This album is nothing groundbreaking, but I feel that with this album, Satyricon has honed its skills to perfection and put out an album (I dare say) almost superior to its predecessor, Nemesis Divina.
Production rating 9/10
Songwriting rating 9 or 10/10
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