Band:	Satyricon
Album:	Satyricon
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	September 09, 2013
Guest review by:	R.Baldur

01. Voice Of Shadows
02. Tro Og Kraft
03. Our World, It Rumbles Tonight
04. Nocturnal Flare
05. Phoenix
06. Walker Upon The Wind
07. Nekrohaven
08. Ageless Northern Spirit
09. The Infinity Of Time And Space
10. Natt
11. Phoenix [recording session rough mix] [digipak bonus]
12. Our World, It Rumbles Tonight [Deeper Low mix] [digipak bonus]
13. Natt [Wet mix] [digipak bonus]

To the lovers of the black metal style, you may end up hearing absolute noise (kidding). Undoubtedly, moving away from black metal elements in Norway is an unforgivable sin. But Satyricon's black metal work is so strong that they cannot be missed anywhere.

The band's eighth studio album is, bucking the trends of the band's classic albums, different from Norwegian black metal. The album is made within the general framework of black metal, yes, but with more diversity in guitar-playing techniques, and generally with a slower, more intuitive rhythm and decent audio quality. The guitar solos are heavier and almost all in one category, and the riffs do not play a key role on this album.

In fact, this album is more a masterpiece of drumming than of guitar playing. Frost's full-fledged personality and maturity can clearly be heard in his drumming on this album. The drums have been played with a variety of techniques, in such a way that they become the cornerstone of all rhythms in all the songs, and Satyricon is about Frost's drumming as much as black metal in the known Satyricon style, a la Nemesis Divina.

But in this album, what has the most major role beyond the drums is the guitar playing. The guitar solos at the beginning of each songs echo the solos of ancient, traditional Norwegian music and, of course, the corresponding beliefs. It turns out that, while it's true the group's original black metal sound has changed, the line of thought and the content of their albums has not; they still remain committed to the traditions and ancient gods of Norway.

The album's vocals, however, do not always bring back the scary, scratchy screams. What you hear instead coming to the ears of a black metal freak is the voice of a neo-Viking man, a man looking for ancient myths in the trees of the ancient forests, expressing grief and sorrow. The album's best track, "Phoenix," most innovatively uses this guest vocalist, Sivert Høyem from the now-defunct band Madrugada. This comes at the album's apex.

In addition to the issues going into the album that most are now familiar with, Satyricon's self-titled album follows a variety of modern black metal conventions and aims to promote anti-propaganda music by reflecting more important concepts than hatred of the human race. In fact, this album, in the midst of black metal traditions involving witchery and rituals, seeks to create a work that, in addition to attracting larger audiences, introduces fully and completely the ancient culture of Norway. Ultimately, Satyricon is a story of old wood, rich memories, and mysterious forests.

Enter the darkness of the woods and the warm, colorful light of the forest?