Perhaps they might be in the list of the first 20 names that you would hear if the instruction was to blurt out as many Norwegian disciples as possible, though there are few who believe that the young Satyr and his group grasped the strict essence of the style with their early work, while even fewer will support his ventures into simpler directions under the name of black metal. That is, unless the conversation turns to Nemesis Divina. What this album is not, though, is one song only.
What raises this head and shoulders above other Satyricon albums, as well as most other releases in the extreme metal pantheon, is not its constituent parts but more the way they have been fitted together. None of the jumps between styles occur as they did on Dark Medieval Time , no blind fury appears as it did on many of the early Norwegian releases, nor does the strength of the production inhibit the majesty of the atmosphere a jot.
Nemesis Divina is almost as godly as its title indicates. The cold, harsh soundscape of the guitars conjure up images of bone saws, while Frost pounds his drums with a somewhat dull, ominous air. The overall atmosphere of the album is very cold and raw, and somehow the melodies which could rather easily become tinky-winky folk pop tunes manage to sound haunting and twisted and blend really nicely with the harsher, dissonant black metal riffs. Though a blood red line is easily discerned throughout the album, there is plenty of contrast to be found here.
Sorry, cook. An entirety where all details work for the greater good or evil and the end result is greater than the sum of its parts. I admire his sense of time, as for how many repetitions a riff needs to be played to create a sense of completion of the idea but still keep the momentum driving forward. All in all, this is one of the best black metal albums of all time.
In fact, this is one of the best albums of all time, all fucking categories and genres included. I specifically remember seeing the music video for "Mother North" and thought it was slightly strange. Nevertheless, the song remained an all time favorite of mine and convinced me to give the rest of the album a listen. This album is often viewed as one of the greatest, most innovative black metal albums ever crafted, and I definitely agree. However, two years after this, Satyricon's musical direction would take a sharp left turn and they would never create music like this anymore.
While I enjoy most of what this band has put out, their first three albums will always be their finest work. I have a hard time choosing this or "Dark Medieval Times" as my favorite album as they're both great, as well as "The Shadowthrone". This album blends beauty with the chaotic nature of the classic Norwegian black metal sound.
Songs like "The Dawn of a New Age" the spoken-word female vocals in the latter half of the song are pretty damn cool and "Immortality Passion" with their beautiful melodic, clean interludes and the classic "Mother North" truly give this album the right to be considered an essential classic. There is not one track on this album to be skipped. The music, such is the case with most black metal, is not all that technical. However the atmosphere and flow make technicality obsolete.
Everything works seamlessly to create a hypnotic, beautiful atmosphere combined with amazing, rich melodies which could actually be described as bright and vivid. The guitars are amazing. As previously stated, I have a hard time choosing a favorite album when it comes to this and "Dark Medieval Times" but as I've said with the aforementioned album, this contains some of Satyricon's greatest guitar work.
This can definitely be said about the instrumental closing piece "Transcendental Requiem of Slaves" with it's combination of distorted and clean passages alike. There are some really cool groovy, almost rock-inspired riffs within songs such as "Forhesket" that would eventually dominate Satyricon's sound on albums to come.
Also, this song even contains a medieval folk-inspired piano section towards the end which isn't surprising, as Satyricon was definitely influenced by medieval themes during this time.
Satyr's vocal performance is, by this point, instantly recognizable to my ears. He sounds a bit different at this point but not at all in a bad way. He would carry this sound over to the band's following albums. He sounds evil and possessed here and it's really darn cool. I have no complaints about the guy's performance, as it is solid. In fact, I'd say here, on "Nemesis Divina", he gave his best vocal performance throughout Satyricon's entire album catalog.
With its beautiful, colorful, uniquely rich cover art and absolutely classic songs, "Nemesis Divina" will always be a true classic black metal album and remains adored by fans of Satyricon, as well as those who are quite disappointed with their following efforts. Whether you love or hate these guys for "selling out" or whatever, this album is still an amazing listen and I recommend it to any fan of black metal who, for some reason, may have not yet had the pleasure of hearing it.
Generally considered one of black metal's greatest albums, "Nemesis Divina" presented various elements that were generally uncommon within the black metal scene at the time. This made the album a quintessential stepping stone on the road that would make Satyricon one of the most enduring black metal bands of the 90's and would make black metal make its next step.
Satyricon's expression is in constant motion in "Nemesis Divina" and looking back on the release, it is evident that black metal found its turning point on the new elements of this record. The album also had guests Nebelhexe Andrea Meyer performing the spoken part on "The Dawn of a New Age" and Geir Bratland performing all synthesizer and grand piano sections we hear on the album. The whole group of musicians already had released several works, so this would be an album comprised of musicians that, not only had created some of black metal's most memorable albums but also had their minds set on creating something that would re-define the genre that they had pioneered years before.
The first element that would set "Nemesis Divina" apart as something new would be its cover art - no longer do we stare at a "rorschach like" frame of black and white imagery. Corpse paint is no longer featured in the cover, there are no poses being made in a wintry landscape amidst a forest in flame's hue. Black metal by this point wasn't all about Satanism. The previous year, Satyricon's "The Forest Is My Throne" was featured in a cooperative released with Enslaved's "Yggdrasill", containing lyrics glorifying Norway's landscapes, myths and heritage.
Indeed the music within the album embodies a divine sense of retribution and a wrath beyond that possessed by any common man. Nemesis, is usually connoted to the concept of an arch-enemy, however it is also according to Greek mythology, the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to arrogance before the gods. Most practitioners of black metal implied that Christianity had impacted the Norse gods and traditions with extreme arrogance, and this usually fueled the anti-Christian themes of most of these acts, this release was no exception.
Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic poet and historian that lived in the XIIIth century, believed that these mens' connotation as berserker, were associated with warriors that went into battle bare-chested, or "without armor" as men of Odin, and Satyricon truly stand bare-chested in their defense of Mother North. The production values of the album also differs from what was common in the "Norwegian scene" of the time, no longer is the listener faced with a constant "hum" that would permeate the whole record, everything is clear, however keeping an aesthetic sense that is undeniably black metal in its aspiration and intent.
The recording was made in Waterfall Studios, where Storm's "Nordavind" and Wongraven's "Fjelltronen" were also recorded. This previous experience has surely influenced the new approach that was taken in "Nemesis Divina". The same studio would later record Satyricon's "Intermezzo II". From the furious blast-beats of "Mother North" to the piano sections of "Du Som Hater Gud" and the industrial elements found in "Transcendental Requiem of Slaves", "Nemesis Divina" provides its listener with a lesson on the defining aspects of black metal to that point, and hints on the future of the genre and what black metal would evolve to in years to come.
Often overshadowed by their larger than life contemporaries Darkthrone and Emperor, Satyricon was nevertheless able to carve out a highly esteemable position amongst the Norwegian ranks of the 2nd wave, offering up a raw yet grandiose sound that couldn't help but resemble a curious middle ground between the 2 aforementioned bands.
It's a fairly strange marriage of sound when one considers that Darkthrone is widely know for their barebones simplicity and rigid orthodoxy, whereas Emperor took on an esoteric and wildly progressive take on things, perhaps being surpassed only by Enslaved in their level of technical extravagance. But Satyr and company somehow manage to make all the pieces fit together, and it culminates wondrously in their 3rd and magnum opus "Nemesis Divina", and album that can arguably be looked upon as the end of the glory period of the 2nd wave and a final aftershock following the turmoil that the scene witnessed in the mid 90s.
The friction between the two extremes that have influenced this album is unrelenting, yet masterfully contained and focused so as to hit the ears with a concentrated dose of auditory violence.
At the very onset of "The Dawn Of A New Age", a slamming blow of frosty chords beat down the walls like Thor's hammer, in a manner not all that dissimilar from what was employed on "A Blaze In The Northern Sky", but unlike said early classic this beast piles on layers of keyboard sounds and is a good bit more technical in its riffing approach. It's not quite as fluid and blurred as Samoth's and Ihsahn's twin guitar assault, and even takes on a rugged thrashing character similar to Demonaz's work on "Pure Holocaust", but it definitely comes close to hitting the same pinnacle that was grasped on "In The Nightside Eclipse".
Forhekset 3. Mother North 4. Du Som Hater Gud 5. Immortality Passion 6. Nemesis Divina 7. Transcendental Requiem Of Slaves. If you like Satyricon, you may also like:. When I hear Exercises in futility, I feel mighty, indestructible, and for some reason, alive Fusarium.
Album with very dark moments, Fusarium. Litourgiya by Batushka. The Best Batushka album so far. A Black Metal Classic!!! There are few albums that I can listen to from start to finish without skipping a track and this is on the top of the list. You almost have to listen to the album as a whole. Mnemosynean by Katatonia. Planetary Clairvoyance by Tomb Mold.
Butt-Head- Tomb Mold is heavier than beavis's mom these guys rule!! Beavis- Hey shut up Butt-Head! Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp. No matching results. Explore music. Get fresh music recommendations delivered to your inbox every Friday. Nemesis Divina by Satyricon. But it was Nemesis Divina that lit the touch paper and that is why, despite their oft-stated reservations about engaging in misty-eyed nostalgia, Satyricon will bring the album to Bloodstock this August, giving us a one-off opportunity to relive the moment that black metal came of age.
We can summon that ferocity again. There was such a massive response from our fans, and it became clear that this music means a lot to a lot of people. Satyricon, live in London. Dom Lawson has been writing for Hammer and Prog for 14 intermittently enjoyable years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He listens to more music than you. And then writes about it.
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