Satyricon, Now, Diabolical

I’m not big on corpse paint, eyeliner or any of the other fan fare that is often associated with black metal. I can dig the music every now and again, but true to form black metal has always sounded a bit cheesey to me. That’s why it’s taken me a while to purchase Satyricon‘s latest effort — even with all the positive press it’s received lately.

What’s apparent right away is that this album isn’t full on black metal. It’s sound and the band’s legacy is rooted in that genre, yet the music on this album is more melodic and has a great groove to it. You’ll be hard pressed to find a poorly executed riff on the entire album. It seems that just about every song has something memorable about it. Whether it’s a catchy riff, or a lighter sounding drum fill, the band has a sound that stretches passed the black metal niche, incorporating elements of death and thrash.

I’m not going to lie. I liked the bulk of this album right out of the box. After the first listen, I was hooked. This album reminds me a bit of Early Man‘s Closing In. Now these two bands sound absolutely nothing alike, but both have the uncanny ability to create killer riffs one after the other. It’s not something any band can do.

Now, Diabolical
The title track starts off with the best riff on the album. It’s hard to listen to this one without the smallest bit of head bobbing — especially when Frost kicks in with the drums. Satyr’s delivery is raspy and sort of soft, but still plenty powerful. The chorus on the opener is great. The band slows it down with a churning riff around the three minute mark that lasts a good minute before kicking into the last set of lyrics.

K.I.N.G.
One of my biggest issues with black metal in general are the campy lyrics. Now even straight up death metal and hardcore bands can have cheesey content behind their mosh, but black metal bands have always been on the goofier side for me. “K.I.N.G.” is no exception, with lyrical content referring to “dragon wings” and such. That all said, this song has yet another incredible riff and one hell of a catchy drum beat. The groove is unmistakable and carries the momentum from “Now, Diabolical” with ease, even at a slightly slower pace.

The Pentagram Burns
Man, this album has a great flow to it. What’s funny about this track is the the opening vocal delivery reminds me briefly of a Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza song. Odd I know.

A New Enemy
This one has some pretty quick drumming on Frost’s part. It’s not the groove oriented stuff we’ve heard so far in the previous three songs. Satyr uses a bit of a spoken word delivery for a few of the lyrics. It’s alright, but I think I could do without it.

The Rite of Our Cross
“The Rite of Our Cross” starts off dramatic and slow for a few minutes prior to the crew turning it up with some hard riffs and drumming. This song has some of the more intense and powerful guitar work and drumming.

That Darkness Shall Be Eternal
With a title that could be on the back of any black metal album cover, “That Darkness Shall Be Eternal” isn’t really all that dark sounding. With the exception of the spoken word dramatics of the opening sequence this one is relatively fast and driving. The primary riff on this one sounds similar to that on the first track.

Delirium
Another slow and dramatic start to this track reins in the momentum from the previous song a bit. The pace picks up as Satyr starts his delivery at the one minute mark. This one has another catchy chorus that’s hard to get out of your head afterwards.

To The Mountains
Satyr uses another dramatic delivery to start off the “final” song on the album. This one is noticeably slower than most of the other tracks. It’s long riffs and slower drum beat give it a bit more atmosphere. Weighing it at over 8 minutes in length it’s the longest song by far on the album.

Storm (of the Destroyer)
Following up the longest track is the shortest one in duration. It may be short in length, but it more than makes up for it with its intensity and speed. Frost is just insane on the drums through this one. Great way to end out the disc.

~ ~ ~

For those fans of metal that never really got into the black metal sub genre and don’t really want to dive into that realm head first, Satyricon‘s latest is probably just the disc for you. The band is rooted in black metal, but this album has much more groove and thrash than most anything else you will find in that area.

Favorite Tracks:
Now, Diabolical
K.I.N.G.
Delirium
Storm (of the Destroyer)

Additional Notes:
Enhanced CD with video for “K.I.N.G.”