Satyricon
Volcano
[Universal]
"At my signal - unleash Hell"
Thus we are thrown into Volcano, Satyricon's fifth full-length album. My initial reaction was "what the hell?", because this is so much better than their last effort Rebel Extravaganza, the album which ultimately made me dismiss anything Satyricon made after Dark Medieval Times as shit. But now, since Volcano is so good, I have gone back to The Shadowthrone and Nemesis Divina, finding that they're a hell of a lot more better than Rebel Extravaganza. Still can't listen to that album, though. Anyway, I'll try and explain why I like Volcano so much.
The production
It's basically very good, everything is clear, the guitarsound is very good, and the drums sound very organic and real. If Frost's triggered, it doesn't sound like it, for example the bassdrum sounds fat (unlike for example Krisiun), and the hihat isn't just "click-click-click"; the accents can be heard. Satyr's vocals are great as usual, he could vary himself more, though. The electronic sounds are not as evident as I thought they would be. In some places Anja Garbarek's voice comes through, but it's not the usual faggoth "beauty and the beast" crap. She does what she's supposed to, and that's it.
The playing
Forst and Satyr can handle their instruments very well. They use them as they should be used in metal, no masturbating (well, not that much anyway) and yet not just primitive offbeat two-note shit.
The songs
They are for the most part pretty complex, with good riffs throughout, influences from bands like Neurosis and Converge can be heard in the longer instrumental passages, where the guitar plays the same riff over and over again. Sometimes it rocks like hell, at other times they play slower heavy stuff, like in 'Suffering the Tyrants' or 'Black Lava'. Damn well-done, full of feeling.
Finish.
I like this album a lot, the songs have lots of feeling, there's a bleak atmosphere throughout, and the playing is great. All over the internet, voices crying out against Satyricon for singning to Universal can be heard, but it hasn't changed their music. They have not sold out. I think I have listened to this album 20 or 30 times since I got it, and I'm not about to stop doing so.
© 2003 daoloth
Thus we are thrown into Volcano, Satyricon's fifth full-length album. My initial reaction was "what the hell?", because this is so much better than their last effort Rebel Extravaganza, the album which ultimately made me dismiss anything Satyricon made after Dark Medieval Times as shit. But now, since Volcano is so good, I have gone back to The Shadowthrone and Nemesis Divina, finding that they're a hell of a lot more better than Rebel Extravaganza. Still can't listen to that album, though. Anyway, I'll try and explain why I like Volcano so much.
The production
It's basically very good, everything is clear, the guitarsound is very good, and the drums sound very organic and real. If Frost's triggered, it doesn't sound like it, for example the bassdrum sounds fat (unlike for example Krisiun), and the hihat isn't just "click-click-click"; the accents can be heard. Satyr's vocals are great as usual, he could vary himself more, though. The electronic sounds are not as evident as I thought they would be. In some places Anja Garbarek's voice comes through, but it's not the usual faggoth "beauty and the beast" crap. She does what she's supposed to, and that's it.
The playing
Forst and Satyr can handle their instruments very well. They use them as they should be used in metal, no masturbating (well, not that much anyway) and yet not just primitive offbeat two-note shit.
The songs
They are for the most part pretty complex, with good riffs throughout, influences from bands like Neurosis and Converge can be heard in the longer instrumental passages, where the guitar plays the same riff over and over again. Sometimes it rocks like hell, at other times they play slower heavy stuff, like in 'Suffering the Tyrants' or 'Black Lava'. Damn well-done, full of feeling.
Finish.
I like this album a lot, the songs have lots of feeling, there's a bleak atmosphere throughout, and the playing is great. All over the internet, voices crying out against Satyricon for singning to Universal can be heard, but it hasn't changed their music. They have not sold out. I think I have listened to this album 20 or 30 times since I got it, and I'm not about to stop doing so.
© 2003 daoloth