Satyricon - Nemesis Divina
Moonfog Productions
Black Metal
7 songs (42:48)
Release year: 1996
Satyricon, Moonfog Productions
Reviewed by Daniel

Here I am, writing a review for one of the first real Black Metal albums I heard and tried to enjoy. I remember playing this album the first time and thinking “God… are they hitting random notes or what the fuck is going on here?” Everything seemed so chaotic and disorganized, so I did it, I dropped the album into the “why did I buy this crap?” record pile and left it to collect dust. After a while and many many Black Metal albums I decided to give another chance to this supposedly legendary album.

Obviously my ears where better “trained” by this moment and it finally clicked, I now could perceive the melodies, decipher the insane drumming, find a song structure and most importantly enjoy it all the way.

Years later, I’m sitting down listening to the same album once again and I’m pleased to say that now, I’m not only capable of enjoying it and understanding it, but also comprehending where the greatness of this album lies, not only because of the music per se, but because of it’s role in the genre.

Nemesis Divina is almost as fast as Immortal’s Pure Holocaust, almost as chaotic as Emperor’s would to come Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, infused with Darkthrone’s tremolo picking philosophy, and executed with Enslaved’s epic viking greatness; and if that isn’t enough, Satyricon didn’t forget to bring their medieval touch, thing made characteristic of their sound with their debut album.

Highlights include the opener The Dawn of a New Age, which introduces the album with one of the most famous Black Metal lines ever, while at the same providing a perfect synopsis of what we should expect of the album; epic guitar riffs courtesy of Satyr and Darkthrone’s Nocturno Culto (this also gives the album a +10 cult status), majestic keyboards which could be easily taken as In The Nightside Eclipse B-sides and Frost’s thunderous drumming which never ceases to amaze me. Forhekset still remains one of the most aggressive songs that I have heard, Mother North is one definiteve Black Metal anthem and Immortality Passion has one of the best riffs ever.

After the years Nemesis Divina is as much of a blood rush as it was before, and not one note sounds a tad less epic or a bit more boring, and that is what I think makes a classic. Not only the albums that break new ground should be considered as important, but also albums that prove the worth and importance of said fresh and original album. Sometimes the craving for something fresh makes us forget that new is not always better. But we'll always have albums like Nemesis Divina to help us remember what drew us to said genre in the first place.

Satyricon have accomplished something very unique during their career. They have taken both stances throughout the time; as bold experimenting, ground breaking visionaries; and as defenders of purity and tradition. Non of it should overlooked, as lack of tradition can bring death as fast as lack of evolution.

Killing Songs :
All.
Daniel quoted CLASSIC
Other albums by Satyricon that we have reviewed:
Satyricon - Deep Calleth Upon Deep reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Satyricon - Satyricon reviewed by Goat and quoted 60 / 100
Satyricon - The Shadowthrone reviewed by Goat and quoted CLASSIC
Satyricon - Dark Medieval Times reviewed by James and quoted CLASSIC
Satyricon - The Age Of Nero reviewed by Goat and quoted 84 / 100
To see all 9 reviews click here
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