SATYRICON
Satyricon And Munch
Napalm Records
Art: Edvard Munch
Music/SATRYICON:
Satyr - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Effects, Songwriting, Lyrics
Frost - Drums
Art connoisseurs know “The Scream” by Edvard Munch. Let’s be honest, even those who don’t follow the art world know the painting. What the average art fan probably doesn’t know is who SATYRICON is. The Norwegian black metal phenoms began their career in the dark days of burning churches and the satanic lore that littered all of the lyrics of the bands of that particular genre; but they have proven over the years that they are more than that.
SATYRICON are creative and ambitious and I think that those words adequately describe their newest collaboration that showcases Munch’s work alongside their soundscape. The music was written explicitly for the Munch Museum exhibit that opened in April and will stay open until August. In the beginning it wasn’t meant to be a stand alone record but the critical acclaim and fan demand prompted this new release that Satyr is exceedingly proud of.
Do NOT go into this thinking you will hear Dark Medieval Times or The Shadowthrone. In fact, if that is the only work you know by the band you will be disappointed in what you hear. While there are severe black metal overtones in the music, it is also eerie and dense and as you look at the paintings it just fits. The music spans a 56 minute block that is just the one composition so it is a pretty extreme departure from what you would normally hear from the band.
Over the past several years Frost and Satyr have released some albums that have been carefully constructed to sound different from their early efforts. So many of their black metal contemporaries have done this; obviously the thought processes behind their later music is truly that the band had to grow and they have done that well. The duo known for their brutality has also shown their passionate and intellectual side with this offering.
The album has been a topic of conversation on some of the black metal social media pages and the opinions are mixed. Some love it and some have not been kind in their diatribes about the stylistic changes on albums like 2008’s The Age of Nero or 2013's self-titled Satyricon. Many who consider themselves black metal elitists have been harsh in their criticisms of this new effort as well. I, personally, am on the fence. I love their older work and I find that I sometimes fall into that elitist outlook, but I am also versatile enough to grow with the band and look toward the future of their musical creations. You can’t just do the same thing over and over and remain relevant.
This album is going to be an acquired taste. I have listened to it several times and each time I find something new that I didn’t notice before. Some parts just scream pure black metal and others are introspective and it takes a minute to get used to it. It is a new and different vehicle for the band and I personally wish I could go to Oslo and see the exhibit.
4.5 Out Of 5.0 Stars
