Rating: NNNN
You’d be hard-pressed to find another band that’s been as consistently awesome in so many different musical incarnations as Norway’s Satyricon. Whether it’s incorporating folk elements into cacophonous lo-fi black metal or offering pulsating industrial rhythms, the two-piece band has always been well ahead of the pack creatively. On their sixth disc, axeman/vocalist Satyr and drummer extraordinaire Frost have left behind the Wagnerian orchestrations and speed in exchange for a scathing and comparatively minimal approach. The riffs are still innovative and icy-sounding, and while not machine-gun fast, the percussion is still fierce and unrelenting. The menacing brass added to arrangements on The Rite Of Our Cross and rousing closer To The Mountains prove why Satyricon hold court amongst the metal elite.
