Review by Ben for Satyricon - Nemesis Divina (1996)

Satyricon's most ferocious and epic album that contains some truly classic tracks.

While I had no reservations in giving Satyricon’s debut album Dark Medieval Times a full 5 stars, I wasn’t quite as convinced by the follow-up The Shadowthrone. The band’s direction had shifted slightly more in favour of folk influences which took a little bit of consistent enjoyment away for me. It was still a good album with many fine moments, but I hoped that these Norwegian’s would produce something a bit more focused and blacker for their next recording. As it turned out, Nemesis Divina (which means Divine Nemesis in Latin) gave me the exact sound I was eager for, being the most ferocious album Satyricon would ever produce. It would also be the last true black metal album the band would produce before they began adding more industrial and, dare I say, mainstream aspects to later recordings. Thankfully, they unleashed this wonderful piece of destruction for their fans before the unavoidable and controversial shift in sound.

Satyr and Frost are present as usual, with the only change in line-up coming with Kvelduv (Nocturno Culto from Darkthrone) taking the place of Samoth on guitar. The switch meant that Satyr took over bass duties to go with his vocals and lead guitar. I don’t know how much Kvelduv had to do with the writing process on Nemesis Divina, but there’s no doubt that his entrance resulted in a far more vicious sound. Frost is at the top of his game throughout this album. His blast beats are furious (not to mention perfectly executed) and he adds variety and power to every part of Nemesis Divina. It’s really the album where he put his name up next to the likes of Hellhammer as one of the very elite drummers in black metal. Satyr’s vocals are also at their most venomous, remaining almost completely decipherable while giving every word absolute conviction. Yet there’s no doubt that the reason this album is so gripping is due to the cold, yet majestic riffs. It’s like a tutorial on how to perform black metal riffs with classic after classic coming at the listener with endless intensity. The band may have simplified their sound stylistically, yet the underlying structures are quite complex, shifting in velocity and tone regularly.

With all the praise I’ve been spraying around over the last couple of paragraphs, it may seem a given that I’ll give Nemesis Divina full marks. Well I have to say it hasn’t been that clear cut. There are a few fluffy moments that really stand out as breaking the mood (the folk/piano piece at the end of Forhekset in particular) and the closing instrumental Transcendental Requiem of Slaves is basically a collection of (admittedly decent) leftover riffs clumsily flung together. Yet despite these flaws, there’s no doubt in my mind that the album contains some of the absolute best material recorded not only by Satyricon, but in black metal in general. The Dawn of a New Age, Mother North and Immortality Passion are just incredible examples of epic black metal, created by three individuals firing on all cylinders. Simply put, if you like black metal in the slightest, Nemesis Divina damn well should be part of your collection.