A Timeless Masterpiece – 100%
devletli, September 23rd, 2016
“Break down all conventional forms and create chaos to reinvent order
Rebel against all circles and dead ends
Fight your way with your mind set on the masses
Execute with mechanical aggression
Arrogance and extravagance
March on unapproachable
Shut out the outside pressure
Or are you too weak?
When shall they see the real darkness?”
Nemesis Divina is “the” cult black metal album. Or at least “one of the”, to soften the statement. It contains some of the most precious, brilliant and hair raising moments in classical black metal. Just 3 years (and largely ignored 2 EP’s) later, they boldly came out with a fundamentally different album, “Rebel Extravaganza”. This was nothing like the Satyricon we all knew and loved, and it received a hefty amount of shit from conservative followers.
But someone has to say it, this is a flawless and revolutionary album. Satyr literally “broke down all conventional forms” of music itself and “created chaos to reinvent order”, which is all too evident in its musical approach and even in the disintegrated icon S on the album artwork. The band obviously knew the shit storm they would have to “fight their way” through and decided to “rebel against all circles” of conservative black metal fans, “shut out the outside pressure” of their demand that the band just kept on repeating itself, a “dead end”, “extravagantly rebelled against”. And quite frankly, you just cannot top “Nemesis Divina” in a Nemesis Divina way.
As opposed to the organic feel of its predecessor, Rebel Extravaganza is simply “executed with mechanical aggression”. Despite being played on live drums and guitars (with a touch of synth and effects), the album sounds extravagantly industrial. Credit here must go to Frost, his “mechanical aggression”, unbelievable speed, precision, fury and tone. Another notable extravagance is frantic riffing, supported by no one less than Snorre W. Ruch (Satyr’s long time contributor). Again contrary to its predecessor’s atmospheric, shivering and organic guitars, riffs here are cold and mechanic (maybe except the opening riff of the closer). But the genius of it lies in the shifting and the “chaos it creates”, breaking down any conventional or expected scales and “marching on unapproachable”. Also, here we see an obvious punk / rock influence on certain passages, which was rarely seen before but would define the new direction of the band.
Satyricon here attempted, boldly, to state that “to see the real darkness”, they did not need conventional forms of black metal. The album also is a shining exhibition of what black metal could be. It remains to be seen if its majesty is comprehended in time, but its influence on newer black metal acts is plain to see. Again, rather than trying to top it, the band changed direction, towards a more approachable black & roll, making Rebel Extravaganza one of its kind, an hour long transcendental trip.
“Rebel against the chains
Break down the embodiment of your pain
Attack with robot precision”
winterwhenyoufreeze
rafazardly 