SATYRICON is a project of two people, both of whom have never once left the band since the first demo. On that first demo, besides Satyr, there were three other members. Already on the second, Satyr was simultaneously vocalist, keyboardist, and bassist; it was on this same demo that Frost first appeared as drummer. The album Dark Medieval Times in 1993 was recorded by only two people: Frost handled the drum parts, and everything else we hear on that album was the work of Sigurd Wongraven — also known as Satyr. On the following album The Shadowthrone, released two years later and already selling quite successfully, the role of guitarist and bassist was filled by Samoth — guitarist of another Norwegian legend, EMPEROR. The rawness of the first album was gone; recording quality and instrumental technique had improved significantly; the melodies styled after medieval music were more organically integrated into the music, though simultaneously the certain wildness characteristic of the debut had vanished. One year later the band's most famous release arrived: the sound shifted again, becoming more refined; instrumental and keyboard passages decreased; lead guitar moved to the forefront; Satyr's vocals also changed. Again there was a guest on the album — this time the vocalist, guitarist, and bassist of the cult Norwegian collective DARKTHRONE. Not to be outdone by his colleague, DARKTHRONE's drummer Fenriz appeared on Rebel Extravaganza, released in 1999 and the most technically accomplished work in the band's catalogue. What happened three years later is controversial and strange: the band began playing a rather peculiar black 'n' roll, with the signature keyboards entirely forgotten. The album divided opinion. Since then the band went quiet. The 2003 tour concluded; from then until autumn 2006 the collective appeared only at festivals. Frost concentrated on his work with 1349; what Satyr was doing is a good question, as he currently has no side projects with which he performs, and no releases emerged from him in those two-plus years. But in 2006 a new album finally appeared, heralding a new chapter in the band's history, a qualitatively new sound, and new music. It is still the same black 'n' roll, but considerably more interesting-sounding and memorable, without the rawness of the preceding disc Volcano — where one continually hears a kind of empty pounding, technically competent but hollow. Here, nothing of the sort: Now, Diabolical creates absolutely no feeling of depression or savagery; on the contrary, it is very positive and darkly solemn.
In terms of lyrics, SATYRICON occupies fairly consistent ground — Darkness, the dark ages, anti-Christianity. Dark forces, evil, sins — Satyr sings about all of this, but the band cannot by any means be called satanist; occultism is present. Satyr has repeatedly spoken very negatively about Euronymous; Satanism has received similar treatment; hence his lyrics cannot be called very deep or original on one hand, while on the other the stupid pseudo-Satanism found in the lyrics of DEICIDE or DARK FUNERAL is simply absent in Satyr's work, which is an extraordinary relief.
In any case, the mere fact that the band was visiting moscow generated extraordinary excitement — though honestly I could not have imagined that the Tochka club would be packed with people. The concert was delayed for quite a considerable time, as people kept arriving and arriving.
Then the sounds of the intro: one by one the session guitarists, the bassist, and the female keyboardist appeared; Frost took the drummer's seat; the musicians wore corpse paint but in minimal quantities — faces were not rendered unrecognisable. Then, at the centre of the stage to thunderous cries, a tall, athletically built individual in a black T-shirt bearing an oversized inverted cross appeared; a moment later the club filled with guitar riffs — forty seconds — and this individual at centre stage, known as Sigurd Wongraven and better known as Satyr, produced the first snarling sounds: "The Pentagram Burns" from the latest album. An effective opening — a powerful, energetic song. Even at that moment one could only marvel at the sound: its absolute perfection — both guitars, bass, drums, vocals, and keyboards forming a complete symbiosis. I had not heard such magnificent sound in a long time. The song ended; Satyr greeted the hall, thanked the audience, and with his back to the audience announced the next song — a hit from the second album, known to everyone: "Dominions of Satyricon." The ominous "symphonic" intro, and then a nearly ten-minute monumental composition — one of the most successful and time-tested, performed on almost every tour. The sort of song through which SATYRICON became a celebrated black metal collective. The next item on the programme continued the presentation of the new album. In fact it gave the disc and the current tour their name; "Now, Diabolical" on the chorus was sung along to by nearly the entire hall. The following entry on the setlist was unexpected — "A Moment Of Clarity," the only song from Rebel Extravaganza that day. The sound became even better; moving in the hall was impossible, except for the upper tier (your humble servant was fortunate, spending the entire concert standing on one of the chairs in the rear of the first tier).
"K.I.N.G." is one of the shortest songs in the band's repertoire — as brief as it is memorable. This was the third song from the latest album. And immediately after it concluded, Satyr made an announcement that caused the hall to simply erupt: a composition from SATYRICON's very first release of 1993 — "Walk The Path Of Sorrow." All the musicians stood with their backs to the hall throughout the recorded instrumental intro. Then a sharp turn, and the main part of the song began. Setting aside the beautiful keyboard passages — pure black metal for eight minutes. Needless to say, the song received a rapturous reception.
"That Darkness Shall Be Eternal" and "The Rite Of Our Cross" continued the concert, both from the new album, meaning that five of the new release's total of eight compositions were performed — the concert was unambiguously oriented around presenting the new disc. On one hand, not the most appropriate programme for the band's first visit — most fans know the band primarily through the mid-1990s albums; on the other hand, Now, Diabolical is a superb disc, and many compositions in live performance sound simply outstanding.
"Repined Bastard Nation" and "Fuel For Hatred" from Volcano concluded the slightly-over-an-hour main portion of the setlist. The songs came across even more brutal than in the studio versions, and the title phrase "Fuel For Hatred" was sung along to by Satyr's entire audience of over a thousand people who had come to the concert on this fine day.
The first break was brief; the band reappeared and to ecstatic cries performed the famous "Hvite Krists Dod." What followed was entirely predictable — everyone had been waiting for it. SATYRICON has an absolute number-one hit; after a long final encore the band didn't begin playing immediately, but then the guitarist played the instantly recognisable solo, which at a signal from Satyr the hall joined. Several such minutes passed, and finally the opening chords: unfortunately for the first time in the concert the sound faltered slightly — the lead guitar was not perfectly audible — but it soon balanced out, and in any case no one cared, because the famous "Mother North" was ringing out — no comment needed. Many of those present sang along with Satyr from beginning to end. Then the slow passage and the song's conclusion, after which Satyr hurriedly left the stage; the musicians quickly said their farewells and departed; Frost lingered longest before being escorted "behind the scenes" by the security guard who had been accompanying the band and single-handedly maintaining order on the stage throughout the concert. Crowd surfers were not overly numerous, though a number of people were carried above the crowd in front of the stage for some time. Overall the audience was more than adequate and very well acquainted with the band's material.
The concert was unquestionably one of the best of the year. An outstanding performance; about Satyr there is nothing to add — he was simply magnificent on stage. Excellent sound, musicians giving their absolute all, exceptional audience reception, and — despite considerable fears — more than adequate behaviour from Satyr, whose contact with the hall throughout was simply brilliant (Mr. Wongraven is known as a rather pompous individual). Naturally it is regrettable that the album Nemesis Divina was almost entirely bypassed — but this did nothing whatsoever to diminish the overall impression. Shortly afterward, an announcement was posted on the band's official website regarding the recent concerts, in which Satyr and Frost evaluated the st. petersburg and moscow performances extremely positively and promised to return.
Report by Alan
Special thanks to SPIKA MERCHANDISING for the accreditation provided
Setlist: Intro The Pentagram Burns Dominions Of Satyricon Now, Diabolical A Moment Of Clarity K.I.N.G. Walk The Path Of Sorrow That Darkness Shall Be Eternal The Rite Of Our Cross Repined Bastard Nation Fuel For Hatred —encore— Hvite Krists Dod —encore— Mother North