Yes, I love Satyricon! Frost is one of my favourite black metal drummers; really like his style and he's an absolute beast when it comes to speed. He's self taught, and was actually about to sell his drums and quit music altogether right before he met Satyr and joined Satyricon for their second demo. Satyr was the vocalist in this video, but he's the main songwriter and does most of the instruments in the studio, and the band mostly functions as a duo with him and Frost. Their career trajectory is a bit of an interesting one. They're one of the big names from the 90s Norwegian black metal scene, and then with their fourth album they were part of the post-black metal movement along with bands like Dødheimsgard. After that they did a complete 180 and changed to a much more straight-forward black'n'roll style, and this black'n'roll era of the band is where a lot of people would say they lost their edge. I'm not too fond of that era myself (though I really like the album The Age of Nero), but I found their last two albums to be a lot more interesting and creative, and I think the band's in a really cool place now stylistically (the 2013 self-titled is often regarded as their worst album, but I really like it). This live album is a bit of a mixed bag. As you noticed, the songs weren't originally written with a choir in mind, and it does show. Works better on some songs than others, but it's still pretty cool to see.

This is 100% nostalgia coming through, but I'd almost be bold enough to call the studio version of "Mother north" a second wave black metal anthem of sorts. Especially the music video which features everything from crashing down a wooden cross with an axe, fire breathing, walking through thick fog with corpse paint and spikes to a scantily clad/at times nude Monica Bråten really captures the sound and feel of that specific era for me. It's back to '96 in an instant.

@liliIiliIilil

2 жыл бұрын

Mother North is a better song, but Immortal's Call of the Wintermoon is still the best black metal video.

Thank you for a very interesting critical reaction. Being a "north man" myself I was hearing resemblances with nordic traditional/folk music in this song. Especially the chord changes on beats 4 and 1 in 6/8. 6/8 is also very typical of traditional music up here in the north. It is almost like waltz but less "strutty" and more groovy. The black/folk music aspects combined with the lyrical content works real well, I think.

@MetalZoned

2 жыл бұрын

A lot of black metal uses 6/8, that ks for sharing your experience and background.

@michaelkarlsson5966

2 жыл бұрын

@@MetalZoned Thanks! :) Yes, the 6/8 is common in black metal and it must originate from the folk music of the north.

@GriefGrumbleTheMauler

Жыл бұрын

This! I've been trying to formulate this thought for past day or two. Probably, this is what makes "ordinary" BM so valuable: it borrows parts of and revives the old as stones lullabies (Dunkelheit, I guess), war songs, work in the fields/wood songs - overall, songs of the people. Drudkh's music is made of them, pagan black is almost entirely made of them. In a sense, BM is folk metal, just without costumes and flutes.

@turpasauna

Жыл бұрын

This was an insightful comment. I have also heard that Finnish BM shares many things with our old church music.

The drummer's stage name is Frost. If you want to check out more from him I recommend one of sickdrummermagazines videos "Frost & 1349 (satyricon) - Nathicana HD - Filmed October 2010". The song is from one of his other bands 1349. It's not a fitting video to react to on your channel, as the sound is bad. But it keeps the camera on Frost and he's killing it.

Interesting & long awaited reaction (the song comes across more "natural" in studio I have to say but I still love the Symphonic "enhancement" though not necessarily having same expectations as you all the time), but, as you found out quicky, the big difference here with bands you'll be more interested in maybe (to play specifically composed for it, parts or all the song?) is that this song was not composed for an orchestra. If you want to hear what you long for of what I understand here, I suggest then you to listen to a Greek band, SEPTIC FLESH, who showcases this, kind of uniquely, because one of its members has a classical background and composed several albums incorporing quite deeply an orchestra to provide specific orchestral musical ideas, and often in counterpoint (hope it is the correct term) to what the band does....Check out for instance Live versions (Sinfonica MMXIX, live DVD in Mexico) of : "Persepolis", "Pyramid God' (half way especially), "Dogma of Prometheus", between others.... Style wise, I'll say it is Symphonic Blackended Death Metal. Thanks for this reaction...

This is a classic in black metal, written by youngsters in the early 90's without a care for conventions or musicality, just a part of a burgeoning movement bent on eschewing tradition and setting a stage for extreme metal across the world. Much like punk there's going to be rougher parts and stuff that won't hold up under scrutiny nor does it make sense but the sum of it is larger than its parts, and sometimes nobody in the band knows why. But still stuff like this is what kickstarted the genre and is beloved for what it started and what it taught others. In that sense I feel like analysing it in this way kinda does it a disservice because after this the formula got crystalised and figured out, but these guys did first, all just by instinct not theory or purpose. [edit] also this was a BM song first with a choir added later just for this show alone.

I love this song! You could say this is a black metal anthem, eveyone knows it and eveyone bangs to it. I have to agree with the choir part personally, it is nice and well placed, but just lazy enough that it puts me off somewhat. This is pretty obvious, because the studio verison doesn't have a choir like this and it makes sense that it would be way too much work to really make use of a good choir for a specific concert like this. Not everyone is Metallica. The album Nemesis Divina is IMHO incredibly produced, because it is in a way the perfect black metal sound. It is clear and big, but also harsh, raw and sounds like you are in hell and it works! There are only a few albums in ALL OF MUSIC IMHO that sound as hellish and fiery like this one! Nile's albums come to mind, but other than that I already have a difficult time coming up with examples. What I am talking about is that specific feeling that makes you feel like you are on fire and melting in lava while listening to the record. A very specific and super fun sound, so props to them! We can talk about lots of classic BM like this being compositionally boring, but man do they nail the sound and the feeling. Death metal at the same early stage as this was far more primal, messier and just a relentless attack on your ears with very samey sounding bands(to the point that many cite BM being a response to the "plague" that was early death metal, very interesting history). There were examples of sheer excellence of course, tons of it actually, some still being our favorite bands like Death for example. But same goes with BM, with bands like Immortal and Emperor. Example of what I am talking about with DM: the album World Without God by Convulse is a very good example. LoFi black metal-esque production that was typical for old school death metal, but the album is a shining example of great music amidst just tons and tons of bands that all sound the same with terrible sounding chugg-chugg-chugg. But it is also true that death metal was a much bigger genre at the time, becuase it was a more direct development from thrash, which was obviously huge. So you have tons and tons of amazing records from the early 90s in DM.

Satyricon released a “single”, if you can call one 50mn song a single, that accompanies a current Edvard Munch (The Scream painting guy) exhibit. Not at all metal but it has a great atmosphere. I have it on repeat while reading The House If Leaves which is a wonderful mind fuck and highly recommended to anyone that likes their horror genre to be more on the stress side than the monster chasing teens side.

While I can't be sure about the true meaning behind lyrics, I'm certain that Mother North doesn't refer to some entity, think of it like mother nature but in the context of Scandinavia. Much of the second wave of black metal here in Scandinavia are protesting against the conversion to Christianity from the Old Norse religion which is even more evident by the track right after Mother North titled Du som hater Gud meaning You who hate god in Norwegian. From Du som hater gud: "Gud med ditt og dine. Har du lagt mitt norgesrike i ruiner" "God, with your ways and your people. You have laid my Norwegian kingdom in ruins" Personally I view this album very much as a Norse Black metal album. Great videos btw!

satyricon's trilogy is just majestic - Frost is beast

Mhhhhh should have reacted to the studio version first imo.

Tempo changes are simply part of the "challenge" aspect of that epoc of black metal. To some degree it was virtuostically explorative. The first few albums of Satyricon were exceptionally artistic (relative to the genre and era) , and that was simply a direction to stretch and flex in. The drummer "Frost" is quite possibly the most athletic battery of our times, so it's certainly not for the lack of conditioning. Check him out in the context of 1349, and it'll be immediately obvious he is playing way below his physical ability in this video.

Though I haven't heard this version, Satyricon is a blast from the past for me. They were one of the first black metal bands I checked out back in the day, and the first I heard that transitioned to the black n' roll style. This is from one of their earlier albums, so this is more pure black metal, but obviously here there's the addition of the choir. They're a band I always enjoyed without really loving. They'd have moments of inspiration but much of their material just bled together for me. This definitely sounds fresher now that it's been so long since I've heard it, and this live version sounds much better than their old albums too (ironically a good fit for hi-fi BM week!). Still, they're a bit too repetitive for my tastes, but I like them better than many of the other OG 2nd wave bands.

the song is about christianization of the northern countries when the christians took away our pagan culture and religion

@CriticalReactions

2 жыл бұрын

Oh interesting. So yeah, anger about something being lost. I got the themes but missed the raw context. Thanks for that info.

@michaelkarlsson5966

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I agree. It could also be interpreted as an ecological prophecy perhaps? Seeing as how we have left nature to ruins and embraced technology and industry instead. We all know how bad it is; the atom bomb, melting of polar ice, catastrophies in nature and so on. So my interpretation is on one level the culture and religious aspects of christianity literally raping Mother North and on an ecological level modern ways of living that rapes Mother North. Sorry, for being incohesive, english isn't my first language.

@bertil3887

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelkarlsson5966 my explanation of what the song is about is what the band had in mind when they wrote the song But everyone is free to interpret as they like ☺️

Aw man I love Satyricon!! I've only listened to one album by them but man they're really good, and I'm glad you reacted to them (ESPECIALLY Thantifaxath, I never expected that but I was very welcome with that surprise) You should really react to Cultes Des Ghoules, preferably the song Vintage Black Magic. I love how they do black metal and are one of, if not, my favorite black metal band. They make some hella creepy stuff and I think you'd find it quite interesting!

Frost was probably tired. This was an unusually large performance (an hour-and-a-half concert) for a band that only tours a little.

Loving the addition of time stamps! This song is great having only known the original but I agree the addition of choirs could’ve done more

Tremolo picking chords is the very root of Norwegian black metal, pioneered by Snorre Ruch of Thorns. There are many subtleties in the stringwork, but the core of it is power chords and inverted diades/triades, but Snorre would strum full barre light-to-dark and the tremolo the bottom to create the dark and eerie yet heavy sound that became the signature tone of that scene in the 90s.

hell no, the change of the drum tempo was intentional. and it was clearly done outside of the singing parts and the other musicians can (and need to) keep up. the drummer Kjetil-Vidar Haraldstad is an absolute master of this sort of drumming.

The choir is used to enhance the original product here. It is not part of the original product and not on the studio recording. It's also used because the concert happens in an opera theater

Regarding the composition around the incorporation of classical elements into metal music, I saw an interview with Dimmu Borgir back around the release of their Death Cult Armageddon album that contrasted their work against Metallica’s S&M album. Most notably, while Metallica did do some rewriting to support having the orchestra, the songs weren’t built with an orchestra in mind, which is how Dimmu differentiated themselves; live they often used keyboards and samples, but many of the songs don’t work without those symphonic lines; they’re built around them. Assuming you accept their premise that they’re doing “better” symphonic metal (better feels wrong, really what I’m getting at is if Metallica did symphonic metal, Dimmu is claiming to do SYMPHONIC metal), this was kind of the next tier down, where they didn’t bother rewriting for the larger piece. Now it’s possible that the choir is singing a pre-existing keyboard line that was just intended to fatten up the rhythm section there; I’ve yet to delve very deeply into Satyricon, and if so, it makes sense that they didn’t bother to rewrite much. Anyway, given how the fairly visceral antipathy you experience with a lot of black metal wasn’t present here (even as you had critiques), it sounds like symphonic black metal might be your gateway black metal. Even if you never get sucked into the rest of the genre by it, it sounds like there’s going to be some music in there you’ll enjoy.

Just found this video and listened to that riff you were talking about (1:44-2:13). It seems like it is 3 bars of 6 then one bar of 5

Dimmu Borgir.....Satyricon......SepticFlesh......Orchestra & Choir.......Best Live Concerts ever !...Hail to FROST on Drums !!!!!

Still amazing!!

I love Satyricon, but hate myself for sometimes calling them the AC/DC of black metal. I love their more recent "black and roll" stuff which can be polarizing for black metal purists, it is definitely formulaic, but perfectly executed and I can't fault them for it as one of the OG's when it comes to that very formula. Glad you enjoyed this! :)

i never really got into old satyricon but later they evolved their style to what some call black and roll, and that i can get behind, some pretty groovy songs with black metal roots

now do SATYRICON - Phoenix feat. Sivert Høyem too

This is generally regarded as a seminal 90s black metal classic, the live performance with a choir is an interesting dynamic

This is most possibly a bit "out there"... but could the temporal shifts be compared to the irregular shift in nature like wheater and seasons? The temporal uneasy fits well with the folky music and the lyrical content especially if you consider that this would be the counterpoint to robotic, machine-like precision of industry or why not procecced computer-made music... maybe it's far fetched? 🤔

@CriticalReactions

2 жыл бұрын

It certainly could. The neat thing about artistic interpretation is....well, it's interpretive. 😅As long as you can back up your reading of it, like you did, then I think it's a great perspective on the art. That's doesn't mean it's intentional, but I think it's still valid.

@michaelkarlsson5966

2 жыл бұрын

@@CriticalReactions thank you for responding and thank you for thinking my interpretations are valid! :) As you say, interpretations are only interpretations but I think that it helps to make resonable interpretations if you have something to back up your thinking and that it's possible within the context and confines of the genre and not just some wild guess! 😅

You should definitely do "Gris - Seizième Prière" someday. My favorite black metal song ever. They're Canadian, I think, singing in Quebec French. Two young guys just being geniuses.

the main riff is 2 rounds of 6/8 then the last phrase is something like 11/8 or it could be 2 phrases, one of 7 and one of 4 or something

@CriticalReactions

2 жыл бұрын

Yup, exactly -- it's all over the place 😂I had no chance of picking up on it through a first listen. I'm gonna go back now and see if I can hear this 6-6-11 idea.

Your question about can you tremolo pick chords? Yes, kinda. When there is a lot of distortion effect on guitar full "cowboy chords" that utilise all 6 strings tend to sound bad. Not always but usually very messy. But just triads with 3 strings/notes can work really well. You probably cannot hear all the notes clearly individually when they are played so fast but you can hear the sound they create together. Dark Funeral for example uses a lot of three string minor chords in their songs as far as I can tell and have read the guitar tabs. Usually though most black metals bands tremolo pick just power chords and other 2 note chords/diads in their rhythm section.

@shagstars

2 жыл бұрын

Marduk does that also

Frost is one of the best drummmers ever

Frost is a real bad ass. Not only is he incredible with the drums but also a very cultured and dedicated person. About this choir version; I have very little talent in music but something about it all just...doesn't sound that good to me. The chanting is glorious though.

Chaos path by Arcturus

Re: tremolo picking chords: you can do it, but the result really sucks sonically. The attack part of the sound takes over and you don't hear basically anything else, especially with such distorted guitars. I much prefer having multiple guitars playing "divisi" having a chord tone each like a string section would.

@CriticalReactions

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that info!

@MetalZoned

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah individual notes or diads is where it shines

Listen to those bell accents superb

How about some Djevel - 'Illoeygd Foedt Som Satans Barn, Paa Ferd Uden Spor Af Menneskeverd'? You might like it!

Satyricons King is a cool one

Very much black metal you say, this is the anthem of black metal i would say.

Frost is such a beast

To me the best Satyricon album always will be The Shadowthrone (1994) maybe because it has more keyboards and sounds folkier than Nemesis Divina (1996) which this song is from. Oh for a black metal band with full orchestra check Dimmu Borgir - Forces of the Northern Night dvd.

Check out Orasnssi Pazuzu

I may me the only person in the world who does not like this live choir version. 😅 This song is already perfect, the choir is just too overbearing on top of it all. Aaanyway, Mother North is one of my favourite songs ever. And I do not even particularly like Satyricon, (new and old) but Mother North has everything I love about second wave Black Metal, it was one of the songs that got me into the genre over 20 years ago as an angsty teen with issues and reformed my taste in music to something that still stands today. 👍

@amrindersingh5952

2 жыл бұрын

On the same boat. Did not enjoy this choir .

666 ?

I felt Satyr's use of the choir as a glorified keyboard was a bit disappointing.

we need some good Belphegor suggestions

I like Satyricon, but I dont understand what they went for with this. I mean I get it..."metal/rock in opera" is popular in 15-20 year intervals..but I dont think they make the right music, I dont think they have the talent (in this direction) and I dont think they have the budget for a proper execution! A production with a decent keyboard setup would have been the better choice for them in my opinion!

Not the biggest Satyricon fan but damn it this is fantastic. This and Dimmu Borgir - gateways.

While I love the song Mother North I just can't get into the whole black metal with a choir thing (mostly). It seems to me a paradox. Black metal was like this rebellion against the norm and was meant to be raw. Like Punk basically (but metal). The choir makes it sound pretentious in a way. And while I do enjoy some symphonic black metal, Satyricon's music doesn't mesh with that sound for me. It sounds weird....

FROST

In my opinion, the use of the choir didn't bring anything new to the song. A missing opportunity.

why people think that this shitty, cringy performance that just screams: "bombastic!" is better than original just because it's in a classical esthetic and they are proposing it to an educated composer (so by implication, according to them, he should be impressed with it XD) have you never heard about such thing as cheap gimmicks or overacting/cheap playing on emotions? well that's how this performance turned out for a normal, averagely intelligent person. and black metal is already cheesy by default so maybe better not exaggerate it even more? please don't let us spoil the good music satyricon is and let's just don't try to make black metal into something it isn't. which is a classical music.

@scorntorrent3292

3 ай бұрын

отлично сказано, приятель

Goddamn these black metal with orchestra things are bad! :---D