Satyricon — Now,Diabolical

Now, Diabolical mangers an amazing feat, it brings black metal towards a more commercial sound, but still keeping the original grimness and evil riffing. No keyboards or female vocals here, this is true black metal touched by dark rock elements.

The only added elements are horns, which seem to give the material a more black grandeur. Don’t worry they only appear on a few tracks, and when they do it’s mixed very tasteful, so not to take far away from its blackened metal base. Also clear cold guitar work is utilised to give more atmosphere and varying shades of darkness to the material. The title track opens the album, it’s a hectic monster of a track, balancing anger with humble tar black riffing. It almost has a midpaced Slayer quality to it in places. The Pentagram Burns is prime discordant black metal, touched by dark rock elements. Giving up cold guitar textures that have somewhat of an eastern tinge to them. Along with some magnificence doomy horn work. Horns haven’t sounded this good since Celtic Frost used them. To The Mountains exits the album with its prime doomy riffing, like a black cathedral rising before your eyes, wonderful in its gloomy wonder. Again the horns are utilised, giving a great epic, almost soundtrack-like, feel to the track. Like watching a blacked skeleton army making there way into war, their swords raised ready to be blooded.

I can’t remember when I enjoyed a metal album, let alone a black album, so much. All in all a classic, that I see being mentioned in years to come. It’s going to be a wonderful dirty black summer, with this as its soundtrack.