I fathom that presentations and introductions are redundant in this present case; SATYRICON is one of the first band names coming to mind when one is thinking of Norwegian black metal or just black metal for that matter.
The first two albums “Dark Medieval Times” and “The Shadowthrone” that were released in the year 1994 via Moonfog Productions, made a huge impact and inspired a great deal of people. After a split release with ENSLAVED “The Forest Is My Throne / Yggdrasill” in 1995, it is time for “Nemesis Divina” to take its turn.
The video for “Mother North” was released in 1996 before the full-length, again by Moonfog Productions in VHS tape – a fact that was generally uncommon for the black metal scene during that time. “Mother North” came to become a ‘hymn’ and a ‘classic’ recognized by the majority of fans of the ‘extreme’ sounds. One of the trademark SATYRICON tracks till today and inspiration to many black metal bands later on. It is no surprise that it is still performed live by the band in their live concerts. “There are, at most, a handful of albums and a handful of songs that really define modern day black metal. “Nemesis Divina” is definitely one of those records, and ‘Mother North‘ is definitely one of those songs,” Satyr claims.
Later in April 1996, the full-length album came to be released. All music and lyrics were written by Satyr between autumn 1993 and the winter of 1995, except for the lyrics of “Du Som Hater Gud” which were written in June 1994 by Fenriz (DARKTHRONE, VALHALL) , honouring SATYRICON. Sweeping, epic and revolutionary. From the raging “The Dawn of the New Age”, the paranoid atmosphere of “Forhekset” and the majestic while melodic splendor of “Mother North” to the instrumental yet demonic “Transcendental Requiem of Slaves”, it triggers the sensations satisfying all the expectations.
The fully remastered –by Satyr himself – edition of 2016 boasing upgraded and revamped packaging, comes in the forms of mediabook CD, a boxed set including the CD and an LP version by Napalm Records. This reissue is bound to mark and celebrate the 20th anniversary of this legendary album. SATYRICON will embark on a series of exclusive anniversary one-off shows after the release of the remastered edition of their milestone album, performing the record in its entirety for the first and only time.
Decibel magazine included “Nemesis Divina” into the publication’s “hall of fame”. Thus, it is needless to say that this album is a must-have for each and every one of us who are inspired and enjoy ‘old-school’ black metal, melodic, cold and terribly addicting. A strong recommendation comes with no doubt for it is an album that we will listen for more and more years to come.