By: Anders

Posted: Jun 19, 2006

This new album from the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon has been awaited by many, as each new release from the band has been, before this one. One of the things that has made people anxious about this release, is that mainman, guitarist and vocalist Satyr, early stated that the new Satyricon release would be more raw and dirty, compared to the band's last album "Volcano", which was kinda polished, I guess that made many hope for a return to roots kinda album.

Once again the songs are really catchy, the album doesn't need more than a couple of spins before the songs have settled. There is a lot of groove involved and that makes it somewhat easy to listen to the music. The sound and production might be rawer and dirtier compared to "Volcano", but the compositions sure aren’t. The production is actually pretty damn good, the music has a deep and heavy bottom, the guitars are being pushed and a huge wall is created. The drums are sounding good as well, and the mix is close to being perfect. A nice sound that fits the music, and it does have a little raw edge.

Musically "Now, Diabolical" is quite a dark album, with some doomy influences here and there, especially the last track 'To The Mountains' seems doom-inspired together with some grand epic moments. Most of the album is mid-paced, the riffs flow nice and steadily and the screams from Satyr are also delivered in a "quiet" pace, there isn't much aggression on the album, more dark hate and loathing. There are some good moments here and there, but not a single song that really stands out and takes the lead.

A gloomy and doomy Satyricon, which doesn't have that much to offer here in the year 2006. The album is far from being bad, though also far from being good, it is a decent album with some decent tunes, you can hear some times, but nothing stands out and sticks to ones mind, after the disc has stopped spinning. I never really got into "Volcano" as I thought it lacked some soul, this has a bit of soul, but lack the extravaganza that makes Satyricon Satyricon, the cold and haunting atmosphere from "Dark Medieval Times", the direct yet bombastic attack from "Nemesis Divina" or the madness and unexpected from "Rebel Extravaganza". This album becomes rather stale in the long run and it won't be one I'll dust of very often, even though it has its moments, Satyr does rule on the guitar, and he does deliver some nice features here and there, and Frost is still a monster behind the drums, and even though this is far from his fastest performance, he does show how good he is technical. If you dig the newer Satyricon, you'll like this as well, no doubt about that, if you are more into the early works, then be cautious.

Rating: 5/10

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