Satyricon – Volcano (eatURmusic/Red Ink)
Black metal. Raw, stripped down, with a high-end buzz, with stark moods and evil lurking around every corner, this is awesome. Satyr’s songwriting keeps getting better and better, and it shows here a lot more since the entire record has the most absolutely bare minimum of extras, like keyboards and female vocals and choirs and orchestras (Cradle of Filth anyone?). Not exactly reinventing the genre, but giving it a new rush of energy with some superbly-played and executed black metal that stays true to its roots while expanding its boundaries. Amazing stuff.

Tracks:
1) Starts with that now-odious Gladiator sample (“At my signal, unleash a crappy soundbyte”, good lord, what metal band hasn’t used, or thought of using, that stupid sample?) but then tears at you with some wicked riffs and a mean mid-section with sparse chords and the slightest hint of a female back-up singer. Fantastic.
2) Wow, keeps getting better. The opening riffs are winding all over the place, but the mid-section is just a straight time double-bass barrage with steady riffing and some gorgeous female vocals sounding way haunting and trippy. His vocals are scary as fuck, too, and the ending of the song is simply stellar.
3) Alright! Classic, pure black metal with an odd rock ‘n’ roll twist. I can’t believe how great this comes off.
4) Slowed down riffs over fast drums and haunting vocals with another killer mid-section. Extremely sparse guitar with a complex double-bass drum and hi-hat pattern that morphs into a breakdown-ish guitar and drum part. Unbelievable, especially the effectiveness of the barely-audible keyboard.
5) Way faster, blast beat speeds, and kick-ass thrash riffs, with just a hint of keyboards at the most unexpected of places and the whole thing works so well. I even hear a slight Slayer or even Metallica influence. Reserve this for after-hours only, though, as some of the lyrics are almost-indecent.
6) Same story as the last song, lyrics-wise, but musically this reminds me a lot of the new Enslaved, including the solos.
7) Continuing the pattern of really strong intros followed by really subtle and haunting midsections and really imaginative and original endings. Another great song.
8) Oh unholy Satan, this song owns my world! Way downtuned riffs, straight beats, and raspy vocals in a tribute to all black metal and all that is evil on this earth. The song goes on forever and ever, never stops, all 14 minutes of it, peppered with all the elements described above. Definite contender for “Song of the Year”.