Satyricon - Rebel Extravaganza

Most likely, a band you never expected me to post here.  I know that for the past 7 years, Satyricon has treading through seas of sewage, but this album was made in the 90's, a very different time indeed.  This was when spiked hair and tribal tattoos were still considered cool, when no one could even fathom Darkthrone shirts being sold at the mall, and when Satyricon was still a good band.

This album is not only largely forgotten, but doesn't get credit for how progressive it was for the time.  It has all the darkness of the old style, but with the oppressive feeling of a modern "setting".  You could say this is a much better realized version of Mayhem's Grand Declaration of War. 

Most fans of Satyricon's earlier work claim Nemesis Divina as their defnining moment, but I think this album is far more original and consistent.  Every element here shines: both the guitars and the drums are tight as fuck, the vocals have a perfect harsh tone, even the bass is audible and musical (yes way).  What stands out the most are (not surprisingly) the guitars; the use of diminished  chords, harmonics, and feedback perfectly create this modern theme.  It's quite a feat to create music that's creative and original, without borrowing from a dozen other genres, and this work achieves just that.

yentl extravaganza