SATYRICON – Bergen – Hulen

Following the release of Satyricon’ excellent new self-titled album earlier this week, I was really excited about seeing them perform some of their new songs on a rather small stage and in a somewhat intimate environment. Hulen in Bergen, which literally is a cave of sorts, is quite atmospheric and charming in its own way, and the idea of Satyricon embarking on something akin to a Norwegian club tour before hitting the big stages in and around Europe later on this year most certainly appealed to me.

Luckily there weren’t any support bands to open for Satyricon on this particular night. The reason for me saying that is that I’ve been to concerts on weekdays at this particular venue where the main act wasn’t able to take the stage till way after midnight due to them having 2-3 support bands in tow, and by the time the main attraction came on a lot of people had already gone home or taken the last bus home or whatever. This wasn’t the case last night and I kind of liked the fact that the show was all about Satyricon, but I digress. Hulen was packed, and when I say packed I damn well mean packed. There were tons of people there, all crammed together, and you basically couldn`t move without accidentally stepping on someone’s toes or, even worse, getting so close to them that you could tell what they had for dinner earlier on. The crowd was by all means quite diverse, and I think that’s a sign of how far Satyricon have come and the impact that their music has nowadays. It certainly appeals to all kinds of musical subcultures and fan groups when judging from the crowd at Hulen last night.

At approximately 22.40 the lights were dimmed and the band went on stage while a really dark, morose, and eerie ambient-like piece filled the room. That piece contained a few lines from "The Infinity of Time and Space" off the new album, or maybe slightly different or altered lines, but I could swear that that "to the finish line"-part was there. The whole thing morphed into the moody instrumental entitled "Voice of Shadows". Satyr then grabbed the microphone and the band went straight into "Hvite Krists Død". I think a lot of people there, especially those who primarily dig the first few albums, were positively surprised that they’d chosen to play that one, and I must say that last night’s version sounded very, very good and potent. The sound was sharp, bombastic, and compact from where I was standing and luckily that lasted thoughout the entire show. The following songs, "Now, Diabolical" and "Black Crow on a Tombstone", were hard-hitting and powerful, and the crowd loved them too. Then came the time to sample the new album in a live setting and the first one we were served was "Our World, It Rumbles Tonight". That song is just so goddamn melancholic and haunting. I love it! It’s a good thing Satyr took the time to explain the importance of listening to whole albums and viewing them as one piece as opposed to picking out single songs, creating worthless playlists, tearing songs out of their context, and shit like that. Hats off to him for pointing that out. Next up were "Nocturnal Flare" and "Walker Upon the Wind", both of which are very good and diverse songs. Then came the intense and crushing "Nekrohaven", and that one could very well turn into a fan-favorite in the not-so-distant future. People most certainly liked it. Unfortunately they had a few problems with one of the guitars during this one, but they were professional about it and simply marched on while one of the guitarists switched to another guitar. "Ageless Northern Spirit" is not a favorite of mine, but it’s not bad and I don’t dislike it as such. It sounded quite alright live, but the next one was the one that completely and utterly blew me away; "The Infinity of Time and Space". I’m not sure I know how to describe how epic, beautiful, and emotional that song sounded to me, but it was last night’s highlight for me, that’s for sure. Following the aforementioned masterpiece it was time to revisit the "Now, Diabolical" album. Satyr grabbed a guitar and "The Pentagram Burns" worked the crowd where I was standing into a frenzy. Another personal highlight for me then ensued in the shape of "To the Mountains". That song is criminally underrated in my opinion. By now the time had come for the classic "Mother North" to rear its majestic head and not surprisingly the crowd swallowed every damn note of that song up greedily. People wanted more and the band didn’t let them down. They served us "Fuel for Hatred" and "K.I.N.G." for encores and the whole place went apeshit. I can’t say that those encores are songs that I love or listen to regularly, but in a live setting they most definitely serve a purpose in that everybody knows them and that they’re quite catchy.

I got pretty lost in the show and forgot to check my watch, but I’d say the entire set lasted approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes.  

Satyr is an awesome frontman in my opinion. He’s charismatic and energetic, and he knows how to talk to a crowd. Frost is a world-class drummer, of that there can be no doubt. The drums sounded huge and booming last night, and they weren’t buried underneath the other instruments. The live-members of the band were spot on and I have no complains whatsoever regarding them. They may not have much charisma or presense on stage, but that’s not what they’re there for either. They played their parts flawlessly and that is what matters.

I attended a Satyricon gig in Copenhagen back in 2009, and I have very fond memories of that show, but last night proved to me, and probably to most others there, that Satyricon anno 2013 is a force to be reckoned with, whether on record or on stage. Take my advice; you fucking need to see these guys live if you can. Dark and atmospheric music delivered with class and aggression…what’s not to love? 

http://www.satyricon.no/

http://www.hulen.no/