Satyricon
Copenhell - 2018
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
While Alestorm was hamming it up with their comedy metal over at the Hades stage, we went to Pandæmonium to seek out something darker. Satyricon was there, waiting to give us precisely what we needed.
In the striking natural setting of the blue hour over Copenhell, and a clear moon on a cloudless sky, Satyricon took the stage. Somewhat fittingly, they went with Midnight Serpent as their opener of choice. Well, we weren’t quite at midnight yet, but we were getting there.
In addition to having the setting of perfection, Satyricon also had a surprisingly well made sound for their show, befitting their characteristic music.
With the surroundings in place, it was up to the band to deliver a show worthy of what had been given to them, and to not hold you in suspense for long, I’ll just go ahead and say - they did!
Sigurd ‘Satyr’ Wongraven was the perfect frontman that we know him to be, and he confidently led us from song to song, sometimes with a guitar in hand, and at other times without anything else to guide him but his voice and presence.
There were two live guitarists with the band, Attila Vörös and Steinar ‘Azarak’ Gundersen, as well as long time bass collaborator Anders ‘Neddo’ Odden, and keyboardist Anders Hunstad. Hunstad didn’t pull too much attention, but played well enough, and was given a good amount of space to add to the songs with his own soundscape, whereas the string trio added to the performance as well as the music.
Finally, there was the one true brother in arms, Kjetil-Vidar ‘Frost’ Haraldstad, and while his presence in the performance wasn’t huge, his drumming was on fire, and he made his impact last in a visceral way through his instrument.
“Our first time in Denmark was 18 years ago, with Pantera. We’d like to thank them, and Vinnie Paul.”
- Satyr (vocals/guitar)
Corrosion Of Conformity weren’t the only ones honouring Vinnie Paul, who had sadly passed away the day before, and the audience felt it.
Grief over loss was luckily not the only thing the audience felt this night, as it was clear that the good atmosphere of Satyricon’s music was quickly finding its way inside as well. For a very short while, a left-over balloon from Helloween’s concert bounced around, but only until someone popped it, making a clear statement that it was time to get serious. Headbanging and shouting commenced immediatly, and for the rockers Black Crow On A Tombstone and Now, Diabolical, Satyr didn’t have to ask twice before the Danish fans joined in on the chorus.
Mother North on the other hand, saw an incredibly wild mosh tearing up the place, in which I’m sure the participants were burning off whatever excess energy they had after partying nonstop for four days now. This continued over in Fuel For Hatred, and it was clearly strong enough to impress even the people on the stage. Satyr even thanked us for the intensity of the mosh, and said that the band was glad to be here at Copenhell - not surprising, given the immense response the band was getting.
Satyricon came out looking like stars, and they gave us a stellar show - we clearly chose the right stage to be at! Forgetting for a short while that we walked past Ghost on our way out, I must say that this was the perfect ending to the festival for me.
Setlist:
Midnight Serpent
Our World, It Rumbles Tonight
Black Crow On A Tombstone
Deep Calleth Upon Deep
Now, Diabolical
To Your Brethren In The Dark
Mother North
The Pentagram Burns
Fuel For Hatred
K.I.N.G.
In the striking natural setting of the blue hour over Copenhell, and a clear moon on a cloudless sky, Satyricon took the stage. Somewhat fittingly, they went with Midnight Serpent as their opener of choice. Well, we weren’t quite at midnight yet, but we were getting there.
In addition to having the setting of perfection, Satyricon also had a surprisingly well made sound for their show, befitting their characteristic music.
With the surroundings in place, it was up to the band to deliver a show worthy of what had been given to them, and to not hold you in suspense for long, I’ll just go ahead and say - they did!
Sigurd ‘Satyr’ Wongraven was the perfect frontman that we know him to be, and he confidently led us from song to song, sometimes with a guitar in hand, and at other times without anything else to guide him but his voice and presence.
There were two live guitarists with the band, Attila Vörös and Steinar ‘Azarak’ Gundersen, as well as long time bass collaborator Anders ‘Neddo’ Odden, and keyboardist Anders Hunstad. Hunstad didn’t pull too much attention, but played well enough, and was given a good amount of space to add to the songs with his own soundscape, whereas the string trio added to the performance as well as the music.
Finally, there was the one true brother in arms, Kjetil-Vidar ‘Frost’ Haraldstad, and while his presence in the performance wasn’t huge, his drumming was on fire, and he made his impact last in a visceral way through his instrument.
“Our first time in Denmark was 18 years ago, with Pantera. We’d like to thank them, and Vinnie Paul.”
- Satyr (vocals/guitar)
Corrosion Of Conformity weren’t the only ones honouring Vinnie Paul, who had sadly passed away the day before, and the audience felt it.
Grief over loss was luckily not the only thing the audience felt this night, as it was clear that the good atmosphere of Satyricon’s music was quickly finding its way inside as well. For a very short while, a left-over balloon from Helloween’s concert bounced around, but only until someone popped it, making a clear statement that it was time to get serious. Headbanging and shouting commenced immediatly, and for the rockers Black Crow On A Tombstone and Now, Diabolical, Satyr didn’t have to ask twice before the Danish fans joined in on the chorus.
Mother North on the other hand, saw an incredibly wild mosh tearing up the place, in which I’m sure the participants were burning off whatever excess energy they had after partying nonstop for four days now. This continued over in Fuel For Hatred, and it was clearly strong enough to impress even the people on the stage. Satyr even thanked us for the intensity of the mosh, and said that the band was glad to be here at Copenhell - not surprising, given the immense response the band was getting.
Satyricon came out looking like stars, and they gave us a stellar show - we clearly chose the right stage to be at! Forgetting for a short while that we walked past Ghost on our way out, I must say that this was the perfect ending to the festival for me.
Setlist:
Midnight Serpent
Our World, It Rumbles Tonight
Black Crow On A Tombstone
Deep Calleth Upon Deep
Now, Diabolical
To Your Brethren In The Dark
Mother North
The Pentagram Burns
Fuel For Hatred
K.I.N.G.
Satyricon
