Norwegian black was the theme of the day, as after an outstanding show by Borknagar it was time for Satyricon to spread its crows’ wings over Tolmin...

“Last time we were here this was called Metalcamp and now it’s called Metaldays, but that doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you are here!”
- Sigurd ‘Satyr’ Wongraven (vocals/guitar)

We were already in a good mood when the band entered the stage to the intro Voice Of Shadows, and when they quickly followed this with Now, Diabolical and Black Crow On A Tombstone, black metal bliss settled without resistance in the now dark mountains of Slovenia.
Satyr and his henchmen were in a great mood, and between the rocking songs which were delivered with full power, he was glad to chat with us, dropping comment after comment of crowd-pleasing effect without trying too hard or kissing ass – the band was simply glad to be here performing, and Metaldays were glad to host them!
Satyricon held the headlining spot of the day, so there was no need for them to rush through things, but even without doing so they still managed to keep a good flow and momentum through the entire gig. Satyr wandered between using a guitar and simply looking bad-ass with his trident mic-stand in hand, and the rest of the string-benders headbanged immensely, while Kjetil-Vidar ‘Frost’ Haraldstad was sweating away behind the drums despite the cooler air and the light rain.

“Some guy told me another band had a really good pit. I don’t care if another band had a good pit, I want you to have a good pit with us!”
- Satyr (vocals/guitar)

The effect that Satyricon had on the Metaldays crowd was unmistakable, and having these words of living in the now leading up to Fuel For Hatred, well you can imagine the upcoming scene – a huge section of the audience whirling into each other, around and between, a chaos of energy which was impressive to behold!
It wasn’t just for Fuel For Hatred of course, Satyricon had a good grip on the crowd from beginning to end of the show and the action was showing this, proving that some shows just work better in darkness and that rain doesn’t have to be the party-killer it is imagined to be when not there.

While it is true that the set wasn’t catering to the “we only listen to the first album” type of fans, but wisely, in my eyes, concentrated on the more blackened rock ‘n’ roll style that the band has adapted in the later era of its existence and never moved further back than the Nemesis Divina album, we were still given a Mother North with possibly the best live sound I have ever heard on this particular song, allowing us to enjoy nearly all of the nuances of the music.
The good sound was a staple of the entire show, well the entire festival in fact, and the band benefitted from its presence, without having their entire performance depend on it.

Judging from what I have seen in the past of this band, and what they delivered here at Metaldays, I can’t deny that Satyricon is in the zone with their career, and if ever you should see the band perform, now is the time! Even though my eyes weren’t even open to them back then, the show tonight made me regret not staying up and watching their late night show back in 2009, but I’ll do my best not to let such an opportunity slip through my fingers again.

Setlist:

Voice Of Shadows
Now, Diabolical
Black Crow On A Tombstone
Our World, It Rumbles Tonight
Tro Og Kraft
Forhekset
Possessed
Die By My Hand
Nekrohaven
The Infinity Of Time And Space
The Pentagram Burns
To The Mountains
Fuel For Hatred
Mother North
K.I.N.G.