Norwegian black metal band Satyricon kicked off their Australian tour in style at the Capitol this Tuesday in Perth in support of their latest album “Deep Calleth Upon Deep”. When I think of shows that I was anticipating the most in 2018, Satyricon was right up there near the top. That was based purely on their last album “Deep Calleth Upon Deep” released last year and what we picked out as the best metal album of 2017, adding to the fact that their later albums in much the same way as their newest is so full of groove and hooks that seeing the songs live was a must. Expectations then of course became high but luckily their first show of the Australian tour matched those expectations exceedingly well.
Perth heavyweights Deadspace scored the coveted main tour support for this run of shows and there couldn’t be a more fitting band to open for the mighty Satyricon than these heavy hitters. A barrage of shows lately has culminated in a finely tuned live performance and it shows as they clearly proved tonight. A surprisingly small crowd made it a bit disappointing to see even if it was early given that Satyricon are not exactly regulars to our fair city but the show must go on regardless and Deadspace made sure that the few that came early got their money’s worth to start the evening off.
The Norwegian six piece that is Satyricon, led by the duo of Satyr on vocals and Frost on the drums came rumbling onstage following a building intro that only elevated the anticipation another notch. By this time the crowd had built to a somewhat respectable but somewhat still disappointing size as the fans pushed forward to get a glimpse of Satyr who commandeered the stage immediately like a maestro conducting an orchestra. It’s that leadership quality that really did give the frontman the appearance of leading a classical music show which matches up perfectly with the orchestrated feel of Satyricon’s music.
Opening with the first track off the already mentioned “Deep Calleth Upon Deep” album titled “Midnight Serpent”, it was a natural way to kick things off as the musical bridge between the black metal side of the band and the more melodic, progressive elements that have become the new signature of Satyricon. The band followed that with a few select newer songs including the new title track and the absolutely brilliant groove stomper that is “Black Crow On A Tombstone” which finally got the crowd up and about with some help from Satyr who made sure the fans were singing the choruses loud and proud.
As the set continued on, there was a noticeable amount of later material making the set (much to the delight of this punter right here) but for the old school fans who prefer their metal like their coffee – black – the earlier material did make it’s way through a series of well placed smatterings to appease those who came for the 90’s lo-fi music. Much of that went through me like that above mentioned black coffee but the band did a tremendous job of bringing their old stuff to the show with an intense power that simply isn’t felt or heard on record. Live, Satyricon simply kill it, their sound is clean, audible and hits you like a ton of bricks and maybe it was just me but the volume level kept getting higher and higher with each song pumping it’s way through the bleeding ears of the crowd who were getting into the swing of things.
“Walk The Path Of Sorrow” gets an honourable mention as does the fan favorite that is “Mother North” that just seemed to ooze epicness out of every orifice possible. Satyr, holding his trademark snake wrapped mic stand and even bringing out his own guitar towards the end didn’t lose any punch as he had the crowd eating out of his hand by the time the first main part of the set was done. I will say though, just to rewind a little first, that the under appreciated “To Your Brethren in the Dark” was a mind blowing highlight of the night even if some of the crowd didn’t appear to take to it. To say that they nailed it is an understatement and quite frankly one of the best songs this band has ever written.
The encore stage wasn’t a let down either, bringing out some heavy artillery in the form of some of the most grooviest tracks you will find in their back catalogue. “The Pentagram Burns” got the heads banging while “Fuel For Hatred” sparked a much needed moshpit upon encouragement from Satyr and finally ending with the foot stomping “K.I.N.G” off the fantastic “Now, Diabolical” album. Despite the underwhelming crowd, this was definitely one of the top shows of the year as far as the extreme metal side of things go and hopefully the east coast of Australia will enjoy the hell out of this 2 hour musical feast, we sure did!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
AUSTRALIA TOUR DATES
Tuesday, September 4: Capitol, Perth
Thursday, September 6: Max Watts, Melbourne
Friday, September 7: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Saturday. September 8: Transit Bar, Canberra
Sunday, September 9: The Triffid, Brisbane
Tickets: Destroy All Lines
