Happy 30th Anniversary to Nemesis Divina!

So today is a great album anniversary! One legendary album, too. Which would be Nemesis Divina, one of my favorite albums of all time. It's only 3rd to Under a Funeral Moon and Under the Sign of the Black Mark. I feel like it likes to fight for the spot with Rebel Extravaganza(note: when I pick my top 30, I try to limit them to 1 band per album to be fair), but in the end, I'd say Nemesis wins. 

I do own more than one copy; the OG Moonfog CD, and the remastered LP. 

This album was so important for a lot of folks around that time, and the BM scene in general. It's easily one of those "Absolute Essentials" when assembling a list of, say, top 10 Essential BM Albums to hand to someone. It was certainly an album that helped solidify my love of the genre, and one of the first ones I had bought while digging more into the genre. (Well, technically those would have been some of the 1st wave stuff, like Venom and Mercyful Fate, but in terms of the 2nd wave, which quite a few of us got into when were able to even find the albums, this was one of them.) Btw, this blog isn't a like, comprehensive history of the album(the band were young and pushing their own boundaries crafting this thing, and you can hear its progression from Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone), but more just some waxing nostalgic about it. 

Easily an 11/10 album from start to finish, the lineup consisted of the usual Satyr and Frost, and also included Kveldulv; better known as Nocturno Culto from Darkthrone. (In 2004, he'd rejoin Satyricon onstage for their set, and even do four Darkthrone songs, the closest thing to a modern 'live Darkthrone' gig we'd get, but I digress.) Opening with the unmistakable guitars and the primal yell of "THIS IS ARMAGEDDON!" the album delivers memorable riffs upon riffs, blistering, top tier drums and eventually, a song that could probably become Norway's national anthem. 

The album hits a perfect sweet spot with everything. It's cold and raw-but it's *just* well-produced enough to give the album a thick and heavy sound. It's melodic, and does use some keys and acoustic guitars, but it's not overly symphonic or pompous(which the scene would start to devolve into, prompting this album's follow-up.) It's technical, but not overplayed. It could also get quite experimental in sound for its time-something Satyricon would continue to do throughout their career, in terms of pushing the black metal sound forward in ways that weren't really heard much at that time yet, especially in songs like "Trancendental Requiem of Slaves." The eerie, orange-and-brown album cover stood out amongst a sea of black and white peppered with some of the iconic Purple Black Metal Castles.

I can't believe the album is 30, though, as it just sounds so timeless. An absolute must-listen, if you are just getting into black metal and for some reason have not heard this yet, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen or three. Picking a favorite song is impossible; Mother North(which, speaking of owing to oneself, you NEED to hear the live version with the Norwegian National Opera) is easily one of the most iconic 2nd-wave black metal songs of all time, right there with the likes of I Am the Black Wizards, Freezing Moon, Where Dead Angels Lie, and Kathaarian Life Code(note: others mileage may vary on what is considered Darkthrone's most iconic track, but Track 1 of Blaze seems to be my pick even if Under a Funeral Moon is my fav album.) Forhekset, though, is an absolute masterclass of a song with its riffs and iconic drums-which we're blessed to actually have a drum cam of. (It was also played in the original drum soundcheck that inspired a ton of people back in 2000.) 

I love watching this song live.

I come back to this album time and time again. I think there's a chance I wear out my copy at some point. If you look at the 1990s Norwegian scene, I think there's a few cornerstone albums, and this is absolutely one of those. 

Anyway, I don't wanna drag this on forever. Happy Anniversary to one of the greatest albums of the genre, and go and listen to it, if you haven't, stat! (And if you do know it, go break it out again for an anniversary listen.)