Nemesis Divina

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Nemesis Divina
Nemesis divina - satyricon.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 22, 1996
RecordedJanuary–February 1996
StudioWaterfall Studios
Genre Black metal
Length42:45
Label Moonfog, Century Media
Producer Satyr
Satyricon chronology
The Shadowthrone
(1994)
Nemesis Divina
(1996)
Megiddo
(1997)

Nemesis Divina (Latin for 'divine nemesis') is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. It was released on 22 April 1996, through Moonfog Productions.

Contents

The band have described the album as "darker" and "more aggressive" than their previous work. [1]

A fully remastered edition was released in May 2016 to mark the 20th anniversary of the album.

Album art

The album cover artwork for Nemesis Divina, designed by Halvor Bodin and Stein Løken, [2] has been considered fairly revolutionary by the standards of black metal at the time. The band commented, "The standard, back then, was dodgy amateur photos and miserable looking fonts". [1] Decibel magazine commented that the cover "resembled more a piece out of Dave McKean's workshop than art Xeroxed at dad's office [...] Rich with color and symbolism, the high-end design broke seriously sacred ground". [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
SputnikmusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Nemesis Divina is generally considered a classic of the black metal genre. AllMusic wrote, "this sweeping epic work is quintessential black metal". [3] Terrorizer wrote that on Nemesis Divina, "[Satyricon] experienced a near-magical improvement. Songs like leadoff monster 'The Dawn of a New Age', centerpiece 'Mother North' and the title track were stronger than any song in Satyricon's past. Satyr's ever-impressive riff-making/songwriting skills displayed a maturity not found outside, say, fellow sophisticates Emperor". [2]

A music video was released for "Mother North", which was generally uncommon within the black metal scene at the time. The video opens with "Montagues and Capulets". The video briefly appeared in the mainstream film Spun .

In 2009, IGN included Nemesis Divina in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list. [5] Decibel magazine inducted Nemesis Divina into the publication's "hall of fame". [2]

Track listing

All songs written by Satyr, except "Du som hater Gud", written by Satyr & Fenriz

No.TitleLength
1."The Dawn of a New Age"7:28
2."Forhekset" ("Bewitched")4:32
3."Mother North"6:26
4."Du som hater Gud" ("You Who Hate God")4:21
5."Immortality Passion"8:23
6."Nemesis Divina"6:55
7."Transcendental Requiem of Slaves"4:44
Total length:42:45

Personnel

Satyricon
Session musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [6] 57
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [7] 107
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [8] 71

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References

  1. 1 2 Satyricon. "Satyricon". satyricon.no. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Satyricon "Nemesis Divina" | Decibel Magazine". decibelmagazine.com . Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Kantor, Matt. "Nemesis Divina - Satyricon: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  4. Iluvatar. "Satyricon - Nemesis Divina". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  5. Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com . Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Satyricon – Nemesis Divina" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Satyricon – Nemesis Divina" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Satyricon – Nemesis Divina" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 June 2016.