Satyricon

Originally a trio, Norway's Satyricon, fronted by Sigurd "Satyr" Wongrave, debuted with Dark Medieval Times (Moonfog, 1993), one of the albums that codified Scandinavian black metal.
The first two songs (both eight-minute long) are actually mini-suites. Within a few seconds minutes Walk the Path of Sorrow undergoes a series of dramatic mutations from the symphonic overture to grindcore frenzy to the serene guitar solo to the gothic choirs of the keyboards to a more manageable "thrashing" rhythm with distorted guitar drones.
Dark Medieval Times is both less vehement and more melodic. The usual fibrillating guitar distortion gets soon modulated into a gothic melody, while the drums refrain from grindcore excesses and maintain a steady beat. The first acoustic interlude introduces the folkish aspect of the suite, reminiscent of Jethro Tull. Suddenly the drums erupt a super-frantic beat, but after only a few seconds a flute intones the folkish theme in all its baroque lightness. After another couple of sudden bursts of extreme metal music, both times inspired by voodoobilly, the flute returns to complete its exquisite sonata. The compact Skyggedans continues to explore the relationship between apocalyptic guitar riffs/drones and voodoo-inspired rhythm, while Min Hyllest til Vinterland returns to folk music with a tender flute and guitar duet (and the sound of the wind in the background) and absolutely no drums or metal guitar.
The pummeling, scorching assault of Into the Mighty Forest, ignited by vocals screamed out of Satyr's head, seamlessly bridges two extremes: first when the keyboards repeat a simple funereal melody, and at the end in a Black Sabbath-ian sequence.
The Dark Castle in the Deep Forest is the wicked satori of the album, a satanic dance drenched in guitar noise, eerie choirs, atonal organs, that picks up steam as it goes until it becomes a hurricane of evil metal stereotypes.

The equally sinister Shadowthrone (Moonfog, 1994) featured three more suites: Hvite Krists Dod/ The Death of White Christ (8:27), which is weakened by synthesizers, a spoken interlude and even a grand piano (towards the end); In the Mist by the Hills (8:02), which features a memorable folkish riff but doesn't quite build on it, and Dominions of Satyricon (9:25), the epitome of black metal's symphonic grandeur. All in all, the best combination of dynamics and energy can be found in Woods To Eternity (the closest thing to the debut album's folk-metal fusion), and the oddest effect is the male choir in Vikingland.

Satyricon's most ambitious work was probably the seven-movement metal opera Nemesis Divina (Century Black, 1996). The Dawn Of A New Age begins the album in stereotypical death-metal fashion, replete with agonizing growl, scorched guitar and blast-beat; and after the acoustic interlude the degree of brutality only increases. The magniloquent Forhekset relents a bit: the rhythm evolves subtly, an actual guitar riff emerges (and eventually even a folkish dance motif). A male choir towers over the majestic atmosphere of Mother North, a further step back from the first movement's frenzy; and electronic keyboards enhance the vision of the cold, somber soundscape. However, Du Som Hater Gud regains the savagery of the beginning, erecting a progressively more intense wall of noise (despite the rather lame vocal performance). Ironically, it ends with a piano performing a folk theme. Guitar and keyboards launch in a folkish whirlwind at the beginning of the eight-minute Immortality Passion, and the rest sounds like a set of more and more extreme variations on that theme. Nemesis Divina marks another peak of tension and electricity, another dense and intricate wall of guitar distortions and epileptic beats. The most intriguing piece is actually the closer, Transcendental Requiem Of Slaves, an ambient industrial metal hybrid that opens the gates of hell.
The vocals are certainly the weakest aspect of this "opera". The real loser however are the keyboards, that are understated by the standards of the first album. This is, in effect, their harshest album, all about guitars and drums. It is therefore even more surprising that the vocals do not contribute much to the mayhem.

Rebel Extravaganza (Nuclear Blast, 1999) is a complex work, reminiscent of the most conceptual Voivod.

After a long hiatus, during which only two EPs, Megiddo (1997) and Intermezzo II (1999), were released, the band returned with a much more melodic work, Volcano (Virgin, 2002 - Columbia, 2004), featuring guest vocalist Anja Garbarek. The album was the classic sell-out (the first sell-out of black metal) advertised as "they didn't sell out at all". With Ravenous Hunger and the lengthy Black Lava are cliches for newcomers of the black-metal subgenre. Fuel For Hatred veers towards more conventional hard-rock.

Ten Horns Ten Diadems (2002) is an anthology.

Now Diabolical (Century Media, 2006) continued the descent into mid-tempo black-metal mediocrity. Black Crow On A Tombstone, off The Age Of Nero (Koch, 2009), even aimed for the mainstream.