Nemesis Divina

Nemesis Divina is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. It was released on 22 April 1996, through Moonfog Productions.
A fully remastered edition was released in May 2016 to mark the 20th anniversary of the album.

Music

The band have described the album as "darker" and "more aggressive" than their previous work. Metal Hammer stated that the album "captures the band at their most apocalyptic, marching toward biblical Armageddon with a definite sense of swagger."

Artwork

The album cover artwork for Nemesis Divina, designed by Halvor Bodin and Stein Løken, 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". Decibel 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".

Critical reception

Nemesis Divina is generally considered a classic of the black metal genre. AllMusic wrote, "this sweeping epic work is quintessential black metal". Terrorizer wrote that on Nemesis Divina, " 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".
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. Decibel magazine inducted Nemesis Divina into the publication's "hall of fame".

Track listing

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

Personnel

; Satyricon

Satyr – vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, sleeve design and logo
Kveldulv – rhythm guitar
Frost – drums, album logo

; Session musicians

Gerlioz – synthesizer, grand piano
Nebelhexë – spoken part on "The Dawn of a New Age"

; Production

Union of Lost Souls – sleeve design
Per Heimly Productions – sleeve photography
Anne Cecilie – makeup for sleeve photos
Union of Lost Souls – album logo