Mix Cover: Artwork for Satyricon ‘Nemesis Divina’, released on Moonfog Production (clean edit) in 1996.
Banner Image: Satyricon (Frost, Satyr, Kveldulv), Nemesis Divina Press Photo 1996.

Satyricon ‘Nemesis Divina’ has celebrated 30 years last 22nd April. Thirty years on, this is a milestone of Norwegian Black Metal, this is mandatory, must-own second wave benchmark material for a most singular era of black metal, known as it’s second wave, circa 1992-1997. When Satyricon released their third album in 1996, their status as one of the most significant and creatively vital bands in Norwegian black metal was already beyond dispute, but Nemesis Divina was no ordinary record or just another step along the road to infamy. From its uniquely vibrant and impactful artwork, which broke every supposed rule in the black metal handbook with its vivid colours and refined aesthetic core, to the supremely confident and idiosyncratic songs and individual performances that heralded a newfound sophistication and a freshly incisive vision, Nemesis Divina almost single-handedly took black metal from its voluntarily shadowy and obscure origins into the glaring spotlight of the international metal scene. It showcased a band that finally had the skill and the musical intuition to back up the undeniable potency of their artistic vision. Sonically devastating and compositionally meticulous, songs like ‘Mother North‘ and ‘The Dawn Of A New Age‘ redefined what black metal was capable of, while proudly retaining the genre’s ageless essence and aesthetic values.

I cannot underestimate the effect that Nemesis Divina had in me at the time of its release. I took it as a welcome next step forward in the development of the genre and a serious message to the metal community that this wasn’t only the dawn of a new age for black metal but for extreme metal at large (the 1995 prize going to Dissection’s ‘Storm of the Light’s Bane’, which would play a part in 1996). On a side note, it would take me 10 years from the Nemesis Divina release to witness Satyricon live for the first (and only time), at the Islington Academy (now O2 Academy Islington) in London, on a warm September night of 2006.

The year 1996 was specially proficient in delivering accomplished albums (their best) by some of the most notorious in the game, Burzum, Ulver, Sacramentum, Troll, Ancient, Limbonic Art… so I will be revisiting key tracks and moments from these albums in upcoming mixes.

This mix is a homage to that second wave sound, a dynamic collection of strong tracks selected from classic 90’s albums that lock horns with some newer/contemporary material – but confluent in terms of style and mood – and spanning a period of 33 years! (not counting Blasphemy’s intro). It is a testament to the engaging nature of its original sound and promise that 30 years on, we’re not only speaking and writing about the movement, the iconic bands and albums, but listening to it with the same intensity.

Sure, it is increasingly more difficult to get awestruck by new releases of traditional second wave black metal these days, specially by a seasoned listener of many decades, thousands of bands and albums later. At some point it all feels like a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’re listening to your brain go: “sounds like that band”, “reminds of that riff” and a trigger-happy finger changing tracks at a Darkspace speed. And how many times you’ve been to a concert or festival and witnessed a truly devastating and eye-opening performance by a new band only to listen to their music on your way home and find its just formulaic and forgettable.

In the end what makes a great second wave style record in 2026? unless you’re stuck with the legends such as Mayhem milking the cash cow or those changing the game completely (in an Imperial Triumphant way and become something else), the formula of high-pitched shrieking, tremolo-picking guitar and blast beats that pay homage to Darkthrone and Immortal will certainly carry on, and good, inspired bands will continue to invest in the ageless sound and mood characteristics of yesteryear, but in the end it will always be about the atmosphere, that intangible sway that a particularly great song will thrust in you, that emboldens and creates a form of catharsis, allowing true fans to process feelings in a unique immersive environment that no other genre of music can really match.