Based on the My Skin is Cold EP earlier year, I had hopes that perhaps Satyricon would start stepping out of the sterile little comfort zone they’ve created for themselves of late. Maybe a little more textural or structural variety, or perhaps just something with a faster tempo. I wasn’t expecting the return of The Shadowthrone or anything, but given how similar Now, Diabolical was to Volcano, I didn’t want to hear those albums recycled again.

Too bad.

If you’ve heard those albums, you can pretty much predict what you’ll get here as well. Snarling vocals with short, clipped prose. Most songs are mid-tempo grinds built around a few simple, cycling riffs. Some are quite catchy for awhile (best one: “Black Crown on a Tombstone”). A few tracks slow to smoky, miserable dirges. Only one (“Die by My Hand”) manages a quick tempo at all. And yes, there’s a feral, unadorned purity to the sound – some call it black n’ roll but I don’t think it’s anything quite so cheeky.

However, after a few tracks, it always seems time to move on to something else. Or else you realize that the album has already finished playing while you got busy doing or thinking about something else.

The Age of Nero is a great title – if you know the old adage, you’d expect the maniacal soundtrack to a city’s fiery destruction. Instead, this is the sound of a city at a standstill. I hope Satyr and Frost find their inspiration again for the next one. It’s time for another reinvention.

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