Barks Brothers: Satyricon’s Night “At The Opera”

One day, my dad crouched before me and slapped his palms onto my shoulders. Staring into my eyes, he explained that I must listen closely to his next words. Then he became grave as he said, “Son, don’t ever do a choir in a rock song. It’s a sign of desperation.” He explained that it was a last resort of the artistically impotent, the emotionally bankrupt, and those prone to cheap grandiosity. He slammed abusers of gospel choirs and white people choirs alike. His vibe was basically cheerful distaste. I nodded blankly when he rose and chucked me on the shoulder, like Good talk, Anso. I think I was four?

Anyway it so happens that Dad was right. But if he had anticipated extreme metal back then — that was the era of choir atrocities like this and this — then he would’ve stuck an asterisk on his little speech about choirs. Cuz extreme metal is good at choirs; see the neat, tasteful choir action by Devin Townsend and Behemoth (and non-extreme metal like this and this). And in this Satyricon clip from their plainly-titled DVD, Live At The Opera, the choir saves the jam. They rip!

Satyricon’s Live At The Opera came out Tuesday via Napalm. Get it here.