My Skin Is Cold EP

A second into the title track from Satyricon’s latest 5-track EP, it’s obvious that it’s merely evolved into something more venomous than ever.Two tracks, "Live Through Me" and "Existential Fear Questions", are re-masterings of the bonus tracks from 2002’s Volcano album. Rather than being sub-standard studio off-cuts, they demonstrate how Satyricon have built something exciting on the fortress of their black metal foundations. "Existential Fear Questions" quickly ditches a slower, more traditional black metal opening, to pull out a huge galloping riff that almost sounds like it’s off a Down album.The live tracks "Mother North" and "Repined Bastard Nation" use the horn sections of the Norwegian orchestras to add some brooding majesty to their scorching metal. Far from the overblown nonsense of Metallica’s S&M, the orchestral extras boost the ambitions of Satyricon’s more sweeping metal. While My Skin Is Cold may be a stop-gap release to ease the wait for their seventh studio album, it showcases what makes Satyricon stand out from all those chancers in corpse paint. The title track might be the only truly new track, but Satyricon are still the freshest corpses growling out of Scandanavia.