Review by Jack on February 11, 2002.

Satyricon with this MCD have compiled 4 tracks of seemingly brutal and harsh black metal blasting together. Whoopee. Why Whoopee? I hear so much damn black metal blasting and supposed ‘ferocity’ that boasts that this particular album will rip your head off, or this ultimate song will terrify your neighbor’s parents, that I am starting to get less and less excited by the whole black metal hyper-speed thingy. Satyricon while not claiming to be as superficially superior as some other outfits in Norway, still adhere to these same guidelines of brutality and hyperactivity and ultimately make “Intermezzo II” a real fizzer.

However while 75% of the album may come across as rather hastily compiled, the same can not be said for the last track on “Intermezzo II”; ‘Blessed from Below', which has to be one of the most different sounding tracks I have heard spring forth from the creative minds of Satyr and Frost. ‘Blessed from Below’ could be perhaps pigeon-holed into the keyboard-ambient sector of music, and remains a thoroughly interesting listen which help to lighten the ‘brutal’ load that Satyricon demand of its listeners. As a matter of fact I will be even as bold to recommend the last track to fans of present day Ulver or Arcturus. This is a good thing. Pity the same cannot be said of the whole of “Intermezzo II”.

Bottom Line: “Intermezzo II” is a product that I would only recommend to people who can’t get enough of present day cold and calculated Satyricon or those who just dig the thousand beats per minute style of black metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 5
Originality: 4
Overall: 5

Rating: 4.8 out of 10