Review by Felix on January 10, 2022.

The commercial and creative suicide of the original thrash metal wave at the end of the eighties / beginning of the nineties is documented in albums such as “Force Of Habit”, “When The Storm Comes Down”, “Set The World On Fire” or “The American Way”. Extreme metal was rather hard to find. No doubt, it needed a new impulse and it was completely unexpected that this impulse came from a Norway, a country without history or merits in terms of heavy music. Admittedly, it was not only the music that made everyone take notice of the geographical tip of Europe. The crimes (murder, arson) also exerted a certain fascination, although only very few of us approve of criminal acts. But these misanthropic deeds reflected a new mentality - a spooky dedication, a f**k-off-to-society attitude and an overdose of autonomy. Therefore it was interesting to discover whether these characteristics could also be found in the music.

Well, one can like or dislike the early works from the well-known Norwegian names, but the grandeur of “In The Nightside Eclipse”, the drama of “Det Som Engang Var”, the malice of “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” or the atmosphere of “Svartalvheim” have become legendary. (All these classics are great, and in my opinion the misanthropic “A Blaze In The Northern Sky” falls by the wayside in comparison, but of course it has also left an enormous impact.) Satyricon’s debut is not among my most appreciated albums, but it provides an exciting trip back to the wild days of Norway’s metal scene. The flair, the aura, the mood of Dark Medieval Times cannot be recreated, the album is definitely a child of its time and this is exactly the reason why it is has a documentary value. Along the way, however, it has a wide palette of great music.

On the one hand, this debut shows pure metal sequences with “In The Shadow Of The Horns” riffing, for example at the beginning of the title track. But, to stay with this song, on the other hand it delivers a more melodic part where the keyboards take the lead. An acoustic guitar comes crawling in, accompanied by whispered vocals and blowing winds, before pure frenzy breaks ground. But, of course, only for a short time, because the band quickly gives room for a fragile intermezzo with keyboards and acoustic guitar… and so on. This description sounds more complex than the song itself, because Satyr was clever enough to give the piece a smooth flow. Nevertheless, the title track demonstrates the outstanding level of individuality and courage.

Many sequences of Dark Medieval Times deliver a profound depth. Even 'Myn Hyllest Til Vinterland', actually just an acoustic intermezzo, creates a great, mysterious mood. Its guitar lines are very expressive and the song shows the remarkable overdose of courage and precociousness of its then 17 years old spiritual father. The more ugly parts of the album are masterly arranged as well. They never lack accessibility, they make clear why Satyricon was rightly labelled as black metal and they feature the mischievous, pretty charismatic vocals of Satyr. Of course, in view of the extreme variety of the material, it is almost unavoidable that there is also a small number of parts that does not fully meet the listener’s personal taste. But Dark Medieval Times is less about individual songs or their fragments, it's more about the record as a whole. The album transports a feeling, it invites the listener to go back to the roots of Northern black metal. Moreover, it proves the gigantic range of (Norwegian) black metal. Just compare Satyricon’s first sign of life with Immortal’s “Pure Holocaust”. Worlds collide. Either way, Satyricon’s debut was a strong, well produced a statement of a scene that made its first steps. Its haunting melodies and its creative dimension are still impressive, regardless whether one likes each and every song or not.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Luka on December 4, 2001.

Winds and evil storms shower the cold mountaintops of Norway, and from deep within a forest echoes a grim voice of a fiend, "SKOGEN!". Here it is: the quintessence of black metal. Hearing Satyr’s cold, distant voice and the raw guitars of an album recorded in winter, at a site of ancient ruins in Norway is simply as black metal as you can get: the majestic debut from a band that would soon rise to become one of the leading forces of metal in this country.

The music predominantly conjures feelings of old, primeval darkness. 'Walk the Path of Sorrow' will rip you out of the reverie created by the intro with a fast and furious guitar driven, double-bass powered wall of sound, only to surrender to the sorrowful interlude of the acoustic. As the songs evolve, the mood and the feelings of evil progressively transcend into a more melodic stream of sound, where Satyr even begins to employ some actual medieval instruments like the flute and the classic acoustic guitar, it all adds to the uniqueness of the band and the old-time atmosphere created by the album.

The guitar production on the album is unbelievable! The resonance the strings create is cold and dark, sounding sharp enough to cut your neck but still distorted enough for certain notes and melodies to be buried underneath so you have to dig to uncover them. The clear, simple tunes played by the flute, however, take away from this cold and grim feeling. The flute sounds happy and joyful compared to the dreadful noise of the guitar and often does not meld into the song, but rather sticks out and unnaturally juts out. The guitar then, playing the harmony of the flute, ultimately creates a bad sounding riff.

"Dark Medieval Times" is truly an interesting work of art and ingenuity in the metal world. ‘Frost’ professionally takes care of the percussion but Satyricon is essentially Satyr’s solo undertaking, as he carries out all the instrumental, songwriting, and production tasks. On this album he has achieved in creating a whole new realm. He has taken us across the cold sea to the shores of the old Viking homelands and back to a time long ago.

Bottom Line: A cold and grim album with a true medieval feel. Creates an atmosphere of timelessness but has some weaknesses.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8
Overall: 6

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 12, 2019.

Bands from Serbia did not appear on my radar for a long time. Fortunately, things have changed and The Stone, Space Eater or Zloslut have proved the metallic heart of this country. Yet this does not mean that I accept everything that comes from Serbia. It sounds strange to me that Twisted Tales have released a new album in Serbia which will be released globally on the 20th of September, because... forgive me... it is only a digital release. So, for me, the Nuclear Assaultian analogue man in a digital world, they have actually released nothing at all. What weird kind of album is this that I cannot hold in my hands? Go and seek a record label for a physical release instead of telling me, well, twisted tales about a product I cannot see.

Either way, Twisted Tales dish up a bastard of thrash and death metal. The thrashing elements prevail, but the vocals, for example, have a growling touch that rather points into the deadly direction. Details aside, the compositions have a solid substance. Even after a silent period of seven years after the last album, this is anything else but a matter of course. I know a band that is not able to release a substantial full-length after a break of more than two decades. Indeed, even the metal universe is no Sacred Reich. Yet it seems that Serbia is a hotbed for extreme metal, because Twisted Tales join the ranks of promising bands from this area. Some great tunes prop my thesis.

"Father", for instance, draws the listener into the song in a matter of seconds and its main riff sends greetings to Melechesh. "Trapped Under Glass" thrives on its very cool and simultaneously sharp guitar work. The main riff of "Open Your Eyes and See" is also excellent and the shredding one-tone-parts lend the song a kind of hardcore feeling. Open your ears and listen, that's my advice... Not to mention "Misanthropia", a late highlight with expressive guitar lines and a fine mix of staccato-oriented and well-flowing parts, including inter alia an accurately attacking mid-part. Generally speaking, the musicians like rasping guitars in order to create a robust degree of harshness. Sometimes the songs must be put under the microscope, otherwise one will not find any trace element of melody ("Sheol"), but believe me, there exist some melodic fragments.

Unfortunately, the group is prone to an overdose of music. Instead of giving the old less-is-more-dogma a chance, the album clocks in at 58 minutes. Sad but true, the dudes offer almost a handful of half-baked numbers. For example, the programmatically titled "Slow Down" suffers from its creeping chorus. Together with some fast-paced sequences, the song is somehow incoherent. "Hellfire" sounds relatively uninspired until its fantastic mid-part appears where soft guitars introduce a really original solo. But I should not lose too many words about the little weaknesses, because a do-it-yourself combo like Twisted Tales - the band is responsible for the powerful and well-balanced production - deserves my respect and even idealists can fail from time to time. What really counts is that legions of thrash death metal maniacs will fall in love with the majority of the tracks if they only would knew them. Maybe it is time for a physical release?

Rating: 7 out of 10