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Satyr is one of those CDs that have been spinning quite a bit since they landed in my mailbox. Brainchild of Andre Groschopp, a talented multi-instrumentalist who is as at ease on guitar, bass, drum and keyboards as he is handling flute, accordion, violin, classical guitar, mouth harp and, of course, doing the vocal parts (harsh, grunts, clean etc...). Now that's talent!

Satyr is nothing short of excellence in the realm of folksy symphonic Viking Metal with frequent references to humppa and its particular beat. Thiasos Dionysos is one of my favorite German acts discovered in the last couple years. Andre's music is melodic, epic, symphonic and dark at times, sad or happy in other occasions, but always very well composed and quite entertaining. The cool cover art introduces the listener to a world of ancient times and mythology. The crafty compositions are numerous here, such as "Thyrsos", "The Stick of Mainades" (nice long musical interludes showing classical influences), "Der Ahneuruf"( with classical guitars and clean folk vocals), "Satyr" (mixing symphonic orchestrations and humppa), the very nice acoustic guitars and bird samplings found on the instrumental "Of Ein Keltischer Morgeh", and the dark/ambient epic closer with rain and thunder samplings.

Satyr is a superb album, melting together folk, symphonic Viking metal and humppa in a great Germanic way. Another must have!