Satan - Earth Infernal (Metal Blade Records) [Simon Black]
I have to confess, that despite being on good terms with a couple of members of this band through working with them during their early Skyclad days, that I have been really remiss and never really given Satan more than a cursory listen. To be fair the name has shifted between Satan, Blind Fury and Pariah … and back again, but either way it’s remiss of me. To make it worse, despite bumping into them in Newcastle Airport not long after their reformation and again at Bloodstock a few years later when both bands were on the bill, I still have yet to see them live either… Sorry boys.
As someone who came into this scene after NWOBHM I often felt as a kid like I was playing catch up on the whole movement. There’s a lot of retro tributes to this era going around at the moment too, and most either (badly) try and sound like they’re trying to make analogue sounds on digital equipment, or just go for the ethos whilst sounding modern. Most fall flat at this, but Earth Infernal simultaneously manages to sound of that time and this, without doing so in a contrived way. The technical reasons behind this are a simple, but a massively significant contributor to how effective the record is. For a start, there’s the speed factor in the recording process. Often a huge element in creating the chemical energy and enthusiasm in the 80’s when you only had an all too short graveyard shift between bigger bands in a studio and bag of white powder to get you through the night - meaning urgency turned directly into energy.
In this case, despite having time to gestate during the writing stage, a combination of pandemics, illness and broken arms conspired to rapidly compress the recording process into a way shorter time window to hit the release deadline. The material had a longer time to brew prior to recording (and it shows), but the urgency of the recording process meant that an OCD digital obsession with accuracy and perfection just went out of the window faster than a squirrel with it’s tail on fire. This whole piece has the feel of a demo and full fat urgency - bum notes and all. Yup, just like you get when you rock up on stage a few minutes late at a festival and want to get everything into your rapidly diminishing time slot. It works an absolute treat though and the time spent crafting, polishing, rehearsing and pre-producing the songs pays off in spades - allowing the writing to stand out proud and strong.
The energy of delivery, the stripped back, unapologetically bare bones mix and its confident delivery work wonders here. The ten songs on here explore many of the themes of our time and mankind’s current obsession of truth denial and self-destruction. Nothing new for sure, but so much more pertinent in the modern age post pandemic and with a fucking war happening in Europe. And then there’s the performances behind that delivery, with Brian Ross’ rich, warm and powerful voice grabbing you by the delicates right from the get go and bashing you through the songs like a rag doll with gravitas, charisma and beautifully phrased panache.
Then there’s the superbly weaved guitar work of Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey. Alternating between the trad NWOBHM riffing rhythm and lead approach, the Wishbone Ash-esque harmonised solos so beloved of Iron Maiden, the boys have also added the Lynyrd Skynyrd approach of synchronised solos. Which means the guitar tone bristles forward in the mix with the rich additional tone you get when two harmonically different physical guitars play the same note with a richness that no amount of overdubs will ever deliver. It works fantastically well. And then there’s the blisteringly tight picking, riffing and phrasing that bangs your head into the desk from opening seconds.
Ramsay has always been a criminally underrated guitarist in my opinion, but the technical interplay between him and Tippins on here is quite fantastic, and fantastically underscored by a rhythm section that is razor tight and brutally punchy. So I grabbed this one with open arms and am thoroughly delighted that I did. It’s well-crafted, simply but effectively recorded and bursting with exactly the kind of energy and zest that got me into this music all those decades ago. It’s a also a great jumping on point if, like me, you’ve had your head in the sand for 35 years. A resounding 10/10
Wolf have been flag bearers for traditional heavy metal since their formation in 1995 which was a time when heavy metal was decidedly out of fashion. Nine albums later and Wolf are back for more fist pumping denim and leather worship with new album Shadowland. Frontman and guitarist Niklas Stålvind is the driving force of the band and remains the sole original member of the band but he is joined by the returning line up from previous album Feeding The Machine in 2020. Shadowland doesn’t offer any surprises if you’ve heard any previous Wolf album but it is a solid and dependable near hour of heavy fucking metal with influences from Iron Maiden and Mercyful Fate aplenty.
There are pacy and energetic songs such as opener Dust, Evil Lives and Exit Sign as well as songs which add some complexity such as The Time Machine, the mid-paced and insanely catchy The Ill-Fated Mr. Mordrake and the ominous and foreboding Rasputin. There is a darker tone to the music than a lot of traditional heavy metal with some of the songs having a very sinister feel. Wolf have always dabbled in darker themes in their music but this album feels that little bit darker. The band are a well oiled machine having already recorded and toured together (one of the last bands I saw perform before the 2020 lockdown) with fantastic performances all round and the air raid siren vocals of Niklas sounding as fantastic as ever.
Wolf can pretty much be depended on for a solid heavy metal album and Shadowland is very much that but at 55 minutes it is that little bit too long. With not much in the way of variation the album could have been shaved a song or two as there are a few moments of filler but the album highlights outweigh any criticisms. Wolf are a band that have been releasing traditional metal long before the current wave of traditional metal revivalism but have never got much attention. There is the hope that Shadowland is the album that will get them some recognition and is another solid entry in their discography. 8/10
Steak - Acute Mania (Ripple Music) [Rich P]
Steak is back with their third slab of heavy! I was super pumped when Ripple Music announced the new one from the London based heavy/stoner rockers given I loved the last one, No God To Save. Acute Mania is their third record, second for Ripple, and promised to be, as Ripple put it in their primer release email, “one of our most in depth projects ever.” Given Ripple never puts out anything that is not top notch, this was quite the teaser. Plus, it comes with an accompanying comic book and short film, so this one has all sorts or promise to it. Let’s see if it can live up to the hype and the high standards their back catalog (and all those other amazing Ripple bands) has set for them. Full disclosure, I do not have the comic book or the short film that goes with Acute Mania yet, so we are going to focus on the audio experience which by itself is something to behold.
First off, the production on this album is excellent. It sounds amazing. There is so much hidden depth to this record that you will hear new things every listen and find something else that makes you realize how great it is. Wolves starts us off with some heavy groove that is a theme across the record (Samurais too, but more on that later). This one has quite the fuzzy feel to it, led by some excellent guitar work and the heavy, up front rhythm section, reminding me a bit of a band they have a split with, Greenleaf. Dead Meat has some serious Dirt era Alice In Chains vibes going on and includes a super fun frantic solo. Ancestors could be Steak’s rock radio hit (if that was a thing, is it?) and will have you singing the chorus randomly throughout the day.
Catchy and heavy. This reminded me of the band Sandveiss, who if you have not heard I recommend checking out too. Last Days is seven minutes of epic bluesy heavy rock that is sure to be a favorite track on Acute Mania. A slow burner with some well place oohs, this one I am sure will also be a live crowd pleaser. I find myself sitting at my desk mindlessly bobbing my head along and wanting even more than the seven minutes gives, engrossing myself in the fuzzed out last sixty seconds proclaiming that my “war is coming” and to “let it in.” Don’t get intimidated by the back-to-back seven-minute jams, because Frequency is just as memorable as it’s predecessor, with an almost spacey feel, until midway through when you can feel the main character raising his weapon, the sword drops and down goes all his foes, death by heavy riff.
System reminds me a bit of a slower song by label mates Psychlona, with that fuzzed out feel and crunching rhythm section. Papa’s Special Custard brings the whole bag of riffs and that slow burn to the action sequence that works so well throughout Acute Mania and acts as a nice bridge to the finale, Mono. Mono is an amazing closer, continuing that slow burn, with a sense of urgency and some harmonized, choir-like vocals (!) which makes Acute Mania feel extra special. I plan on fully immersing myself with all the forms of media that accompany Acute Mania (I am all in on the Samurai theme and would put this one up against the other similar themed record that came out last year by a much bigger band), but as a stand-alone album Steak have produced another heavy rock classic that Ripple has been know for over the past few years.
This is a strong step forward for Steak, and their name should be mentioned with all the giants of the genre. A nice Wo Fat/Steak double bill perhaps would be a nice way to elevate the band into that next level stratosphere. Either way, this record rocks and should be checked out by anyone who enjoys the heavy and the fuzzy but be ready for some epic stoner jams and some deep storytelling. Highly recommend and will be somewhere on my year end list for sure. 9/10
Night Demon – Year Of The Demon (Century Media Records) [Matt Bladen]
Released to celebrate 10 years of Night Demon, Year Of The Demon is a compilation of the five 7’’ singles they brought out in 2020 along with some B-sides and extras. As soon as Empires Fall’s NWOBHM riff kicks off you can easily hear why this recording was so anticipated back in 2020, their first new music for a while, it stuck rigidly to the classic metal style Night Demon have become one of the best in the business at. The influences are clear, but if you were to say Iron Maiden I’d say anything pre-Powerslave as there’s guts and attitude to tracks such as Kill The Pain, as the vocals too are not in the higher register but a bit rough and ready, though still ideal for this NWOTHM revivalism.
These Americans know their craft inside and out, the five singles make up the first half of the record and they all have that sound Night Demon have been perfecting, well four of them do as the final 7’’ was a cover, as is the rest of the album. Track 5 is their version of In Trance by Scorpions featuring Uli Jon Roth and his 35 fret Sky Guitar. Now Roth played on the original so his solo is obviously pretty faithful as is the song itself, as is Top Of The Bill which also features Roth.
The rest of the covers don’t change too much either Wasted Years (Iron Maiden) is dead on, Lizzy’s Sun Goes Down again is pretty near. The two most obscure (?) are 100mph by Cirith Ungol featuring Tim Baker the singer of Ungol and Fast Bikes by Le Griffe who have been lost in the mists of NWOBHM time. Perfectly decent but really only the originals are worth it, though I have soft spot of In Trance. Hopefully it means a new album is on the way though. 7/10