Friends,
it is that time again when fools turn their attention to the birth of their
savior. Naturally, people of faith do not understand (nor would they believe it
if informed) the history of an early catholic church that declared the magical
birth of jesus should more or less correspond to the winter solstice as a way
to claim as their own the crowds celebrating a natural phenomenon. After all,
an untamed crowd can threaten both power and ideas. Nor, do fools attempt to celebrate
the most meaningful entity in the christian religion. I am, of course,
referring to satan, the very being that freed adam and eve, and their offspring
from the clutches of a totalitarian by convincing them to eat the fruit of
knowledge – thus making humans the equal of the god or gods. Without satan, the
true hypothetical guide of the human flock, we would be living out a
thoughtless life accepting everything some white bearded dude in the sky said
and did. Also, could the mythological jesus have any significance if it were
not for satan? Why would there be a need for a savior unless there was
something or someone to save us from? Of course, belief in satan is just as
fucking insane as a belief in a sky god, a virgin birth, or a man who became a
god. I feel a strong desire to absorb a little bit of evil to rinse away all
the merry fucking christmas wishes, so let us turn our attention to something
real. Today’s evil offering is the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)
band, Satan.
I know
very little about Satan’s history, but they have been around since the late
1970s. Their name was considered so offensive that they temporarily disappeared
from the metal scene around 86 or 87 (I suppose there could have been another
cause like self-destruction – but I prefer my explanation). Oddly, compared to
many of their contemporaries Satan played a somewhat polite version of metal
music. Their name is very misleading. These fellows are talented enough to have
made it in the early metal movement. Their offering, Life Sentence,
reviewed here is not a departure or an updated style from their 1983 Court
in the Act album. But, it is more fun and listenable due to fantastic
production.
As I
listen to Satan, I am struck by the excellent musicianship of this band. The
mighty Iron Maiden has nothing on these guys. The guitar playing at times
reminds me of Maiden. But Satan’s riffing is a little more frenzied, and very,
very pleasing. It is familiar but different and varied enough to satisfy the
most curmudgeonly among us. Satan diverges from the NWOBHM formula. Satan,
compared to other bands in their sub-genre, like Panther, Angel Witch, and
Diamond Head, provide a lot of variance from standard metal noodling to
something close to thrash. The variation is within the songs rather than from
song to song. The song “Cenotaph,” one of my favorites on the album, starts
with guitars layered over a simple bass line, before the bass transitions to a
metal gallop. The song moves from a moderate pace to what I will call
proto-thrash and back again. The song, “Siege Mentality,” very briefly contains
a riff that could have come directly from a Queen album, and “Another Universe”
has a jazzy intro.
I bought
this album whenit was first released in 2013, and I never took the time to read
the lyric sheet or interact with the lyrics. I always assumed the lyrics were
political since there are references to civil rights, life imprisonment,
diplomacy, etc. I was quite wrong. I may be wrong about this as well, but Life
Sentence might be a concept album. There is an awful lot of focus on
opposition to power, imprisonment, and rising to take (or retake power). I
frequently find songs that fulfill a heavy metal stereotype silly, and there
are some silly lyrical moments on Life Sentence. Read this bit of
nonsense from the song “Tears of Blood,” “From the aftermath emerged tales of
incredible rescue/Many heroes lost their lives, yet the surfing man survived.”
Is this a reference to Dick Dale’s longevity? I hope it is; I love Dick! Silly
as the lyrics seem, there is also a smartness to them. Often when I read
lyrics, I find myself snickering at how forced the rhyme or structure seems.
Satan’s lyrics flow. Here is an excerpt from the title track, “Your wretched
soul just one of many/A life sentenced bestowed upon you/A tolling bell has
released you from your prison/Your living hell for a crime you did not do/Life
sentence. It has been twenty-eight long years/Life sentence. You almost gave up
hope/You called my name and often I would hear you/Life sentence. We set you
free, you never gave up hope.” This is one of the songs I mistakenly thought
was political. These lyrics could have been written about Ruben Carter or
Leonard Peltier.
Life
Sentence is one of my favorite non-thrash albums, and one of my favorite
metal albums in any sub-genre. It is not perfect, but it is goddamn close. This
album was Satan’s comeback album after decades of missing in action. I get
tired of all the cliché bands trying to sound like NWOBHM bands, but in one
regard it has been great for old metal dudes like me, it has created an
audience for bands like Satan and Panther (who is now playing the festival
circuit). But, Satan’s sound is not old and tired. Their sound is still fresh
and relevant, and these fuckers give it their all which is significantly better
than modern poser bands can muster.
I have two
Satan albums, and I am familiar with a third. Life Sentence is by far my
favorite. It is a great mix of amazing musicianship, solid writing, and good
production/mastering. If you are a fan of NWOBHM, do yourself a favor and turn
to Satan. If you have to worship, please worship Satan, the band.
I
tickled my taint for ten minutes, then I waited an hour and did it again.
Fuck yeah. Satan rules, as does this album.
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