Satan - Earth Infernal (2022)

If this were any other band, I might say that Cruel Magic would be a tough act to follow, but I was 100% confident that whatever Satan put out following that wouldn't disappoint, for the simple reason that they never have. And would you know it? Earth Infernal is another absolute killer of a record from one of the heavy metal bands on Earth that gives you the most for your money. A smart, scorching effort with all the speed and ambition of their other post-reunion works, and a potent mix that recaptures the roomy clarity and warmth of the three that preceded it. Dave Curle, who had engineered their last batch of albums as well as some of Blitzkrieg's modern output is still on board, so it's in the same wheelhouse even though Dario Mollo doesn't seem to have been involved this time around.

Other differences are that there's a slightly more occult focus on the lyrics here, though just as sharp and interesting as what they'd been writing for a decade before it. Musically it's still in the camp of the slick, rapid-fire rhythm licks contrasted against Brian's soothing and cautionary timbre, leading off with a couple absolute killers in "Ascendancy" and "Burning Portrait", and not taking a breather until the mid-paced rager "Mercury's Shadow" with a psychedelic and acoustic intro, and not for the last time on the album ("Luciferic"). There are no shortage of standout tracks, and some of the favorites are nestled deep in the roster like "Poison Elegy" which has some 70s epic hard rock vibes, or the ritualist crushing finale "Earth We Bequeath". But whether the band are gunning along at a maximum clip or taking their time with some moodier track, it's another album with nothing you'd really want to skip, there are compelling guitars all over the place, epic vocals, and one of the best rhythm duos in the business.

Satan has almost gotten so good that it's frustrating, and if there's any flaw here, it's that Earth Infernal doesn't really advance the sound at all beyond the albums before it. Make no mistake, it's still excellent, performed as well if not better than the other reunion albums, but it does arrive at a junction where you might expect them to branch out a little more, as they did when returning from their decades-old slumber. Not that it's necessary for them to evolve one iota, but you don't want your style to become too monotonous, and while Earth Infernal is too good to fall into that trap, another couple albums in the same vein as these last ones might push them in that direction. There are subtle differences in writing and production, and even a dip or two back towards older hard rock/metal that poke through, but I'd be fully on board with the Brits taking a few more risks to fatten the envelope of what they have to offer. A minor quip, though, because if you've enjoyed the band up to this point, then I'm sure you will find Earth Infernal utterly fucking awesome. Because it is.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Satan - Cruel Magic (2018)

Maiden thrives off its live legacy, while releasing overblown, overlong albums whose qualities are distilled and desperately in need of an editor, someone to tell them 'no' once in awhile. Judas Priest is on an upswing, granted, but only by emulating their 1990 breakout Painkiller. Saxon is rock solid, and have always been other than a handful of albums in the 80s and 90s. Tank is a clusterfuck turned tragedy. Grim Reaper, we lost you bro, and that sucks. Diamond Head is trying. Angel Witch is succeeding. Raven has kicked ass on the last two albums with the new drummer injecting some real power and contemporary extremity to the Gallagher brothers' estimable talents. But they're the only one that can even come close to the win streak that Satan has embarked on ever since their 2011 formation, and that's quite a compliment, because Brian Ross and company have a skill-set that leaves almost all of their peers from the 80s completely in the dust.

They might not have arena tours paying them hundreds of thousands per night, or VHS-1 documentaries galore; in fact they don't get attention commensurate to the amount of talent and effort they put into every recording. But Satan is the best NWOBHM band of the 21st century, and though it might be hard to pick amongst four such awesome new albums, one of those almost unparalleled runs in their sub-genre, Cruel Magic is my favorite Satan album. The masterpiece that has always been waiting beneath the wig of their demonic, grim reaping barrister mascot. This 10 tracks and 50 minutes of content compacts together all of the strengths of the band's career into some of their most intense, impressive, and immediately memorable material, and it represents the summit of a job done right, a reunion era that offers no fucks given for simply rollicking in nostalgia, laying down on their laurels. This is a record that punches as much forward as it punches back, and I don't mean through the use of electronics or cybertechnology, but by proving that their brand of musically-intensive, melodic heavy metal has so much more to offer than those who have given up on it as some relic of the past.

This one sunk its horns into me with the thundering "Into the Mouth of Eternity" and just never let me off the hooks. It's not always as frenzied as some of their other material, it actually keeps pretty tight reins on itself, and offers a good versatility of tempo and riff structure, but there's hardly a single note throughout this that ever felt misplaced. From the winding, blue-collar street grooves of the title track, to the eerie, mystical melodies of "Ophidian", this is an adventure cast in that organic, warm mix that the band has clung to throughout this new era. All instruments are absolutely clear, with rhythm guitars that feel punchy but never overdriven, bass lines that plod along with atmosphere and finesse of their own, and some very genuine drumming that feels like you're in the room with it. The leads are brilliant without being saturated in too many effects, they can create multiple dimensions just by the excellence of the note patterns, and Brian Ross has a great performance here which is often showing some more theatric elements as in "My Prophetic Soul". Italian producer Dario Mollo deserves a ton of credit for how well he framed the band's style on these first three reunion albums, an unsung hero of the band.

Every song is so good that you would never find me skipping any on a playthrough, but this is also one of the rare cases where a single/video is my favorite, "The Doomsday Clock", which has some of the most amazing, endless streams of riffs I've ever heard, drawing a lot from their Pariah years when they dazzled with tunes like "Puppet Regime". This is that busy, but fronted with those brief, beautiful acoustics, and those the classical guitar influence threaded through the faster hooks. Brian's vocal arrangements are absolutely bananas, with a little operatic counterpoint. Even the lyrics are great, here and elsewhere through Cruel Magic; they show some effort rather than dabbling in dumb metal stereotypes, and though I wouldn't call them poetic necessarily, they posit sensible and serious prose that can match the gravity and impressiveness of the musicianship. And when this tune transitions into the raging speed-metal piracy of "Legions Hellbound"...I'm a straight man, people, but goddamn do I whistle and catcall like a construction worker stereotype when this album struts on by.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Satan - Atom by Atom (2015)

Life Sentence was one of the greatest comebacks launched in all of British heavy metal history, and as far as I'm concerned, the band could have packed it all up, called it a day, and been content. But that was never an option, because Satan's reformation was going to become the rule, not the exception...they were about to surge into a period of productivity and relevance that very easily eclipsed their 80s cult classics. Touring, studio albums, the works, and not only remaining steadfast to their original sound, but bringing with them the experience that the members picked up in Pariah, Skyclad or Blitzkrieg. Yes, if this album resembles Blaze of Obscurity just as much as Court in the Act, I don't think that's any mistake, these were essentially the same band, and the modern crop of Satan releases are richer for it.

This is another incredible album, full of ceaseless, quality riffing that doesn't just honor the traditions that birthed it, but pushes the medium forward even so many decades later. That's what I love about these newer Satan albums, and why I enjoy them even more than the beloved debut, because there's very little here that seems stuck in the slough of nostalgia. Yes, that's the sound, but Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins are bringing a wealth of creative ideas to the riffing which span all those decades of heavy, power, even a little thrash, and it sounds just as potent in the 21st century as it did during the era of spandex and hair spray. Just listen to the craftsmanship in "Farewell Evolution" or "Ruination", you can't go even a few seconds without some explosive of delicious ear-candy. The variation is expansive, yes they do focus in a lot on flighty, melodic, fast picking lines, but the leads are uniformly exquisite, and there's a lot of glorious emotion packed into every single moment of the experience. Graeme's bass playing is as thick and flexible as ever, still a match against the rest of the band, and even Sean Taylor sounds more invigorated than ever he was in the 80s.

As for Brian, guy doesn't sound like he's aged a day, although he definitely stays in his stronger zone here, with less of the stray screams that occasionally permeated the earlier material. Hell, I think he just sounds better, listen to how his pipes carry out over the melancholic and powerful bridge in "Ruination", or how he can inflect a little nastiness in there like Michael Jackson used to on Suspended Sentence. But most importantly, the guy is just totally distinct...he sounds nothing like Biff, or Bruce, or Rob, or Ozzy, or John G., and yet he's every bit as good of a singer. Sure, he's not who you turn for if range is your only thrill, but his voice flows so well over this material, there's a wavering quality to his performance which seems like a confident, spectral general guiding his soldiers to battle. Add to this the impeccable, organic feel to the production on this record and its neighbors...the guitars are crystal clear and mighty without needing tons of extra fuzz or gain, it all feels so warm and perfect without seemingly like it has some poppy overpolish. Eliran Kantor continues to capture the debut album's spirit with the artwork he's provided for all these new Satan albums, and while it lacks the total surprising impact I felt from Life Sentence, this one is very nearly in that ballpark of quality.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Mòr - Hear the Hour Nearing!

The cover of this record is extremely primal and evocative, several forces of nature colliding in an elemental cataclysm, and I'm happy to hear that the music actually follows through with this. Blistering black metal which manages to watch the fine line between crisp clarity and unremitting, raw ferocity, this French duo is clearly not interesting in taking any prisoners and keeps any sentimentality to a minimum as they tear and thunder their way across 44 minutes and nine tracks. Not to say they don't have a melodic side to them, in tracks like "Eden" you will hear veritable explosions of higher-picked note progressions that can invoke the Romance and melancholy of the style, and they can also perform at a more moderate, atmospheric pace as they do as they travel the "Third Path" or the percussion-free instrumental "Cave of Shadows."

The real star here is the production, especially when their blazing forward at a dizzying clip, there's just a percussive edge to the rhythm guitars and drums in tandem that really stands out. Without exception, most of my favorite moments throughout are when they are at their most agile, whether it's the scathing and dissonant, or the more dour and melodic passages like "Letter of Loss". The slower, spacious stuff does give a good counterbalance so the listener isn't drubbed into monotony, but I found that after a few moments it doesn't anything quite as thrilling on offer. But the tones remain choppy and soil-stricken, like tornados of soggy earth being whipped about a desolate plain, and they even have a nice muddy sound on some of the cleaner, lightly distorted guitars (bridge to "Letter of Loss") that fit very well. There's even a little bit of a death metal mentality to some of the riffing patterns although they never break the black metal character. Rasps are huge and atrocious and resonate out over the stormy substrate of the guitars, and the drumming is a whiplash-inducing surge.

The band is nowhere near as dissonant and unusual a something like a Blut Aus Nord, but if you can imagine that band headed in a more straightforward blasting Euro BM direction, this wouldn't be too far off the mark. Hear the Hour Nearing! lives up to its cautionary title, being a tempestuous, turbulent experience which has just enough harmonic hooks coursing through the pulsing pandemonium of its inception. A few of the slower tunes do let it down somewhat, but there are about a half dozen ragers here that will appeal to fans of black metal which might be considered a balance of 'thinking man' and 'brute', brash and explosive but never stupid.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://666mor666.bandcamp.com/album/hear-the-hour-nearing

Satan - Trail of Fire: Live in North America (2014)

There's an earlier, rare Satan live album that I've never heard that was put out a decade earlier than Trail of Fire, but for me this was the first time experiencing how their material translated onto the stage. I had an opportunity to see them in Boston some years ago, but was sick and had to give up my tickets. So this is a little bittersweet, though I have high hopes they'll make it through the area again and I can cross it off my bucket list of favorite bands that I've yet to catch. Ironically, I'm pretty sure I got to see Blitzkrieg at one of the March Metal Meltdowns in Jersey, must have been 20+ years ago. At any rate, Trail of Fire dropped right in the midst of one of the better ongoing reunion phases in all of heavy metal's considerable timeline, so I had very high expectations, that were met to an extent with this 15 track, 75 minute beast.

They cover a lot of ground here, leaning pretty heavily on the debut album with "Trial by Fire", "Blades of Steel", "Break Free", "Alone in the Dock", etc but avoid the rest of their 80s material in favor of much of Life Sentence...which, to be fair, is the superior stuff, but I would not have minded at all a few of the better Suspended Sentence/Into the Future tunes appearing for a better balance. I get that some of this was from their first US gig (even though the track list is taking from multiple shows on that tour), and people were highly anticipating the 1983 material they'd been listening to forever, so it does make sense, but certainly those other albums were good enough to merit some inclusion. There's also a very DIY/underground vibe to this recording, it's mixed well enough, where you can hear all the guitars, bass, and drums equally, with Brian soaring over the top, but it's also kind of washed out and distant feeling to some other comparable albums where they put the instruments straight to your face. At the same time, for that very reason, this also does really succeed in feeling more genuinely 'live'.

There's some crowd banter, a fun intro to the band, but they really get down to business, and it's here that it really strikes home to me just how amazing this reunion has proven. That they've managed to keep this same lineup, that most of the band members were in their 50s when they were playing this tour, it's both inspiring and intimidating. Let's be real, most of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden would simply stare in confusion at playing some of these songs, and this quintet is so professional and talented that they make it all seem effortless. Every lead and lick is flawlessly performed, at least within the margins of normal live error, and the intensity is maintained throughout the early and later material. I'm not sure how long all of the gigs were, this might have benefited from being clipped together from a few of them, but on the other end, we are getting our asses kicked for well over an hour by some of the best heavy metal to never break the ca$h barrier. Why isn't Metallica or Maiden taking this band out on tour? We all know why, they don't want to get sent home in an ambulance every night.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Satan - Suspended Sentence (1987)

I have a little bit of Mandela Effect when it comes to Suspended Sentence, or at least I thought I did, because I always equated this as more of a thrash album when I was growing up. I remember listening to this one almost as much as Court in the Act, possibly because I thought it just had a better mix in my headphones, but also because it was a little harder hitting and that mixed in better with my fixation Slayer, Death Angel, Metallica, Coroner, Kreator, Possessed, and all the other stuff I was so heavily into at the time I was transitioning from a pimply Middle School geek to a pimply High School geek with longer hair. Now that I've had so many years to get back to it, I realize that it might have been a bit of exaggeration...sure, this is more adjacent to the escalation of aggression that was transpiring, and many bands actually morphed into straight up thrash bands from their trad metal roots, but it's also a pretty smooth successor for how Court in the Act transitioned to Into the Future...this is a very natural extension.

Imagine the band took their debut, ramped up the bottom end, added a few more gang shouts to the chorus parts, and transformed some of their complex guitar lines into some more chugging force. That is the sophomore in a nutshell: a modified, leaden heavy metal bruiser which was prescient for a lot of the harder hitting European power metal to follow the next decade. The bass playing here is incredible, Graeme English cranked up a little with a thicker, fluidic tone that is just as prominent as the two axe lords he is locking horns with. There are still oodles of melodic noodles flowing above the pummeling pavement, to give this record plenty of atmosphere on tunes like the epic "Who Dies Wins", which for me is the equal of anything off the debut. In fact, there is about an EP worth of material here, that combined with the Into the Future, might have surpassed the debut in my estimation. The "92th Symphony" intro is a nice setup with its glistening harmonies, "11th Commandment" is unforgettable with those pluggy opening bass lines and some totally killer, thick mid-paced riffs. "Avalanche of a Million Hearts", a beautiful acoustic power ballad that erupts into Sean Taylor's thundering beats and some more riffs that have remained in my memory since first hearing them.

Otherwise, there are a few numbers which are give or take, like "Vandal" and "S.C.U.M.", the titles of both enforcing that semi-thrash vibe I get for the record. These have their moments, but before I spun this again I would have had a harder time remembering them, or "Suicidal Justice". Nothing that would necessarily make you press 'stop', but they are not the equals of their peers for me. And that's the one reason that Suspended Sentence doesn't quite match Court in the Act or the amazing reunion period material. The production is a bit uneven here, too, half of the stuff sounds more polished and punchy than the rest...for example, "Calculated Execution" is a decent closer but lacks the power of the first three on the disc. Having said that, this is a robust, edgier Satan for the later 80s, some of the more creative magnificence of the debut traded in for something that might keep them afloat during times where more and more heshers were abandoning the trad stuff for the thrashing. It works well enough in that capacity, and there are a number of gems here that the years cannot sully, but it didn't seem to matter as the band would soon enter a 22 year slumber interrupted only by their time as Pariah.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Satan - Into the Future EP (1986)

Into the Future (aka the Dirt Demo '86) came out three years after Court in the Act, and I think that might be one of the reasons that Satan didn't initially explode as much as they could have. The major British bands at the time were churning out hits like an assembly line, with better production and more accessible songwriting, and even the members here were a little involved in other projects, and yes, they had the provocative name that was going to get them in all manner of hot water (ha ha!), so this didn't have quite the prolific impact; it wasn't getting in front of peoples' faces, or butts in concert seats. That said, the smudgy mushroom cloud (?) cover artwork on this EP might be ugly, but the music itself is a great continuation of the style on the debut, and I daresay I think the mix is stronger, giving a little more tightness and power to the instrumentation. Michael Jackson also has a slightly more controlled delivery than Brian Ross, with a little more dirt to the low end and some sharpness to the higher.

There are only four songs, at under 18 minutes, but the A-side for this one, "Key to Oblivion" and "Hear Evil, See Evil, Speak Evil" are certainly among the better 80s tunes they wrote, and ultimately would belong on a double-disc collection of career highlights. They showcase all of the band's great riffing techniques...complex, tremolo picked lines, packed with melody, a bit of shred or neo-classical influence, and most of all, propulsive power. Jackson's delivery is on point, he even has a few screams on here that I really enjoyed, they felt angrier and more controlled and not just an errant falsetto boast. There might be an added level of weight to how it sounds, and part of that is the production, but it's kind of a bridge to their sophomore album, which was trying to keep a little more current with the heavier, thrash environment around it. The only one of the four that slacks is "Fuck You", and that's not because the music is bad...it's amazing, but the fact that it's mostly an instrumental with just the dumb "Fuck you!" exclamation for the lyrics...when Overkill did this, they made it a straight to the face statement with an aggressive thrash song...here, the music deserved much more, or it should have gone full-on instrumental.

Otherwise, this is one dope, deserving follow-up to the debut, consistent while it moves them a little forward with regards to production. Unfortunately, it's hard to find on its own, but you can usually get it packaged with Suspended Sentence for a pretty killer value, if you can get it at all. I think the songs are also on the Early Rituals collection that came out through Listenable, but I haven't been able to check that one out. Anyways, this is definitely one that I can remember on cassette, spinning it next to Possessed's The Eyes of Horror EP because both of them combined would match the daily duration of my paper route job. The NWOBHM might have been dissolving as of this time, but the chops on display showed that Satan was prepared to take on all comers for the future.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.satanmusic.com/

Satan - Court in the Act (1983)

Though it would take years along my metal path to discover and process so much of the lesser known NWOBHM of the earlier 80s, Satan was a band I encountered fairly early on. I mean, there was no way I was about to resist a band with such a provocative, obvious moniker, one that my parents were very likely to snatch away from me as they did with a Slayer or Sabbat (until giving up entirely). But I definitely found all three of their older cassettes in the later Junior High/early High School years, and was proud to have them in my collection. I remember having a pretty superficial reaction at first, thinking these guys were nowhere near as heavy as Slayer or Metallica and that their name was actually misleading, but I quickly took a 180 on that opinion because the level of proficiency and ambition here was palpable.

Now, to be honest, I've never had a version of this on which I really liked the production all that much, the songwriting and performance seemed to vastly exceed the capabilities, it just seemed a little faint and tinny for me. But that's easy to forgive considering its age and the fact that these guys were literally running circles around so many of their peers in the intensity and complexity of their craft. Compare this to Piece of Mind or Screaming for Vengeance or something, and you can hear that Satan was on an entirely other level, more competitive with the budding thrash bands that had just started to emerge the same year from California. It's still very much in the vein of traditional, melodic heavy metal characteristic of its own scene, but it just cranked up the picking velocity and riff count. Next to this, even stuff like the first two Mercyful Fate albums would feel like a slog; I'm not saying that I like Court in the Act more than any of those albums I just named, because I think they've got better songs and production all around, but there's no doubt this is one fast, furious debut deserving of all the cult status and critical respect it's earned.

The two major weapons in the arsenal here are Brian Ross' distinct vocals, and the incredible guitar duo of Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey. All these guys would excel not only here, but in other bands as varied as Blitzkrieg, Skyclad, Blind Fury, Pariah and Tanith, all of which have excellent records. Yet with Court in the Act, we get to hear them all in unison, and it's quite something to experience. Brian's voice has always felt more relatable to me because of its workmanlike sincerity; sure he has a bit of range where he needs it, but it literally feels like the guy down the street, or at the bar, just started fronting a heavy metal band. It's smooth, melodic, and works great with reverb, but it's never too over the top or screechy, in fact I find it the weakest when he does in fact scream, like that one disposable cry in the bridge of "Alone in the Dock". He can pull those off, but it's not what is interesting about his delivery. It's that mid to upper-mid range which has the most impact. As for the guitarists, they are just fucking unbelievable, spurting riff after riff of busy, calculated, melodic bliss, leads searing fluidly through the undertow, and with this production, sometimes it's hard to tell what is what.

There are at least four tunes on here that make my Satan playlist every time, from the classic raging (proper) opener "Trial by Fire" and epic, escalating "Break Free", to "Hunt You Down" with its great groove and gang vocals, and "Dark Side of Innocence" with its immortal, captivating melodies with a heavy riffing substrate that actually sounds suspiciously like an influence upon a lot of German power metal a few years later. I also really dig the creepy synth intro to the album, "Into the Fire", with the thudding electro percussive beats that stomp through the scintillating ambiance. Or the acoustic interlude "The Ritual" which is absolutely gorgeous and shows off the guitarists' skills in that medium. But I wouldn't throw out the rest of the tunes, either, they're all pretty solid in support of just a few that are more timeless. I emphasized the guitars and vocals, but Sean Taylor's drumming on this one is also pretty intense for the time, lots of good fills, and Grame English, another legend, keeps his bass lines busy enough so that you're not just engaged on that higher, melodic level, but what is supporting it.

Amazingly, this is not even close to my favorite Satan record. I appreciate it a lot, it's one that I often revisit, at least for my favorite songs, and it's the best of their earlier output...but Satan is also my favorite NWOBHM band of the 21st century, and we'll get into why. Court in the Act definitely sets the standard, even the iconic logo and cover artwork style, and this is pretty much mandatory if you're into that British stuff, and should sit in your collection alongside the debuts of Angel Witch, Tank and Diamond Head, and all the Raven, Saxon, Venom, Maiden and Priest you can muster.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.satanmusic.com/

Houle - Ciel cendre et misère noire (2024)

As a New Englander born and bred, adopted from a seaside hospital and rarely ever having lived more than a few miles away from the Atlantic, I've always felt the allure of maritime-themed metal music. A rare commodity, to be sure, but it has been done in a handful of instances, from the Golden Age 80s piracy of the great Running Wild and the decades-late goofy folk metal bands in their wake, to the more serious blend of storm and gloom that a band like France's Houle manifests. I had already commended their adherence to the theme on their eponymous 2022 EP, and with Ciel cendre et misère noire they embrace it all even more closely, an album that is dreary and partially immersed in the traditions of BM, but also has a few unique characteristics that might broaden its appeal beyond that niche.

To be honest, a lot of it is what you'd expect, fast paced and slathered in tremolo picked melodic guitars that evoke both the melancholy of a dingy seascape and the inevitable turbulence that one might face in that environment. There's a certain 'heavy metal' vibe to some of their riffing patterns in tracks like "La danse du rocher", and they also have a lot of cleaner passages with acoustic guitars and tighter, simple chugging patterns used to perforate the vocal lines, often then reverting to the more desperate, blasting rhythms. Adsagsona has a very carnal rasp about her when she's performing in the lines, but I actually found her less structured, ranted/shouting French vocals to be more confrontational and interesting, where the more standard rasp can feel a little overbearing. However, they certainly sound bloody as hell, there is no reining anything, and it's pretty sweet that she can go across such a range, even having some softer, narrative lines over a few of the more folkish moments, which are present but never in a quantity to challenge the metal dominance through the writing.

Production is a bit brighter than it might appear from looking at the album packaging, but I think that makes sense with the emphasis on the melodic guitars. The drumming is snappy and intense, the bass cruises along with its own character, and there's also a lot of folk and neo-classical vibe to some of the guitar melodies or bass lines throughout. The album is paced out and structured well, with some nice breaks where the guitars will surge like the beam of some ship cutting through a storm. I think the downside for me here is that I didn't find a lot of the material nearly as catchy as I would have wanted...the vocal personality, especially the more insane she gets, often drowns out the value of the riffs, and while they're all well played, there's nothing terribly novel or sticky about them. This is no throwaway album, mind you; it continues upon the potential of the EP, without expanding it all that far, and I also think Houle has a niche with plenty of room to develop, but I found myself more inspired by the theme than the musical content itself.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/HouleOfficiel

Corpus Diavolis - Elixiria Ekstasis (2024)

Adorned in what might be the most erotically diabolic cover artwork of the year, the fifth album from Corpus Diavolis offers another scorching on the more traditional side of European BM, never sounding quite so distinct as its avant-garde French countrymen, nor the Medieval stylings of other peers, but full-on Satanic, blasting black metal. The reliance is wholly on the sinister, ritualistic infusions, but that's not to say that this is some monotonous, overblown effort, it's meticulously plotted and padded out to offer enough variation that you'll enjoy exploring some of its longer tracks, a couple of which just scrape the 10 minute ceiling. I had already been impressed with the group's 2021 effort Apocatastase, and this one is ever more nasty sounding and effective.

That's not to say you'll come across much original, but the Frenchmen overwhelm you with components that keep the experience like a richly occult canvas that continues to sprawl out across a dungeon wall. Vocals shift in between genre rasps, snarls, tortured groans, and little passages of chanted choirs that hit at just the right time like the finale of opener "His Wine Be Death". The guitars possess the balance of tremolo picked, winding and sinister melodies, but also spiked up with little atmospherics, clean or dissonant and always conscious of expanding the sound to a higher level than just its basic rhythmic drive. The drumming is as savage as necessary for the style, charged up with lots of little fills or percussive fits that add even more of that ritual haze to the proceedings, and the bass is just present and plunky enough to fatten up the bombast, especially during the slower to mid-paced segments of the disc.

There's an advanced sense of depth and composition here in tunes like "Cyclopean Adoration" and "Menstruum Congressus" that transcends any superficial stab at the style, and if you're fond of black metal bands that go that extra mile, you'll easily find yourself lost in its orgiastic, serpentine, vaulted mysteries, like an entire forbidden night at some vile subterranean temple, caught to tape. That's not to say that it's always so strikingly memorable, but there's enough meat here musically and lyrically to appreciate and Corpus Diavolis makes for another consistent, competent and compelling pillar of its scene.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.corpusdiavolis.com/