Baphomet's Blood - In Satan We Trust (2016)

In Satan We Trust is the culmination of everything I've ever wanted out of any of the prior Baphomet's Blood records, to the point that even if some of them are decent, I doubt I'd ever even listen to them again now that I have this in my possession. The Lords of Salem sample inaugurating this speed metal ritual is used more effectively here than it probably was in the movie, and though it might feel like bait for a lawsuit, the orchestration rolls right into the mid-paced, field leveling mosh rhythms before mutating back into the lethal genetics of Venom, Tank, Exciter and Motörhead that were clearly seeded into these members' brains at a vital age. With the obvious caveat that there is little to nothing among these riffs and lyrics that hasn't been done a thousand times in the past, this is thus far the Italians' opus of high speed, angry dirt.

Forceful rhythm guitar patterns here add a lot of meat to the bones of bluesy fills and leads, none of which are super exemplary or incendiary on their own, but all contribute to this roadworthy crusade of hellfire which simply sates that inner, pissed off teenager I was back in the 80s, listening to what tapes I could scrounge up and watching the horror selections available to me on my parents' cable when they thought I was in bed. Baphomet's Blood doesn't fuck around with a huge variety of tempos, in fact the majority of the songs seem to move at the same velocity entirely, so telling them apart becomes a tedious chore, but the pacing and flow of the music itself just becomes an addiction I want sated after the dust from each previous track clears. The rhythm tone is pretty much perfect, potent and fiery, but crisp clear enough to pick out the various tracks and slight nuances in each of their playing. Bass is bombing here, a good tone that is better fitted and more audible than what you'd hear on a lot of their older records. Drums are driven and passionate, and while Necrovomiterror's vocals certainly haven't 'evolved' over time, they just sound continuously more gruff and nasty and honest here...not giving a fuck. And that is to their benefit.

There are, to be honest, a number of generic riffing progressions on this album that are lifted from a gestalt of their influences, and occasionally they flirt with slightly more boring speed/punk phrases that should be thrown in a locker with no combination. But even these, when placed in the fingers of hands that want nothing more than to give the listener and honest, faux-Satanic drubbing which puts them into a sense of nostalgic unconsciousness, are effective enough to contribute. You have to be at rest with the fact that this is not the music of progression or new levels of extremity, but more or less a twisted mirror of the past, so many of these younger acts inserting themselves into a history that they only belonged to as spectators, and offering windows to very specific cross-blends of their forefathers that, frankly, I don't mind existing. I have a soft spot for this sort of unapologetic, grimy speed metal when performed properly, and even though these Italians don't count themselves among the most atmospherically throwback or inspired of the lot, they have continually improved upon each record to the point that I feel they're rock solid reliable and know what they're doing.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (forget your life, forget the light)

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Baphomet's Blood - Back from the Fire EP (2016)

The three original tracks on the Back from the Fire EP don't really advance Baphomet's Blood beyond the material from their third full-length Metal Damnation; in fact they feel like a step sideways and slightly backwards, embracing the cheesier aspects of their speed metal existence. While the band had been escalating its level of engagement and nastiness over the prior half-decade, this might be seen as a slight sign of some stagnation. But, that said, it's a fun enough little romp between proper records, and keeps the band's vital signs active and 'in the game' throughout the seven year gulf between those third and fourth albums.

Solid, if predictable riffs that generally run a similar course until they're cut up into slower, heavy metal pacing and lead sequences. The guitar tone here is roughly in league with Metal Damnation, that is to say superior to the first couple albums, but I found the construction of the rhythm patterns to be slightly less incendiary or exciting. Tunes like "Back from the Fire", with its dextrous opening lick, seem to speculate what it might have been like if Raven in their 80s prime were fronted by Algy Ward's workmanlike, gruff vocal presence, which manifests a lot in Necrovomiterror's timbre, rather than the screaming nasal vocals they were known for. That is certainly my favorite track of the three originals, but even then it's pretty much paint by numbers songwriting which pans out exactly like you think it will as soon as you've experienced the bridge into the first verse. The bass seems to have finally hit the right stride here, with a pluggy little tone always present on the underbelly of the guitar, and the drums sound as tight as ever.

I'm no expert on Italian heavy metal veterans Strana Officina, but I have actually heard a couple of their older releases, including "Metal Brigade", which Baphomet's Blood uses to close out this EP, using actual vocal contributions (i.e. unruly screams) from vocalist 'Bud' Ancillotti himself. The tune is simultaneously the sloppiest and most amusing on the record, with some production differences from the rest that only make it seem a fraction out of place. Still, it's nice that the band pays tribute to someone that most in the world have never heard of, but were certainly some kind of influence on the younger band and possibly the scene that shaped them and peers like Children of Technology. And thanks to the 'exclusivity' of the material on this release, which seems to be a lost art half the time with so many EPs stuffed with live cuts and re-recordings, I'd say that Back from the Fire is not going to disappoint those who know what to expect, and its overall quality is equivalent to at least the band's debut, and even a lot of material from Second Strike. But still a good half decade before they would finally stoke the braziers Satan uses for hookahs.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

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Baphomet's Blood - Metal Damnation (2009)

Metal Damnation was yet another step forward for the Italo speed metal gods-in-training Baphomet's Blood, and until recently it would have been the first album I reached for if anyone had ever expressed to me their interest in checking them out. From the grate graphics and blue-fringed photo on the cover to the production of the music itself, strides were being taken in rounding out the band so it became a little more than just an arid expression of ideas that had played themselves out some 25 years before this was set to tape. Structurally, there isn't much of a difference between this and either of its predecessors, it simply sounds better, with rhythm guitar riffs that feel just a fraction more propulsive and powerful than those they had laid out before. While they were already haunting the back roads of the speed metal highway, they had now skidded out onto the main thoroughfare, kicking up lots of dust en route to the next pit stop where they were primed for a barroom brawl.

Searing strikes of a horror score (I can't recount where the sample is from) and then it's off to the race with "Devil's Night", a tune redolent with the scent of old English outfits like Tank who were taking that inner punk by the throat and then layering it with denim, leather, spikes, growing out the hair good and long with handlebar moustache and trading in those Sex Pistols vinyls for some vintage Warfare. There's also a healthy taste of both US and German speed and power metal which help to mold the lead sequences and the brighter overall resonance I came away from this one feeling, like they had found a nice median between old Riot and Motörhead and then sat it down in front of some speakers and blasted an Iron Angel record, which left an indelible impression on the tape itself. The style of riffing really isn't all that removed from the path they were already on, just choppy speed and barking, gruff vocals, but it's just that much more forceful, and the tone of the guitar has a slightly more raw, ripping edge to it that sounds good and crunchy like locusts being ground into the asphalt.

Bass is a little better here, but still tonally the weakest link of the band. The leads are definitely much improved, taking that undefined feel of the older albums into a more explosive, exciting arena. I also like the stops/starts they toss into tunes like "We Don't Care" which give you a nice chance to recharge, round the mountain pass and go charging back to your destiny. The mix of the guitar and vocal is also a lot cooler, as well as the way the songs are set up. There could certainly be more variation...quite a lot of the tempos feel exactly the same, and they're not changing up note patterns noticeably enough to thrill anyone who isn't in the mood for this brand of raunchy speed metal, but it fills runs out its 37 minute fuel tank well appropriate energy and leaves me feeling like the band has finally caught some fire. Just how much? Stay tuned.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

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Baphomet's Blood - Second Strike (2008)

The moody acoustic intro to this sophomore record, and the slow but sure heavy metal buildup that bleeds into the band's namesake anthem definitely gave me impression that the Italians had refined themselves for a greater impact this time around, and in truth I feel that Second Strike is a step up above Satanic Metal Attack in every way, maintaining that roughshod road burn raw production some listeners probably loved about the debut but angling up the actual songwriting ability. This is still throwback material, to a fault, meaning that unless you've got nostalgia for a more testosterone injected alternative to the original NWOBHM scene, namely a band like Tank, 'Head or Venom, this is probably one to avoid, but I can easily relate to this with a skunked beer in my paw and that stinking denim vest I made out of an old dungaree jacket that darkens the bedroom closet for now and evermore.

Basic shit here, pavement worthy anthems with only vague degrees of variation to note selections, which are all cast in that bluesy iron of the old British bands in the late 70s, and slathered in the ugly and lower blue collar vocals of Necrovomiterror, who by his name seems more like a natural fit for a band like Blasphemy...but I'm guessing some of the names these guys used were also a nod to the band Sodom from their heyday. Good, violent thrash metal names, for songs that only faintly dip into the thrash-well, and even then only at that niche's most basal. The drums are little more than brute force, effective but occasionally monotonous, driving clatter that merely fuels the licks, which are themselves far from nuanced but generate a similar vibe to that first time I heard Filth Hounds of Hades or Iron Fist. Solos are sloppy and grungy and again, like having molten blues-based hard rock poured into a fiery forge for smelting into these workmanlike, thundering exercises in sounding EXACTLY like they look on their cover pose.

As with the debut, the bass guitar is fairly lacking in the mix, and the tone doesn't really sound good, a page from the Lemmy handbook must have been ripped out when they were formulating the style and direction they wanted Baphomet's Blood to head towards. So that can make Second Strike feel a little on the dry side, but doesn't completely break the deal for me, because this is just something so 'innocently' vile and straightforward. Every lick on this disc was probably written 20 years or more before it came out, and a lot of bands could probably write this entire album's worth of material in an afternoon; yet there's just something retro and refreshing for me which I value more than innovation on a particular effort like this one. Don't get me wrong, this is FAR from one of the best in this backwards speed metal scene, and even this very band has surpassed it, but if anyone were to be listening to this in their car and picked me up, I wouldn't ask them to turn it off or even turn up my nose at what is such a crude, good time. It makes me wish I smoked cigarettes. I don't, but maybe in some alternate reality my other self does. And he's doing it to Second Strike.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

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Baphomet's Blood - Satanic Metal Attack (2006)

You could do worse than to kick off your debut album with a Nightbreed sample, and that's precisely how the Italo speedsters Baphomet's Blood entered my life with their bombastic and no fucks given Satanic Metal Attack. It's no secret that a lot of bands out of Europe have a legacy of offering tribute to the metal of old, specifically that of the 80s in which most of the heavyweight genres and niches were born, and the speed and thrash metal of that era had already been sent up numerous times by the arrival of the new millennium, but I'd say that as the formative works, or 'originals' of these genres grow further and further away, the hearts tend to grow fonder and gravitate straight back towards them. These days the nostalgia farm is in full harvest, with a lot of rotten crops to go along with the delectable, but I'd say this band were kind of at the vanguard of this newer wave of atavists, and who can forget (or forgive) all those awesome pics of these guys decked out in there in sleeveless tees with flying Vs and all kinds of great poses.

Not me.

I'll state outright that Satanic Metal Attack is not the band's best work, but it was a critical part of arriving there. Crude, galloping licks the likes of which derive directly from two decades prior, you're going to hear a smattering of simplistic guitar patterns here that rum the gamut from Destruction to Kill 'Em All to very early Slayer, but specifically recount the Canadian primacy once mastered by bands like Exciter and Razor. This entire album was crafted with a motorcycle wheelie mentality in mind, a Mad Max-like spurt of testosterone, dust and vitriol slathered in sloppy harsh vocals. This is far more in the strain of a Venom than the more punkish fundamentals of Motörhead, with some dexterity and finesse to the rhythm guitars, although they are certainly predictable and basis in structure. There are other horror samples used to break up the momentum, even one from Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, but almost every song among the eight here moves at a similar clip with the exception of the neck jerking mid-paced thrash riff moments that messily try to evoke a lot of old East coast hardcore or Toxic Waltz, or the slightly more uppity speeds the band spits out that enter Rigor Mortis s/t territory (as in the depths of "Kill the Monk").

The bass guitar cruises along but doesn't really register much, and the rhythm tone is a little plain and boxy, with the drums adding a lot of very cluttered crashing. A lot is really left up to the vocalist for added character, along with the gang shouts and sporadic, ridiculous leads, but I'd say the all pull it off to the point that when I listen through the album, I can imagine myself doing 90 down a desert highway in a beat up van spray painted with all kinds of bad graffiti of devils and boobs and sicks and just having a petulant time while I spray my tonsils with warm whiskey that had been sitting in the sunlight on the passenger side for too long. It's a bit of a party, but a peculiar party, and one that should not under any circumstance be replicated in any real world situation unless you have a short lease on your life or a lot of really cool (and brave) friends. Satanic Metal Attack is alright when you're in the mood, but even if you have a lukewarm or lesser response to this, don't panic, because Baphomet's Blood get up to the devil's business with much greater efficacy on future efforts.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (drilled by Satan)

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