out on Friday: Satan (review by MMB)

Satan

Cruel Magic

Metal Blade Records

7 September 2018

The first thing that strikes about the new 2018 album is how real the recording sounds. It feels like they have invited the listener into the studio to watch how the cooking is done. Given that this is a cult British act with musicians that formed bands in the latter half of the 1970s, and that they have been making music for decades and decades now, their views on recording reflect their love of the pioneering bands of hard rock that inspired them in the first place. For new audiences, this album is a great place to begin listening to band. In point of fact, there is perhaps only one aspect that is clearly not possible to do live: the backing vocals and the lead vocals are the same person, and in the live setting the band has to do the backing vocals, although there is not that much of backing vocals, anyway, which means that they should be able to play the songs fairly close to the recording.

lf anyone knows how to write songs, it is this band. When you put together their experience—Satan, Blind Fury, Pariah, Blitzkrieg, Skyclad, to name the most important ones—you get a whopping 33 studio albums that they have done, at the very least.

They have been to the circus many times. They have seen the bright lights and the puppet strings. At this point there is only one thing, and one thing, that truly matters to them: the songs.

When your musical heritage is 1970s British hard rock and you yourself have made dozens and dozens of albums, there is no question that the new album will please the fans of cult traditional heavy metal. The new music sounds like a band with lots of youthful energy and making the most memorable, quality songs that they can make. Old fans should be pumped, and the new fans might as well start here. It is 2018 and the band’s standards are as high as ever. Get your pencil and get ready to take notes, the school of rock is in session. Welcome to the master class.

satanuk.bandcamp.com/album/cruel-magic

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