A strange and implausible reality now consumes the no longer collective purpose of crumbling civilization, set to self-destruct by way of scrambled signals and with no failsafe provisions in hand. With cruelest possible social engineering as the main perpetrator and the lax development of the self within ailing culture under fire Newcastle upon Tyne, England-borne heavy metal quintet SATAN once again hold humanity to a higher standard than we deserve, hopeful as they are brilliantly stated in the ever-horizon of total disorder and apocalyptic fire. For their seventh full-length album, ‘Songs in Crimson‘, and fifth in a legendary streak beyond reformation nearly fifteen years ago there is both comfort to be found in their consistency of personage and great inspiration to take from their taste for forward motion as they sacrifice nothing in trying something a bit different each time around.

Technically formed in 1980 but already demoing various vocalists and writing as early as 1979 Satan were an obvious talent out the gates, carrying with them a certain contained authorship which was heavy psych plumed in its diction but squarely concerned with a post-‘Killing Machine‘ world in terms of technique. A quick course through their ‘Early Rituals‘ (2020) compilation reinforces their birth at just the right point where a late 70’s heavy rock ’til heavy metal transformation became more clear as the ‘Into the Fire‘ (1982) demo tape hit. At this point they were still having an identity crisis in terms of their frontman but not when it came to already building up a signature sound. It all came together for one of my personal favorite heavy metal records of all time, ‘Court in the Act‘ (1983) where they’d landed in a brilliant spot with Blitzkrieg’s Brian Ross up front whose mind for melody and dramatic range would become legend there and then. This first official line-up was best remembered and probably the only functional reality that made sense when they’d reprised their efforts in 2011.

Without writing yet another ham-fisted bit on how you’ve missed out on plenty here if you’ve not dug into Satan‘s discography between 1984-1990 I will once again iterate that the Blind Fury and Pariah albums do technically count towards the whole spiritus of this band and lets not forget that two of these folks are yet responsible for the innovative, earnest brilliance of Skyclad. So, I don’t think it’ll be all that controversial to see ‘Songs in Crimson‘ as the sixth album from this line-up but technically the tenth album from the band as they’d changed their name per their ongoing identity crisis throughout the 80’s. I’m on about this because it still surprises me as the biggest fan of Satan that they’ve been a hundred percent consistent since returning with ‘Life Sentence‘ in 2013 as this type of high-level authenticity will always feel like an anomalous gift on borrowed time. As is the case with very few bands returning to revive and uphold their legacy Satan now know exactly who they are, where they can possibly take this sound, and how to keep it interesting year over year. In this sense do not be surprised at all when ‘Songs in Crimson‘ hits you with some of the most memorable heavy metal songs you’ll hear all year and from a band overflowing with personage.

Where they’ve been informs where they’ll go next… and in that sense Satan took a more indulgent dual-guitar attack on ‘Earth Infernal‘ in 2022, producing one of their heaviest records to date in response to the softer and more patient melodicism of ‘Cruel Magic‘ (2018). With this in mind the suggestion here is that ‘Songs in Crimson‘ carries the same addressal of societal injustices in hand but intends more of a songbook quality in its experience. Here we find each piece is arranged to make its impact within a clearer heavy rock song structure where each piece lands around ~4-5 minutes, making sure to develop a chorus as the major punch of their work but leaving space for quick pinched solos, their signature snaking grooves and plenty of melodic development.

Fans of the eldest works from the band should appreciate the two fairly different main rhythm guitar sounds here where the snap of the right channel is often the major voice but the left has a bit more frazzled distortion to its scrape making for a step towards an analog era heavy metal sound indicative of the early 80’s Neat Records feeling without sounding dryly nostalgic. The percussive, incendiary snap of their rhythm tone and its intricacies aren’t lost in this sense but given a brilliantly realistic sense of space, something similar to a live in studio recording which also translates via the kit being crystal clear and taut, given no ugly artificial boost to the lower end. This of course allows for sharper bass guitar definition than on the previous album, a clean yet growling tone which shines best on the more melodic side of things a la “Sacramental Rites”. Once again the self-production per the band with the help of engineer, mix and mastering from Dave Curle of First Avenue Studios helps to give us something different which also reminds us that Satan absolutely know who they are and what they’re doing next.

We strike once more into the grand dystopian balk of humanity with a number of smoking trills and an almost Penderecki-esque sweeping crack into the riffcraft that has long been the major charmer in Satan‘s oeuvre as “Frantic Zero” points to hysteria and self-imposed degeneration as symptoms, waves of defeat striking the shore as once great civilizations disassembled from within. Having been sapped of their lifesblood long enough the populous under capitalism are depicted as human meat, too easily manipulated masses, and yes mass delusion and a loss of critical thinking is endemic to lives driven by technology. Granted, I’m not here to deliver cryptic rant though these first five songs that comprise Side A of ‘Songs in Crimson’ are infectious as they are verbose when setting a scene (“Sacramental Rites”) or reflecting upon history repeating itself (“Era (The Day Will Come)”) as a tuneful sort of frustration and reflection give us warm point of re-entry into the band’s world. Of course I am here for the guitar work up front, the power of Ross second, and the overall tuneful effect of their work in that order and they’re already trading off leads and buzzing through complexly joint rhythms before the second piece has finished firing.

You’ll also note that backing vocals help to reinforce some of these early hooks in a simple way, something Tanith fans will appreciate up front while the snappier, thrashing grooves of “Whore of Babylon” kinda has that ‘The Kindred‘-era Pariah sense of rhythmic development (see also: “Curse in Disguise”), a biting groove over a trotting pace and lyrics which are dismal as they are cleverly stated. That is to suggest that this bands big personality is still somehow on fire and I’m not sure I could point out a flippant or dry detail here among the lot, though it is clear that “Sacramental Rites” is a major standout when taking stock of all that Satan does to bust through the wall within this first half of the album. For my own taste the most exciting guitar work and biggest hooks hit within those first five songs and Side B takes on a different tone, reaching for slightly more NWOBHM level gallops and heavy rock inspired trips, all of which are in character but take just a moment longer to sink in here and there.

The step into Side B with the rattle-out of “Turn the Tide” with its wah-bitten opening phrase is almost instantly familiar from the second listen, it feels like a potential album opener and sits well at the start of the flipside with plenty of energy driven into its pace and scratched-at opening riff(s). We’ve hit the chorus just past the minute mark reinforcing the notion that this album means to get to business and hit you with the good stuff that sticks as quickly as possible. That said I’d found the brightly struck melodic riffs on the otherwise spiraling thrust of “Curse in Disguise” almost works for how deliberately crafted its walk-through is per an inspired pre-chorus and simple progression which help this song to feel particularly vitalized as the album’s energy had just begun wind down a bit. They’ve still got a few chargers in ’em beyond that point, “Truth Bullet” is a real trucker once the leads start bumping out, in general I think most folks will be sticking around for the grand finale of “Deadly Crimson” on repeat listens.

If you’re a fan of Satan‘s lyricism they continue to speak truth to the abuse power, naming injustice as they see it and as always with a great sense of melody and intensity behind it. This is ultimately their signature as a long-standing collective beyond their accelerant-blazed guitar work and inherent melodic craft, a certain narrative intensity that inherently believes in merit despite the rigged reality so many live beneath. It is one thing to say something in front of a great metal instrumental and sound larger-than-life but another to sound like you mean it and in that sense the mastery of this band and this line-up feels eternally consistent and remains vigorously applied.

Of course I am a longtime fan and there is some strong bias earned over the years. At this point it is clear that you know who you are getting on one of their records in terms of personality and the greater nuance of this lies within where they explore both statement and their balance of heavy rock inflected guitar flourish, the interaction of these two things meets up strikingly when given simple enough song structures which set aside the blazon run-on edge of the previous album for a refreshing directness herein. It isn’t so wildly different upon first impression but I feel that anyone willing to sit with the entire discography of this band will appreciate the care given to help ‘Songs in Crimson‘ stand out as one of their most compacted set of songs which do share some appreciable eclecticism despite an almost too rigidly set structuring from piece to piece. By honing in upon this level of directness they’ve delivered an experience which doesn’t necessarily recontextualize their work but one that arrives with as much purpose and panache as ever, guaranteeing it will hit with rabid folks like me as well as anyone who appreciates a memorable heavy metal song. A very high recommendation.

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