Satan's Wrath - Galloping Blasphemy Review
by Matt Hensch
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I think Tas Danazoglou himself said something about real Satanism having to do with drinking a ton of booze and listening to Venom. That's the most sensible assessment about metal's connection to the dark lord you will ever find. If Tas Danazoglou rings a bell, it's because he once played bass for Electric Wizard, but left the band to form Satan's Wrath. "Galloping Blasphemy" is all about preserving the glory of old-school thrash/black metal that spawned from the cursed mouths of Venom, Possessed, Slayer, and it even presents some nods to honest NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden. The album features Stamos K on guitars and Taz handling everything else, and it's safe to say that if you're familiar with the aforementioned bands and don't mind having your face peeled back by pure velocity, then you might find Satan's Wrath quite appealing. Now, nothing Satan's Wrath demonstrates is revolutionary or groundbreaking, but that clearly wasn't the objective. "Galloping Blasphemy" merely skips past all of metal's trends and drops back to 1986; a land where savage riffs grew on trees, and adding the word "core" to anything has just unheard of. Needless to say, rip-riding riffs and authentic 80s metal worship is all you need to know when encountering "Galloping Blasphemy." Hell, if this was released back in the day, Satan's Wrath would've been warming up crowds everywhere for a Venom or Possessed show. Musically, the blueprint revolves around thrash/black metal, but this is far from irrelevant despite its attempt to weave back into a more-accepting timeframe. There are several noteworthy riffs and sections per song which all represent the influences of Satan's Wrath admirably. However, it's intense and heavy, stuff to bang your head to. That's really all that matters as far as I'm concerned. Song after song of beastly riffs are showcased by the dozen, sizzled over abrasive, juvenile percussion and harsh vocals that sound rough and raw. It's not really a stylistic statement of any kind, but I find myself banging my head to the lightning-fast guitar parts, trying to screech like Tas, pounding stuff with my hands as if I had a floating drum set wrapped around my head, and worshipping the dark one. Bottom line in case you're a bit on the slow side: Satan's Wrath is not about acting chintzy or flashy to appeal to some feeble trend or second-rate formula. It's evil, dark, crazy, intense, and metal to the bone, and sometimes those additives make a listening experience totally relevant. The awesome riffs that remind me of Slayer or Possessed help too, of course.
Satan's Wrath - Galloping Blasphemy Rating:7.5
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