Satan's Wrath - Aeons of Satan's Reign Review
by Matt Hensch
.
Dark forces must have approved of "Galloping Blasphemy," because just over a year later the entity of Satan's Wrath had grown from a two-piece to a full quintet and released "Aeons of Satan's Reign" without batting an eye. That first Satan's Wrath album ended up being a swell black/thrash metal opus akin to Desaster, Venom, and Possessed, with not a drop of the corrosive, hellish acid left unused. "Aeons of Satan's Reign" borrows almost all of the weapons its predecessor glorified, but who can complain? It's another slab of bone-shattering, bile-spewing Venom devotion with all the sleaze, steel, slop, slaughter and Satan that should always be at the forefront of this kind of unholy desecration. Satan's Wrath again gets it right in forty-two minutes of Christian fun that's suitable for the whole family. I don't find Satan's Wrath to be one of those annoying revivalist bands that try so hard to dine with the adults. These guys have established a firm plot of land in Hell that they can call their own, although the sound of "Aeons of Satan's Reign" isn't necessarily original. The style of ultra-violent, bloody black/thrash metal they portray, however, makes its presence known with terrifying force. The record pretty much wears the same skin as "Galloping Blasphemy" with only a few discernable differences that fail to hinder the structural content and quality of this blitzing profanation. The Iron Maiden-ish NWOBHM elements and melodies are completely absent this time around, which is a bit of a letdown, because those touches were executed wonderfully on the debut. They aren't missed too much in the grand scheme of things, though; the complete focus on Satan's Wrath's extreme influences is very well done. But if stylistic descriptions are necessary, Satan's Wrath is once more slamming a rotten slab of putrid, possessed black/thrash metal on the table and calling for an onslaught of endless mayhem upon open ears. "Aeons of Satan's Reign" is chaotic and volatile, immediately charging out of its cage with "Only Satan is Lord," a bestial rampage that's about as ripping as one could imagine. Mid-paced beatings like "Archfiend" and "Satan's Blood, Lucifer's Fire" depend more prominently on lead melodies, guitar acrobatics, and bulky atmosphere than the album's other cuts which hold classes on fierce riffing, fierce riffing, and fierce riffing, yet are still noteworthy; they are perhaps the band's strength. The title track sees Satan's Wrath moving into colossal territory, as the song racks up nine minutes of running time and moves through an assortment of creepy clean guitar parts, ravenous riffs, and endless musical turmoil. I think Tas Danazoglou, the group's leader and vocalist, delivers an adequate performance loaded with all the grit and guts typical to a release like this, nothing radically different from the norm. In the end, pretty good stuff; I'd say on par with "Galloping Blasphemy." Every aspect of the band's bombardment remains completely untouched, only they dropped the NWOBHM influences and just jumped straight into full-blooded Venom worship, which acts sternly as the spine of the squad from here to Hades. The flesh-shredding violence might not be an attractive quality to some, but was Venom or Possessed ever about looking polished or likable so they could win over the enemies of metal? I didn't think so.
Satan's Wrath - Aeons of Satan's Reign Rating:8.0
tell a friend about this review
.
...end |