Satan’s history is storied, their albums and incendiary live shows, iconic. The Newcastle, England-bred lineup may quip that their career has been “44 years of prolonged mayhem with a 20-year lunch break”—forming in 1980, eventually pausing before reuniting in 2011—but circa 2024 finds the band thriving, writing, recording, and touring at the top of their game. Proof positive is their seventh studio album, and third for Metal Blade, 'Songs in Crimson'.
If 2022’s 'Earth Infernal' album was brutal, up-tempo and with loud guitars, guitarist Russ Tippins calls 'Songs in Crimson' “concise. It’s more to the point and gets there quicker. One of the reasons behind the title 'Songs in Crimson' is that this record is very ‘song’ focused. There’s more punch this time around. Each chorus speaks for itself.” An eminently relatable song is “Era (The Day Will Come).” “There is nobody on this planet who is not familiar with the feeling of loss. When you get to the age we are at in this band, it becomes a weekly occurrence. If there is a message in the lyric, it is pretty much ‘do not take anything for granted.’ Especially people. You just don’t know what is around the corner that you can’t see coming.”
The band hands alongside Tippins on 'Songs In Crimson' —vocalist Brian Ross, guitarist Steve Ramsey, bassist Graeme English and drummer Sean Taylor—were joined by (as always) Dave Curle of First Avenue studios for the record. On Earth Infernal, Tippins and Ramsey worked leads in unison, and again on “Sacramental Rites” on 'Songs in Crimson'. “Even though there are more riffs per song, we don’t dwell overly long on any of them, the changes happen pretty quickly,” they say. “More bang for your buck. Style-wise, we doubled down on the notation ‘gender’ we’ve used for the last few albums,” says Tippins. “Meaning that we don’t really play in conventional major or minor keys. There’s always a note in a riff or a lead line that somehow seems ‘wrong’ or unexpected. Those curveballs are planned, and the idea is that the more we do that, the more we’ll come to be defined by it. I suppose it’s a mode of some kind, but we don’t even have a name for it!”
Satan’s chemistry, honed by years of collaboration, brotherhood and love, is unbreakable. “We played at a metal festival where the headlining band had zero original members,” Tippins says. “I cannot get my head around that, though I admire their bravery. We are the genuine article.” To be clear: “We did not reunite just to trade on past glory,” he concludes. “If you want nostalgia, this is not the band for you. We look only ahead and always will.”
CD digipack version
Tracklisting:
1. Frantic Zero
2. Era (The Day Will Come)
3. Whore of Babylon
4. Sacramental Rites
5. Martyrdom
6. Turn the Tide
7. Captives
8. Curse in Disguise
9. Truth Bullet
10. Deadly Crimson
