FMA Reviews: Sathanas/The Spawn of Satan Split

Originally reviewed here.

Released on Halloween this year, this split features a band from the same dank depths (Cleveland, OH) as the almighty Nunslaughter, and another one from the even more depressing Pennsylvania. I was not previously familiar with either band so this split serves as a nice introduction to two very deep underground American blackened death metal bands. Sathanas has been around since the late 1980's and have released a number of full-lengths over that time, yet somehow eluded me. The Spawn of Satan has only been recording music since 2002 and has never released a full-length, though they have been active for almost as long as Sathanas.

The Spawn of Satan is up first with "Ritual Murder". The Spawn of Satan is more of a straightforward death metal band with some thrash metal influences featuring members of Crucified Mortals and the aforementioned Nunslaughter. The sound is very similar to Nunslaughter (third mention of this band so far but it makes sense, trust me). The song is fast-paced and driven forward with a powerful riff. It has a very sinister and evil atmosphere.

Sathanas steps up to the plate with "Unholy Eternal" next. Their sound is more of a blackened death metal sound with tremolo-picked riffs and a coarse, blackened raspy death growl. It is also a fast-paced song. There is a little more variation in this track than the last one. The drums are particularly interesting on this song with some impressive fills.

With a two-song split, about the best one can hope for is a decent introduction to new bands with some incentive to check out more. Both bands here are decent but not particularly memorable. I would probably be more likely to check out Sathanas personally, but both are possible.