FMA: Satan's Host: Virgin Sails (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

I love Satan's Host. I have made absolutely no secret of that over the years. Their last full-length of original material nabbed the top spot on my end of the year best albums list. I even enjoyed a lot of their black metal material when their Satanic lyrics and image were overwhelming. Of course Patrick Evil's stunning guitar work was the star attraction, as it has always been throughout the band's history. Their blackened power metal style of their last album is still my favorite. So I was pretty excited when Satan's Host released a new album.

This is the long-running evil Colorado band's second album since Leviathan Thisiren, aka Harry Conklin of Jag Panzer, returned to the band for the first time since their 1987 EP. His return had brought back a clean vocal style instead of the blackened rasp of former vocalist L.C.F. Elixir. This change in vocal style brought a significant amount of attention back to the band, even though their black metal material was actually pretty strong.

This album is a continuation of the blackened power metal sound that reared its head on Satan's Host's last album. There is still definitely some black/death metal style riffing that can be heard on occasion, hearkening back to the band's older material before the return of Conklin. Every once in awhile, I expected a song similar to their re-recorded album. But the band would quickly return to the more traditional metal style in both riffs and vocals.

Of course the real stars on this album, as with the last album, are guitarist Patrick Evil and Conklin. Evil's songwriting and riffs continue to be top-notch. He is definitely at the top of his game, even in his 50's. He does a terrific job of combining traditional-sounding riffs with much heavier blackened-death riffing style. What results is an album that is powerful and yet extremely dark. He also throws in some impressive solos.

Conklin's voice is as strong as it has ever been. His soaring wails and harsher backup vocals during call-and-response moments truly drive this album. Conklin is easily one of the more underrated vocalists in metal as his work in Jag Panzer and on this album can attest. Even more impressive is the fact that this is likely his best work.

Satan's Host has definitely continued their excellent string of albums. The only knock is that this album does not have one truly standout track on it. It does not have a "Fallen Angel" like the last one did. But it is an overall excellent release.

Satan's Host: Celebration - For the Love of Satan (2011)

As a general rule I do not typically check out re-recordings.  I usually prefer the original versions of songs and do not see any need to mess with it.  I made an exception with this release.  Of course this will be very rare.

As much as I liked the black/thrash metal period in Satan's Host's discography, I much prefer their blackened power metal style.  After Harry Conklin, aka Leviathan Thisiren, left the band, Satan's Host went for the black metal style.  I personally liked them quite a bit, particularly at the times in which Pat Evil was given free reign to simply shred on the guitar, but I can definitely see where some people would think they were not interesting enough to pay a lot of attention.

But their blackened power metal is different.  Because there are not a lot of bands out there playing in this style, Satan's Host stands out.  When Conklin came back, the band made waves in the metal underground.  Their debut album was an underrated classic.  Their most recent full-length was listed as my favorite album of 2011.  I was aware of this release but never really checked it out.  Until now.

I have to say that this release is incredible.  Satan's Host re-recorded some of their best songs from their black metal era, including the awesome songs "Dark Priest (Lord Ahriman)" and "Satanic Grimoire".  Musically the songs are virtually identical.  It is the vocals that have been changed.  Gone is the blackened rasp of L.C.F. Elixir, and in his place is the wail of Conklin.

I always enjoyed these songs with the prior singer, but they are given even more of a boost with Conklin.  I love it.  Looking forward to more blackened power metal from Satan's Host.

Satan's Host: Metal from Hell

I first heard Satan's Host a few years back.  At that time, they were more of a black metal band with occasional thrash metal riffs.  Their singer had the fairly typical black metal style rasp.  I actually liked them quite a bit.  I bought two of their albums right away.  Their next release was decidedly more melodic and thrashier, yet retaining a lot of the black metal aspects that caught my attention.  It was my favorite yet.  I was aware that Satan's Host had once been a power metal band, but had not heard anything from that period at that point.  Then came word that the band was reuniting with Jag Panzer vocalist Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin.  That album blew me away and was the Album of the Year on this site.

I recently made the decision to try to check out the band's debut album, a highly-regarded, but often overlooked gem from 1986.  The band went on hiatus soon after and did not re-emerge until the late 1990's.  By that time, Conklin was firmly entrenched with Jag Panzer and Satan's Host took on the black metal style they had when I first heard them.

This is an incredible album.  It is a shame that so few people know about it.  The music is fast with some very aggressive riffing.  It is significantly more intense than a lot of the power metal bands of the time period.  There is also some hints of tremolo riffing here and there.  Patrick Evil has always been a vastly underrated guitarist and that is even evident this early in his career.  The songs are all catchy as hell, pun intended.  The big star of this album is Conklin, who went by the pseudonym Leviathan Thisiren on this release.  His howling and soaring vocals complement the music perfectly.  

This is an album begging for a reissue with better production.  The sound is definitely a 1980's production job, so it is a little thin in places.  It is not bad for the time, but the guitar riffs could stand to be beefed up a little bit.

This is a gem from the 1980's.  It is great that Satan's Host has decided to revisit this sound.

2011 in Review: Top Ten

10. SKELETONWITCH: FOREVER ABOMINATION
Despite arriving around the same time as the retro thrash metal movement and being largely considered one of the bands in said movement, Skeletonwitch has proven to be a much more resilient and impressive band. The band's take on old school blackened thrash with a modern approach has really come into its own. I have enjoyed all of their albums so far, but this one has been the best yet.

9. PRIMORDIAL: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND
Ireland's top metal band has released yet another classic album with this year's release. While it is not quite as good as their previous release, it definitely still has its moments. Of course the band would not be nearly as impressive were it not for its stunningly talented lead singer.

8. THE GATES OF SLUMBER: THE WRETCH
Traditional doom metal has of course been making a major comeback in recent years and The Gates of Slumber is at the top of the movement. The band has an impressive sound without sounding too retro. The power trio seems to get better and better with each successive album.

7. CROWBAR: SEVER THE WICKED HAND
Crowbar returned for their first new album in nearly six years in 2011 and Kirk Windstein had a whole lot more pain to sing about here. Dealing with overcoming a drug addiction is an extremely painful process, one which the band covers on this incredible release featuring some of the band's best riffing in years.

6. DECEASED...: SURREAL OVERDOSE
Yet another band with a new release after a long time without any new full-lengths, Deceased... has been quietly one of this country's greatest unknown bands. The first band to sign to Relapse Records, Deceased... is still largely the same band that was an early pioneering death metal band.

5. SEPTICFLESH: THE GREAT MASS
Probably my second favorite Greek metal band, next to the amazing Rotting Christ, Septicflesh's sound is much more of a symphonic death metal band. Their music can best be described as epic. It is surprisingly catchy for a band of this style.

4. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: AGONY
It was apparently a good year for symphonic death metal as Fleshgod Apocalypse released a stunning album as well. The band's second album was even an improvement on their first album. We are witnessing the growth of an incredible new band.

3. REVOCATION: CHAOS OF FORMS
The thrash metal album of the year was from a band that was largely derided as a retro thrash metal throwaway for some time. But the band's other influences shined through on this release. Their technicality has improved and even some jazz influences popped up.

2. ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
New Zealand's Ulcerate was born out of brutal death metal and added some surprisingly effective post-metal dissonant guitar melodies. The drumming has remained rooted in brutal death though. This was very nearly the album of the year.

1. SATAN'S HOST: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL
Metallattorney's Album of the Year comes from this Colorado metal band that has released their finest album in years. Their blackened thrash metal material over the last few years has been impressive enough, but reuniting with original singer Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin of Jag Panzer has been a revelation. It can best be described as blackened power metal. An incredible album from start to finish.

2011 in Review: Favorite Songs

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 83: Satan's Host

I considered Satan's Host for this list even before hearing their latest album, but they were barely off the list. I liked their take on black/thrash/death whatever metal quite a bit but just not quite enough to make it here. That all changed with their latest release. Their new album is so incredible that it stands as the favorite to be the Album of the Year for me this year. Satan's Host has always been driven by Patrick Evil's guitar heroics, but this release was on a whole other level. The reunion with original singer Harry Conklin of Jag Panzer brought so much more to the table musically as well. Like I said, they were in the running to make this list before, but with this album, they sealed it.

FAVORITE ALBUM: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL

Best Albums of 2011 (So Far)

I have not been able to check out as much stuff as I would like this year due to wedding plans and the opening up of my own law office, but here are my Top 10 so far. This list is subject to change at any time.

10. PSYCHO: PAIN ADDICT PIGS
9. VOMITORY: OPUS MORTIS VIII
8. CAULDRON: BURNING FORTUNE
7. HEATHENDOM: THE SYMBOLIST
6. AMON AMARTH: SURTUR RISING
5. CROWBAR: SEVER THE WICKED HAND
4. THE GATES OF SLUMBER: THE WRETCH
3. PRIMORDIAL: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND
2. ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
1. SATAN'S HOST: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL

Initial Impressions: Satan's Host: By the Hands of the Devil

I have been a big fan of Satan's Host since discovering them a few years back. Of course when I found out about them, they were more of a blackened thrash metal band with raspy vocals and long, riff-driven songs. I was aware of their earlier material with Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin of Jag Panzer from the 1980's, but had not had the opportunity to check it out. Sometime last year, it was announced that The Tyrant was coming back to Satan's Host. I was not sure what to think. I like Jag Panzer, but I also like the blackened thrash output of Satan's Host. What was going to happen? What would I think of this reformation?

Well, to put it simply, this is a contender for Album of the Year.

Holy shit, this is a great album. This is very dark American power metal with some almost death metal style riffing at times. It is aggressive and nasty stuff. The guitar work by longtime guitarist Pat Evil is terrific. Whether it's a particularly heavy riff or an incendiary solo, Evil is truly an underrated guitar master. The guitar really drives the album, as is the case for all of the band's material. This is a powerfully melodic album but still remains dark enough to satisfy those fans of their previous sound.

The vocals are extremely impressive. Conklin has always had one of the best voices in American power metal, and now he brought it back to the darkness that is Satan's Host's music. It matches surprisingly well, even bearing similarities to Mercyful Fate's early material. His soaring style contrasts with the dark and heavy riffing, but it still just sounds great together.

I am particularly impressed with the surprisingly powerful "Fallen Angel", which will likely be among my favorite songs of the year by the end. It is an amazing song that sends chills down my spine.

There is still a lot of time left, but so far, this is the Album of the Year.

Satan's Host

I hinted at a post looking at this somewhat unknown band a couple of weeks ago. Well here it is finally.

Satan's Host is a band out of Colorado that has had a little bit of an unusual career trajectory. The band started out as a power metal band and featured the vocal talents of Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin, most notably of Jag Panzer. They disbanded in the 1980's and within the last ten years or so re-emerged with a new sound, a blackened thrash metal sound with some death metal elements thrown in. The vocals have been done mostly in a black metal raspy style, but occasionally sound like a blackened death metal vocalist, such as Nergal from Behemoth. Strangely, Conklin has very recently been brought back into the fold. They have not released a new album with him, so I am not sure what they will continue to sound like, but I'm looking forward to it.

The driving force behind the band is the impressive guitar work of Pat Evil. The man can absolutely shred, although he does not do so frequently. When he does though, it is extremely impressive. He is also an impressive songwriter and riff master.

The one real issue with the band is their lyrical content and the messages of the albums. I do not personally have a problem with it, but the band is clearly Satanic and utilizes a lot of space on their albums toward preaching their Satanic invocations. Again, not a problem for me, but for others. For that reason, the band will never gain much more than a loyal cult following, which is a shame. When they want to, this band is amazing.

I had a chance to see Satan's Host and Drawn and Quartered in Omaha, but it was on a week night, I had an important hearing the next day, and I lived two hours away. Disappointing. Nebraska simply does not have enough good concerts to afford to miss them, but there must be some law that says all Nebraska concerts must be on weeknights. A bunch of crap.

SATANIC GRIMOIRE-A GREATER BLACK MAGICK
This is the first album I heard from the band, although I bought both it and the next album at the same time. The album starts with a spoken word calling to Satan and then kicks right into the first shredfest, the great "Necromantic Art", with some extremely impressive lead guitar work. Despite this, the album often feels a little sludgy, doomy, and not as fast as the band is capable of being. The band is concentrated more on creating a dark atmosphere, and this goal is accomplished easily, but sometimes, I just want to hear Pat Evil unleashed. Despite this minor flaw, the album remains a truly interesting piece of music. There are plenty of moments where the band rips into an impressive thrash metal riff and speed, such as "Metal from Hell". These are my favorite moments. The bonus tracks are both terrific and should have been part of the album proper.

GREAT AMERICAN SCAPEGOAT-666
Their next album starts off again with a spoken word intro. Very spooky stuff indeed. This album starts off sounding more like a blackened death metal album with tremolo-picked guitar leads and a deeper growl. This album as a whole is a bit more musical than the last album. It is however much closer to blackened death than blackened thrash. The album fits in well with groups like Belphegor, Behemoth, Angelcorpse and the like. Overall that's not a problem though because Pat Evil still lets loose with an abasolutely blazing guitar solo once in awhile, with "7 Strings, Sin" being just a guitar solo.

POWER, PURITY, PERFECTION-999
The newest album by Satan's Host presents the band going back for a thrashier sound once again. The opening track this time features a spine-chilling melodic guitar lead setting up the first song. This album features longer, complete songs with only two interlude tracks. This album features an increased reliance on Pat Evil's guitar wizardry to drive the music, and it is completely successful. This is my favorite of the three albums I have heard by Satan's Host, mainly due to the amazing lead guitar work. The track "Dark Priest 'Lord Ahriman'" in particular features some truly outstanding leads.

As mentioned before, some changes are afoot regarding this band. I have not heard their earlier power metal material, so I am not sure what it sounded like, but it looks like I may have a chance with Conklin back behind the mic.

Initial Impressions: Satan's Host: Power, Purity, Perfection-999

Ah, Satan's Host. With the extremely evil name, and the long-ass album titles, you can pretty much guess what genre Satan's Host falls under. But, they were not always a black metal band. No, when the band started, they played power metal. Not too many Satanic power metal bands out there.

I have only been listening to this band for a few years now and have not heard their power metal album. It's pretty hard to find. But I have thoroughly enjoyed their black metal invocations to Satan. That's at least what they claim their albums are. I don't know, Satan has not come knocking at my door while listening to Satan's Host albums. Color me skeptical.

Musically, Satan's Host is fantastic. This album even moreso than their previous stuff. It's more melodic, and the riffs absolutely rip. It seems a little thrashier too, which is not terribly surprising. Pat Evil is absolutely a great guitar player, capable of shredding riffs and blazing solos. This is his band, the rest of the members merely fill up space.

The vocals are handled well by L.C.F. Eli Elixir. He mostly uses the typical black metal shrieking on this album and is somewhat monotonous. But, we're not looking for great singers in black metal. The drums do some interesting fills, but again, this is a guitar-oriented album.

It will be interesting to watch this band in the future. The vocalist has been recently replaced by Harry "Tyrant" Conklin of the great Jag Panzer. Conklin was the band's original singer. Jag Panzer is a power metal band, so the band may be headed back in that direction.

Christians should probably stay away from this album. Just a word of warning.

Scary Albums in Honor of Halloween

Okay this one is similar to the Scary Album Covers posts but a little different. This time we're talking about actual albums that are a little frightening from a musical standpoint, albums that curdle the blood and send chills up the spine, albums that are so complex that they sound as if they came from another world. Yes, there are a few, and I'm not referring to the latest from Lady Gaga.

CELTIC FROST: MONOTHEIST

Celtic Frost has always had some spinechilling songs, but on this album, they stretch things over the full course of the record. Even though the band utilizes some clean singing, the vocals are so desperate and cold, that they sound otherworldly. The riffs are typical Celtic Frost bass-heavy riffs that sound like the machinations of Lovecraftian beasts. This album is truly unnerving, taking hold of the listener for over an hour. Once it is over, it is like being able to see the sunlight after days trapped in a cave.

COFFINS: MORTUARY IN DARKNESS

The cover image is frightening enough. Coffins sounds like an even more dark and possessed version of Celtic Frost playing a style of death/doom that is so morosely slow as to actually sound as if it were produced by the zombie-like monsters that so often appear on the band's album covers. The faster tracks sound as if they could have come from Celtic Frost themselves, while the slower ones sound as if they came from the pits of Hell.

DARKTHRONE: TRANSILVANIAN HUNGER

That's the band's spelling not mine. This is a classic album from the Norwegian second wave of black metal band. It features the eponymous title track, one of the most well-known and disturbing songs about vampires in heavy metal. Everything else is minimalist, simple, one riff, classic black metal with an extremely dark atmosphere. Only the title track is in English and not knowing what is being said somehow makes the rest of the songs that much more frightening.

DEMILICH: NESPITHE

Demilich's only full length gives off the atmosphere of being trapped in a dark, dank, moist, cold cave. The music is ungodly complicated featuring numerous changes in time signature and speed as to leave the listener completely disoriented. Then there are the vocals, a sound that can best be described as the croaking of a dying bullfrog.

INCANTATION: ONWARD TO GOLGOTHA

Incantation was one of the early bands that blended death metal with doom metal and achieved a Hellish sound in the process. The band's angular riffs, throbbing bass, and pummeling drums form the backdrop behind some of the most terrifying vocals in American death metal. The atmosphere is as dark as the Satanic and Anti-Christian subject matter. Most occult death metal bands have been trying to emulate this sound for years, but this is the original.

MAYHEM: DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS

Quite possibly the quintessential black metal album. This album was recorded after the death of vocalist Dead and featuring Attila Csihar's chaotic vocal phrasing and shrieking. It was also recorded before the murder of guitarist Euronymous at the hands of bassist Varg Vikernes. The backstory alone makes it a frightening piece, then there is the cold music itself. This album, along with Darkthrone's above-mentioned album completely changed the course of black metal, changing the focus to simple riffs and dark atmosphere. I love to listen to this album with all the lights off during a thunderstorm at night.

PORTAL: OUTRE'

The music cannot even be described, it is so off the wall strange. Portal pushes the boundaries of metal, and indeed music in general as far as possible. The riffs are chaotic, the drumming seemingly out of nowhere, and the vocals are tortured screams. Portal is one of the most original metal bands to come out in years. I cannot even tell if I enjoy their album or not, it is so strange. All I know is that I feel uneasy whenever I listen to it, and that makes it a prime candidate for this list.

SATAN'S HOST: SATANIC GRIMOIRE:
A GREATER BLACK MAGICK

Satan's Host is a unique band. They hail from Colorado and formed in the mid 1980's when they played power metal with occult lyrics. They didn't last long though and broke up. They reformed in the last few years playing a style of blackened thrash and upped the ante on their lyrics. The band is clearly Satanist and feature many invocations to Satan in their albums. This one is no exception. Musically, they are pretty good, though not as good as other blackened thrash groups, it's when they see fit to add in an atmospheric track that they really get strange.