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03-11 Satan's Second Sight
02-09 Satan Announce New Album
08-31 New Satan Song
09-30 Satan stream new LP
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One of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal's most convoluted family trees belongs to the band known predominantly asSatan. Besidesregularly undergoing name changes (Blind Fury and Pariah were only two of the aliases employed each timethe group decided their originalname was compromising their chances of success), the band's history regularly intersectedthat of any number of competing groups out of theNortheast, most notably Blitzkrieg and Skyclad.The seeds of the band that would become Satan were planted in Newcastle, England, toward the end of 1980, when asemifirm lineupconsisting of vocalist ...read more
One of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal's most convoluted family trees belongs to the band known predominantly asSatan. Besidesregularly undergoing name changes (Blind Fury and Pariah were only two of the aliases employed each timethe group decided their originalname was compromising their chances of success), the band's history regularly intersectedthat of any number of competing groups out of theNortheast, most notably Blitzkrieg and Skyclad.The seeds of the band that would become Satan were planted in Newcastle, England, toward the end of 1980, when asemifirm lineupconsisting of vocalist Trevor Robinson, guitarists Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins, bassist Graeme English, anddrummer Andy Reed finallycoalesced. The band's first single, the imminently collectable "Kiss of Death," was released byindependent label Guardian Records in the firstmonths of 1982, and after welcoming new drummer Sean Taylor and replacingsinger Robinson, first with one Ian Swift, then with the moreexperienced Brian Ross (ex-Blitzkrieg), sessions began for a full-length album. The very heavy, almost thrash-like Court in the Act opusfinally emerged in January 1984 through Neat Records(who else?) and was given mostly enthusiastic reviews. An equally successful bout oftouring across the Channel in Europefollowed, but the group was handed a major setback when the ever restless Ross decided to quit shortlyafter their return inorder to resurrect Blitzkrieg.Lou Taylor, former frontman with Kevin Heybourne's post-Angel Witch project, Blind Fury, was soon tapped as replacement,but hisdomineering ways soon led to the questionable adoption of the Blind Fury handle, causing no small amount ofconfusion among the fans andeffectively disassociating what used to be Satan with any benefits arising from their recentlyreleased album -- smart one boys! Taylor alsoconvinced the band that they would be better served by toning down theirintensity somewhat for 1985's more hard rock-oriented Out ofReach, which was released by the fledgling Roadrunner label.Not surprisingly, the album's poor performance in the marketplace inevitablyraised serious doubts about all of these stylisticchanges and name-swapping shenanigans, resulting in the abrupt and convenient dismissal ofboth Taylor and Out of Reachas one and the same big mistake, followed by yet another about-face to resurrect the Satan name.Enlisting with German record company Steamhammer, Satan hired new singer Michael Jackson (not "Jacko," of course) andsaw a return toheavier fare, first on 1986's Into the Future EP, then with 1987's semireturn to form, Suspended Sentence.Oddly enough, both of thesereleases fared far better in continental Europe (where they toured with Running Wild later thatyear) than back home in the U.K., revealing aterritorial shift in heavy metal appreciation that also affected the careers ofEnglish contemporaries like Savage and Jaguar. Still, it was bynow clear that Satan's window of opportunity was mostdefinitely closing, and as if to prove themselves further unworthy of true stardom, theband once again decided to drop theirmoniker in exchange for the purportedly less confining Pariah -- whatever! The Satan saga ends here,but in later years,Pariah would go on to record two albums before certain members departed to join the ranks of avant-folk-thrashersSkyclad. « hide |
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