Review Summary: The Devil wears spandex.
It has taken five albums for Lucifer to win me over. It’s actually surprising, because the band led by the imposing and diabolic charms of Johanna Sadonis, who is an entire character all by herself, is the kind of act I would easily fall for. For some reason, something in their previous albums didn’t feel quite right for me. It was like the Devil was trying too hard to be the Devil, and so their cover was blown before they even muttered a word. Lucifer have always based their style in other, very specific bands, and while that is still the case on their fifth release, with this record they have somehow managed to distil it in a way that feels more personal, elaborated, and impactful.
So yes, Lucifer still sounds like the midnight spawn of Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, with Sadonis’ vocals acting like the spectral allure that would drag you to her coffin so she could drink blood juice straight from your neck with a straw. Her vocals are the main focus on this record, to the point that I actually have to make a conscious effort to hear anything else. Her tone is tailored perfectly for Lucifer, and on this new album she has managed to amp her performance considerably, singing with way more confidence, and becoming an essential component for the band.
The rest of Lucifer don’t fall behind either. Guitars sound straight out from the late 60s, spitting fierce riffs and raging solos as well as providing a whole blanket of melodies for Sadonis to make her magic. The same goes for the rhythm section of Harald Göthblad and Nicke Andersson, making their presence felt without stealing too much attention from the rest of the instruments, and carrying every track with steady resolve (except that intro fill for “Maculate Heart”, which I needed to play over and over slapping my knee and laughing like a manic for a couple of minutes.)
The album is really well balanced too, blasting open with the emblematic “Fallen Angel” and following through with a Sabbathesque AOR banger like “At the Mortuary”, making a quick and effective one-two punch that invites endless replays. The singles are placed at the heart of the album, with “A Coffin Has No Silver Lining” quickly becoming my favorite Lucifer song by the minute. “Slow Dance in a Crypt” and ”Nothing Left to Lose But My Life” are shrouded in dark and gloomy blues, the last one closing the album while howls in the distance signal the end as the track fades out like a dying moon. The version available on streaming also includes a couple of radio edits for “At the Mortuary” and “Maculate Heart”, which I usually avoid playing because they don’t really belong to the original concept of the album; but if you have the patience of a tik toker, hereby be known, that they exist.
In conclusion, hats off to Lucifer for creating an album that can finally go shoulder to shoulder with other big releases of the same devilish nature as last year’s Blood Ceremony, gifted to us, mortals, early in the year so we can recreate in its pleasures until Judgement Day. If the Devil would allow me a final wish in exchange of my poor and worthless soul, I think that at this point it would also be interesting to see the band adventuring in uncharted territory. It’s crystal clear that with
Lucifer V the German/Swedish gang have found their ground and refined their sound like neve before, but why would the fallen angel be satisfied with a little praise, when they could have it all?
