What do goat heads, goat head masks, inverted crosses, bullet belts and improperly held axes have in common? Normally, we’d say Sadistik Exekution or Impaled Nazarene during their sado-battle-goat phase, but the answer is neither. It’s actually Greek duo Satan’s Wrath, who, if we’re being kind, are a bit of throwback to times when posing with stage props was somewhat frightening to little boys from towns medium and small. Musically, Satan’s Wrath posit themselves right in the middle of ’85. There are bits of NWOBHM, Teutonic thrash, and tenets of what would become death metal, as laid out by Possessed and Mantas/Death, coursing through Satan’s Wrath’s nasty little veins.
These throwback cycles are about once a decade—anyone remember Bewitched’s Diabolical Desecration, as part of the first wave?—but Satan’s Wrath have rekindled the fire, blown heavily on the burning embers that are the group’s eternal/infernal influences, and reborn anew extreme metal from a bygone era.
Enjoy the goat. Enjoy the metal.
** Satan’s Wrath’s new album, Galloping Blasphemy, is out September 25th, 2012 on Metal Blade Records. Get it HERE or feel the wrath of Satan enjoying a Koegel or two on Labor Day. The former is a far better option, though Koegel do make good hot dogs.
