SATAN (UK) – Early Rituals [Recorded 1981-1986 / Remastered] (2020)

What? 0dayrox becoming a death / black metal site? Not at all. SATAN from UK where part of the first half of the ’80s NWOBHM movement, and their music was a mix of classic metal and hard rock. Seems their name and ‘occult imaginary’ weren’t enogh to get a record deal, but the band managed to cut three different demos – in 1981, 1982 and 1986 – which were reproduced on cassette tape only, now remastered and released as “Early Rituals“.
Satan don’t scare you grandma anymore, this is just a fun, entertaining slice from the effervescent British 80s Rock scene.

NWOBHM took the proto-metal of Black Sabbath and mixed it with the hard rock of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, infused it with the spirit of punk and some of the progressive rock of the era, and came up with the last bridge between metal and rock before speed metal punted it out of the park.
Early Rituals uncovers this era with zest.

Satan, like fellow bands Tank and Blitzkrieg, operated in that odd fusion between British heavy rock (Cream, Jethro Tull, The Who) and metal where songs follow mostly a rock format and uptempo hard rock rhythms, but use heavy metal-styled riffs which emphasize phrase, especially lead-picking, over strumming and picking chords to support vocal harmony. In NWOBHM, as in most metal, the guitars lead and vocals follow, which inverts the rock format.

In the 1980s Satan made three different demos 1981 / 82 / 86. The songs on each demo give the listener a broad indication of where the band was at both artistically and technically.
What’s interesting about this release is that it features three different singers and three different drummers. Satan was in a constant state of flux in those early days, energy and free time were all they had.

Fans of the first couple Iron Maiden albums will appreciate the fresh-voiced vocals and dual-guitar attack plus an abundance of creative riffs and grandiloquent song structures.
Some excellent guitar work and fast, more percussive riffing shows how this band paved the way for the transition to more mid-Eighties metal.
Cool collectors stuff.

“The first demo” (1981)
01 Kiss Of Death
02 Heads Will Roll
03 Oppression
04 The Executioner

“Into the Fire” (1982)
05 Into The Fire – Trial By Fire
06 Blades Of Steel
07 No Turning Back
08 Break Free
09 Pull The Trigger
10 The Ritual

“The Dirt” (1986)
11 Key To Oblivion
12 Hear Evil See Evil Speak Evil
13 Fuck You
14 The Ice Man

Russ Tippins – Guitars (ex-Blind Fury, ex-Pariah)
Steve Ramsey – Guitars (Skyclad, ex-Blind Fury, ex-Pariah)
Graeme English – Bass (Skyclad, ex-Blind Fury, ex-Pariah)
Sean Taylor – Drums (ex-Blind Fury, ex-Raven, ex-Warrior, ex-Pariah)
Brian Ross – Vocals (Blitzkrieg, ex-Anvil)

Pre Order;
www.amazon.co.uk/Early-Rituals-Satan/dp/B089912G1Z