The British heavy metallers and their impeccable record streak
The Best
The pinnacle effort of a long recording career
Life Sentence (Listenable Records, 2013)
Thirty years after their legendary debut, Satan returned to the discography with - who would have expected it - the top album of their career. Indeed, "Life Sentence" still seems flawless today, surpassing all expectations and putting on glasses even on "Court In The Act". The ageless Brian Ross sounds as if a day hasn't passed since his prime years, the duo of Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins may be one of the most overlooked yet great guitar duos in heavy metal, while English and Taylor form a rhythmic backbone with inventive beats throughout the record. Album of the decade for '10s classic metal, without a doubt.
The Rest
Diamonds, "gems" or just enjoyable works, without much - much
Court In The Act (Neat Records, 1983)
The album on which the myth of Satan was built and maintained. As children of the second wave of NWOBHM, the British had from the beginning the characteristic features of the wave, both in terms of their music itself, and in relation to their ending within the arena of the music industry. Their name - directly linked to the image of the judge that is distinguished in their debut - concerned the broader social injustice that was taking place in Britain in the '80s (and certainly had nothing to do with occult searches), their music was direct, extremely guitar-driven and complex within the heavy metal framework, framed by a characteristic frontman figure who had both the special weight of stage presence, but also the recognizable voice to remain in the conscience. This was "Court In The Act" and is one of the greatest examples of NWOBHM of the '80s.
Atom By Atom (Listenable Records, 2015)
How difficult is it to succeed the best album of your career? For Satan, it seemed like a piece of cake, since they did it not only once with success, but also a second time with "Atom By Atom". Certainly, the fourth album of the British band does not reach the peaks of "Court In The Act" and "Life Sentence" with such consistency that it can compete with them directly, but at the same time it does not "see" the rest of the heavy metal environment of the '10s, with a few exceptions. Being in terrific form, the quintet composes with the bar permanently high, as a result of which the record sounds extremely epic and at least half of the compositions have the stuff of the classic.
Cruel Magic (Metal Blade Records, 2018)
This album of the great British quintet has nothing to envy its unquestionably top-notch predecessors. Probably the most well-formed heavy metal band of the past decade - a guess that becomes a given if we only talk about the bands of the same generation as them - Satan defy time and once again write timeless music that comes from the '80s, but has the quality to stand in any era. Truly unbeatable either in studio conditions or in the context of a live performance, the British do not need acceptance or large audiences to stand deservedly on the podium of the top, as every aspect of their music exudes the aura of multifacetedness.
The Rare
Unknown, forgotten or overlooked albums that deserved a better fate
Suspended Sentence (Steamhammer Records, 1987)
The Blind Fury period (as the band was renamed after "Court In The Act") lasted only one album, with the Satan marquee returning as early as 1986, with 4/5 of the debut lineup present. Only Brian Ross (who had been recording with the also historic Blitzkrieg since then) was absent, with... Michael Jackson of Rough Edge replacing him. The result of this collaboration was "Suspended Sentence", an album that was commercially unsuccessful at the time it was released and few remember it as part of the Satan discography. In terms of content, unfairly, since we are talking about one of the band's heaviest albums, with consistently impressive guitar work of high technical standards and soulful vocals from Jackson. A work that, however, should probably be considered the substantial debut of Pariah, the power/thrash metal band that the quintet of musicians here created the following year.
The Sinner