Clear the dance floor, King Satan’s back.
After two years of incantations, King Seth Aleister Satan (vocals), EF-13 (guitar), Hekate “Kate” Boss (keyboards/vocals), Jerry Rock’n’Roll (bass), and Pete Hellraiser (drums) are back with their fifth album, Black Magick Abraxas.
Black Magick Rock ’N’ Roll, the opening track, kicks off with a bang, featuring guitarist Erja Lyytinen, who lends her skills to the high-energy quintet and its sounds as occult as they are playful while the vocals urge us to join the wild dance. It’s almost impossible not to get swept up in the momentum, even during the slower passages, but the band immediately follows up with the danceable Light of Darkness, which also makes us want to jump along to the vocals thanks to its highly energizing industrial roots. The double kick speeds up the mix, and the final quickly becomes a sort of organized chaos designed to snap your neck, before Fire in the Hole introduces heavier tones that become almost sensual at times, thanks to the dual vocals that greatly contribute to the atmosphere. The pace picks up again with The Devil Made Me Do It and its incredibly catchy keyboards, which give the otherwise rather raw track a much more festive feel that even the break can’t quite erase; then, with Saku Solin (Turmion Katilot, Fear of Domination) that the band launches into Abraxas Rising, a track full of contrasts between its demonic atmosphere and its intoxicating tones. The pace slows down for Far Beyond Good and Evil, a heavier composition that returns to the roots of industrial music while featuring terrifying wolf howls to drive home its message, before Hate Me Baby” brings Suvi Lammi in to bolster the keyboard section, once again delivering some of the most infectious Death Metal Disco. Nothing is left to chance, and every note offers entertainment as the vocalists let loose, leading into the heavy Down by the Sins, which features fairly dark tones while the foundation remains simple and effective, allowing the track to sustain its power throughout before giving way to the much shorter Ride the Lion, which closes the album while maintaining the band’s inherent liveliness, even as the vocals offer quite different touches.
While at first glance, Black Magick Abraxas’ occult dimension might sometimes be relegated to the background without the lyrics, King Satan once again succeeds in making the occult arts catchy, and even danceable on certain tracks!
90/100
