Much like Slaughterday, Satan’s Fall is a band that piqued my curiosity off their name alone. You can’t go wrong with a band named after a Mercyful Fate song, right? Add that they’re signed to the consistently solid High Roller Records and my expectations were set high, though not too high. I’ve been down that road one too many times before.
Satan’s Fall formed in 2015, and have a demo and EP to their name. Based off their name and image, I anticipated a dark, Mercyful Fate style take on the NWOTHM, similar to Portrait and Attic. So you could only imagine my shock when their debut album, Final Day, opened with a melodic speed metal number in “Forever Blind”. Despite not being what I expected, I was pleasantly surprised. There’s some serious Enforcer and Skull Fist vibes in the riffs and melodies.
The gritty “Madness (Finds a Way)” kept the ball rolling. “Yes!”, I said to myself, “I’m in store for a moderately enjoyable NWOTHM album!” Unfortunately, I spoke to soon. By the time I got to “They Come Alive” and “Retribution”, I got bored pretty fast. Aside from some fancy lead guitar work, there’s nothing going on with these songs that I haven’t heard before. Recycled Maiden riffs and redundant song structures: Think your run of the mill NWOTHM band.
The album briefly picks up with “Juggernaut”. Between the double bass attack, razor sharp riffs, and shrill vocals, you’d think this was a lost Accept song. It seems Satan’s Fall are at their best when playing speed metal. When they stick to the traditional formula, or attempt to add Piece of Mind style prog tendencies as heard on “The Flamekeeper”, things just drag on and on and on.
I’m usually a sucker for these 80s revival bands, but even I can’t get jiggy with this. It’s too bad because Satan’s Fall are talented musicians. They just need to focus less on sounding like *insert classic band here* and more on sounding like themselves.
5 out of 10
Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Enforcer, Skull Fist, Accept