Satan's Host have been toiling away in the underground for some time now, ever since they reformed in the late 1990's. They've released material independently, spreading the word of Satan, to fans of their diabolical death/black metal art. Finally, with The Great American Scapegoat 666, they received proper distribution thanks to the unholy folks at Moribund Cult, and hopefully it will finally reach the audience it deserves.
Satan's Host, both musically and lyrically, don't really present anything most fans of black metal haven't already heard before, but they do it with such conviction its hard not to be enthralled by it. The band don't just play satanic music, they live it. As such, the album seems to be less a musical experience and more like a satanic ritual.
Even though the album features the creative leads of guitarist Patrick Evil and the pounding, almost tribal drumming of the now departed Pete 3 Wicked, the driving force of Scapegoat is vocalist and poet Eli Elixir. His performance is so passionate that even an atheist like me is expecting to feel the Devil himself tapping me on the shoulder.
Its a credit to the band that this album is well over an hour long but never bores much at all. Highlights are many. 'Black Order' is the best of them all. It has a creepy atmosphere and, as mentioned already, features lyrics devoted to the Dark Lord. Basically, if you've heard a Dark Funeral album before, you kind of know what to expect with the lyrics. Acoustic guitar is used on occasion to great effect on Ave, Lucifer and Infernal Victory. Variety is the name of the game here. Satan's Host don't feel the need to always play 666 miles an hour to get their point across. Patrick even does his best Eddie Van Halen impression on the short instrumental 7 Strings, Sin.
I suppose the only negative I can think of is the occasional feeling of redundancy. Especially on the song Hail Satan, it almost makes me want to scream "All right, we get it, you love Satan, Enough already!" But luckily, those moments are rare, the whole thing is so well presented and executed that it just sucks you out of the real world and into the realms of Hell.
Scapegoat is a far cry from the bands early days, when they played power metal. It's intended to scare the crap out of any God fearing Christian believer, and it succeeds. Hopefully the band will now be known for more that just for once having Jag Panzer singer Harry Conklin in its ranks.
As a side note, I must say that if you have the chance to see this band live, you must do so without any hesitation. It is truly a unique experience, and Eli and Patrick are two of the nicest guys in metal today.
-Winter Heathen
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