Originally an independent release, Satanic Grimoire: A Greater Black Magick marks Colorado’s Satan’s Host complete move into a more complex and epic form of black metal. Reissued by Moribund Records, Satanic Grimoire makes everything that made Burning the Born Again good, better.
Starting with the epic Necromantic Art” until “Black Magick,” the first 4 songs on Satanic Grimoire are among Satan’s Host’s finest. Three of the 4 songs clock in at over 6 minutes. “Necromantic Art” is epic black metal at it’s best while “666… Mega Therion” teeters on death metal. Both “Satanic Grimoire” and “Black Magick” lean heavily towards doom metal but each song grow into monstrous feats of black metal. The last 2 minutes of “Black Magick” consist of some of the most extreme and melodic music Satan’s Host has crafted.
The energy doesn’t stop with the complex and churning Chameleon of Witchery or the re-visioning of “Metal From Hell,” a track that originally appeared on Satan’s Host’s 1986 debut. With L.C.F. Elixir on vocals and Pete 3 Wicked on drums, “Metal From Hell” is given a brutal face-lift that makes the song angrier and darker than the more power metal-based original. The aggression continues with “My Will, My Law: Evil” but things get more epic again with “Lesser Keys.”
Much like the first 4 songs, “Lesser Keys” builds around Patrick Evil’s epic and melodic guitars. Starting with the acoustic intro and closing in a flurry blast beats, “Lesser Keys” is a testament to Evil’s playing.
The album seems to close with a demonic and discordant “Evoking Asmoday” that sound like it could have been used in The Evil Dead movies. And while intended as an outro, the track actually leads to two peculiar bonus tracks.
The first being the drastically death metal “418.” Both Evil and Wicked are engaged in a flurry of riffs and rhythm while Elixir’s roars are augmented with additional growls from Cephalic Carnage’s Lenzig. And while the song lends itself to pure death metal in spots, the closing section is an amazing mash of melodic guitars, doom and grim black metal.
Lenzig again lends his vocals to the final bonus track, “Infernal Calling.” “Infernal Calling” finds Satan’s Host returning to the more epic yet equally brutal songs that dominate most of Satanic Grimoire. Yet while the brutality is on full blast, the band finds a few moments to stray into an amazing and moody piece that segues into chaotic and melodic brilliance. While both “418” and “Infernal Calling” are listed as bonus tracks, they easily rank among the strongest tracks on the album.
Again, Satan’s Host proves to be one of the most diverse bands in the black metal genre and Satanic Grimoire is their crowning achievement. Every self-respecting black metal fan should seek this album out. Actually fans of extreme metal should find Satanic Grimoire because this isn’t just excellent black metal, it’s also excellent doom and death metal.
-9er
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
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