When I first read about Satan's Satyrs many years ago, they sounded right up my street. Trashy, garage influenced doom as imagined by Russ Meyer. Hell yeah, sign me up! I bought their album 'Wild Beyond Belief' as soon as I could. However, I liked it rather than loved it. I'm still looking forward to catching them live though.
They seem less doom than they do on record, leaning much more into the garage rock aspect of their sound, bringing to mind bands like MC5 and The Stooges. A heavier Who is also brought to mind. It's a sound which suits them well as that raw, wired energy initially translates well live. It still has the tendency to be messy and a bit chaotic, like the records do too. Their garage rock attack isn't always as sharply focused as it could be and sadly, this happens more frequently as the set progresses. When honed, it's pretty savage as demonstrated on the closing 'Alucard'. Sadly, I think I like the idea of Satan's Satyrs more than the reality.
Unto Others play gothic rock very much like The Sisters Of Mercy or The Cult with some extra metallic muscle. 'Momma Likes The Door Closed' is more akin to speed metal with a towering gothic chorus. 'It Doesn't Really Matter' and 'Jackie' are similarly anthemic. There seems to be quite a few people here for them and they are singing along to every word. The alt rock tinged 'Suicide Today' is like Therapy? covering The Cult. It's great but I don't like the cod reggae breakdown in the middle. 'Raigeki' misses the mark but virtually everything else is a direct hit. 'Heroin' is thunderous and sounds like Glenn Danzig fronting prime Metallica. There's a great cover of 'Pet Sematary' by The Ramones which is quite faithful to the original. They have the whole crowd on their side now. The superb 'Give Me To The Night' is The Sisters Of Mercy gone thrash metal and the key change towrds the end is *chef's kiss. An excellent showing from a band who will probably playing venues likes this on their own before long.
You know that scene at the end of 'Purple Rain' where Prince plays at the club, initially to indifference then to acceptance before the whole crowd is going wild, realising that Prince (or The Kid as he is in the movie) is going to be a superstar and won't be playing clubs like that any longer? That's what tonight is like. Not the indifference or acceptance parts because Green Lung are loved by everyone here but everyone realises at some point that they are going to be playing much bigger venues very soon.
They open with a stupendously heavy 'Woodland Rites'. The guitar tone is crushing. The audience reaction, even at this early stage, is rapturous. The groovy doom of 'Mountain Throne' is like the second coming of Cathedral except Cathedral were never revered like this. It's like watching the greatest hits of UK rock and metal. There are touches of the greats everywhere such as Tom Templar's Halford-esque top notes and the solos which echo a number of guitar greats. The Hammond organ in 'Templar Dawn' conjures a foreboding atmosphere. The stage set is impressive with risers and various props. 'The Reaper's Scythe' is pure heavy metal and should probably be renamed 'The Ripper's Scythe' given the notes Tom reaches. It is not just his voice which is impressive though as he commands the crowd with ease. 'Oceans Of Time' is epic and anthemic, and Scott Black's Slash style guitar solo is excellent. Extra female musicians enters the stage to perform a folky 'Song Of The Stones'. It is rather different to the studio version which has the scope and vision of a Queen ballad. The incredible pagan balladry of 'May Queen' channels Gary Moore in Scott's playing. In fact, they are all prodigious players. The superb 'Forest Church' is heavy doom transformed into arena rock. The Jon Lord style Hammond solo in it is ace, and the one in 'Maxine (Witch Queen) is even better. 'Hunters In The Sky' has a monstrous groove whilst the Hammond makes it sound like a super heavy Uriah Heep. 'The Harrowing' also has heavy Uriah Heep and Deep Purple influences. 'Let The Devil In' mixes Electric Wizard's heft with Queen's melodic sensibilities. The elegant verse of 'One For Sorrow' gives way to a colossal chorus and the overall effect is like Andrew Lloyd-Webber's 'Phantom Of The Opera' being covered by Windhand. Tonight feels like a real event, like we are witnessing the birth of something very special indeed.
Green Lung *****
Unto Others ****
Satan's Satyrs ***
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