### Satan's Wrath: Galloping blasphemy

#### 22/01/13 || gk

What is it with Greece and all these blackened thrash and heavy metal bands? I’m not complaining but there seem to be a large number of these bands in the country and most are of a pretty high quality. I also have a fondness for these bands and thanks to a recommendation from ex-staffer revenant discovered Satan’s Wrath and their debut album “Galloping blasphemy”.

This is one fun album. The duo of Tas Danazoglou and Stamos K play a slightly blackened (mostly in the vocal approach) take on classic old school heavy metal that mostly takes its inspiration from Venom and the NWOBHM. You’re not going to find anything new on “Galloping blasphemy” but you will be entertained for a solid 40 minutes. “Leonard rising – night of the whip” is an infectious start to the album with some solid guitar lines giving me a Diamond Head gone black metal kind of vibe. The speed metal of “Between Belial and Satan” is unrelenting and will make you bang your head with its non-stop guitar attack and harsh vocals backed up by the kind of simple drumming that is really a throwback to a classic 80s sound. “One thousand goats in Sodom” starts out ridiculously catchy but might be a few minutes too long. However, this is made up for with the high quality middle section of the album. “Hail Triton, hail Lucifer”, “Galloping blasphemy”, “Death possessed” and “Death to life” are all quality songs from this duo and solidly entertaining.

Drummer, vocalist and bass player Tas Danazoglou also played bass on Electric Wizard’s “Black masses” album and in the doom band “Eight Hands for Kali” but his work here is miles away from either of those 2 bands. While his drumming tends to be quite simple but effective, his vocals are an effective rasp and there are a few places on this album where his bass playing is allowed to shine. Stamos’s guitar playing is a complete throwback to the 80s and Venom, Possessed, Motorhead and the NWOBHM bands seem to have influenced him a fair bit.

Like I said earlier, there’s absolutely nothing new on “Galloping blasphemy” but it has a refreshing retro feel to it that I really enjoy and most of the songs here are quality. I’d like to see Tas tone down the blackened rasp in the future because occasionally there’s a disconnect between the music and his vocals but that’s a minor complaint.

There’s enough here to appeal to anyone who listens to metal really and Satan’s Wrath is a band well worth checking out for some slightly blackened heavy metal. “Galloping blasphemy” is a solid, entertaining album that’s just loads of fun to listen to.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.satanswrath.com
- Band
- Tas Danazoglou : vocals, bass, drums
- Stamos K: guitars

- Tracklist
- 01. Leonard Rising – Night of the Whip
- 02. Between Belial and Satan
- 03. One Thousand Goats in Sodom
- 04. Hail Tritone, Hail Lucifer
- 05. Galloping Blasphemy
- 06. Death Possessed
- 07. Death to Life
- 08. Slaves of the Inverted Cross
- 09. Satan’s Wrath