Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Sathanas - Entering the Diabolic Trinity - 2005 - Pulverised Records

Track Listing1. Intro (Carpe Noctum) 2. Entering The Diabolic Trinity 3. Demonized 4. Descent of The Holy 5. Unleash The Wolves 6. Under A Black Spell 7. Realm of Carnage 8. Triumph of Darkness 9. In The Circle of Hell 10. Into The Massacre

With a massive pentagram in red, an album title of ‘Entering the Diabolic Trinity’, and sinister cover art similar to the legendary ‘In The Nightside Eclipse’, Sathanas should deliver a blistering metal assault not seen since The Crown’s heyday. Yet, alas, one would in fact be hard pressed to find a tamer ‘extreme’ metal act than Sathanas.

They are essentially a death metal band, but their riffing and the occasional grungy solo evoke a black thrash atmosphere without every really capitalizing on it. The poor distortion and thin texture of their overall sound is tepid enough to trivialize even their best melodies. Music, metal in particular, is about suspension of reality, and in this respect Sathanas succeed only in reminding us that they are, despite their dramatic themes and art, just a few guys with instruments playing around, and not the fearsome, black-winged harbingers of Satan.

Sathanas do tip-toe around some rather engaging riffs, sprinkling here and there some uptempo moments and moody passages that give us even the faintest atmosphere of ‘evil’ or ‘malevolence’ promised by the album art. Towards the final half of the album, the raspy lead vocals and the lower growls do not seem as awkwardly placed, and riffs like ‘Into The Massacre’s with its bass interplay evoke an old-school atmosphere that’s hard not to appreciate. Yet, haphazard placement and half-hearted execution of these traits, ‘playing it safe’, so to speak, consign ‘Entering the Diabolic Trinity’ to mediocrity at best.

Perhaps the almost complete lack of a double bass (a metal staple) that makes this album lack punch. There are moments where it does kick in, but they are isolated and poorly supported, making the rest of the song where they are absent all the more hollow. Those few bright spots are obscured by many dull ones, and despite longevity and all the appropriate bravado, Sathanas are far from intimidating.



--Etiam 03.02.07