Sathanas/Spawn of Satan - Split 7"

This new 7" from Hells Headbangers typifies their policy of releasing awesome death and black metal, by releasing a song each from two US death metal legends. Pittsburgh blackened deathsters Sathanas, formed back in 1988 and have been a mainstay of the US death metal scene ever since. Cleveland, Ohio's Spawn of Satan formed a year later in 1989. They have just returned after a hiatus of four years to contribute to this split.

Tracklisting
1. Spawn of Satan - Ritual Murder
2. Sathanas - Unholy Eternal

Starting with Spawn of Satan's track Ritual Murder. This song was actually written in 1988, but finally finds it's way onto vinyl on this split. The sound harks back to the low-fi 80's death metal records and naturally it has an old-school feel.

The vocals are low and as evil as they come. The instruments sit quite low in the mix, so to appreciate it fully you've got to turn it up to 11! This is death metal as it should be. No complications, no electronic effects, just honest and frenzied music. The screeching guitar solo is a highlight for me, as it typifies the skill and flair that comes from death metal bands when they're in full flow. The fact that the vocals are perfectly audible as well, helps Spawn of Satan sound more impressive. A perfect splash of death metal!

Sathanas muscle in with Unholy Eternal on the B-side. They have a very different sound to them, with thicker guitars, plenty of double bass and snare and those trademark, gargled blackened death growls. Sathanas make use of the bass more in their track and thanks to the production; it helps to add heft to their side.

Unholy Eternal is pretty grim, as you'd expect (in a good way). With Satan being the overarching theme here, the evilness is perfectly placed and this 7" gives you 8+ minutes of frenzied headbanging time. It's great to hear two well-known death metal bands, using a format such as vinyl to showcase two different strains of death metal.

You can listen to the entire split on Hells Headbangers bandcamp page below:-


As illustrated above, this 7" comes in glorious, Satan red vinyl and you can pick it up from http://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/.
Spawn of Satan can be found on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/666spawnofsatan.
Sathanas are on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sathanasmetal.