Celebration of the Fallen

Satan’s Cross is an unholy duo from Mexico, formed in 2014 and has released just a self – titled single in 2014 and an EP last year. This release is called ‘Celebration of the Fallen’, it was released by Sun & Moon Records in a nice, minimal digipack Cd format and it contains three compositions with overall duration of about eighteen minutes. The band by the cover, the photos and the layout, is declaring their affiliation with magic and the occult. So, with that in mind, the sound that I was expecting to listen by Satan’s Cross is exactly what someone would expect from a band coming from Mexico to present.

Explaining the above, I think that the bands coming from the Latin America which are associated with occult themes, express a distinctive kind of darkness, very different by the one presented by bands, for example, from Europe. The music of Satan’s Cross is a mixture of occult, old school styles, combining Heavy, Doom and Black Metal elements that will remind you of Venom, Hellhammer, Mortuary Drape and Goatlord. The riffs are heavy, primitive, other times slow creating a dark, occult and horror atmosphere, while other times they are brutal, full of hatred, fast ones. There are also moments where the Heavy and Thrash elements make their appearance. The songs last from four to nine minutes, and even in the longest one, the intense atmosphere, the variety of the melodies and the clear and straightforward structure help them catch the attention of the listener from the beginning and maintain it throughout the album.

S. is the one responsible for performing the guitars and bass, M. is the one responsible for the vocals, while the drums are performed by a session drummer named XI. The guitars have a heavy, bass and old school sound which gives a foggy, mysterious touch to the already dark and occult atmosphere, while their performance is flawless. The bass has interesting lines and adds depth to the compositions. The drums are minimal, with simple lines in general and their performance is satisfying, although their lines are quite repetitive and, in some parts, somehow tedious. The vocals are the tip of the spear of Satan’s Cross’ music, as they deliver the occult lyrics with the appropriate feeling and variety in expression, so that the horror, threatening atmosphere become even more intense. They are grim, deep growls that will remind you a lot of Cronos of Venom mixed with a Cultes des Ghoules approach. The production is primitive and bassy, along with the balanced mixture, they offer an old school sound which is exactly what it should be for the style of the band. The lyrics are contained in the cd, they are written in English and they are occult, Satanic hymns.

To be honest, the material offered by Satan’s Cross all these years is not enough to have a clear view of the band. However, ‘Celebration of the Fallen’ is a nice release and sets solid foundations so that the band can build great things in the future. In this album, they combine the obscurity of Mexican sound with their other occult influences and the result is very pleasing. The fans of the old school, dark, occult Black/Doom sound with its roots being deep into the ‘80ies, go get a copy of this EP. The rest of you, listen before you buy.