Speed Metal Satan

During the mid-1990s it was difficult to go a day in high school without seeing some snarky hipster donning an assortment of Nirvana paraphernalia fully prepared to lecture the remnant of Megadeth and Anthrax fans about how metal was dead and buried. Even after the front man of said fly by night "generational spokesmen" gave his 12 gauge a blowjob, bitter-clingers to the days of overpriced flannels and shoegazing on stage minus the guitar pedals to justify it were a dime a dozen. But by 1997 there was something of an underground storm brewing, one that would declare its war on the scourge of pop, disco and grunge with a mighty assortment of mid-80s speed and thrash metal trappings and zero apologies for them. Fittingly enough, one of the earliest cannon blasts against this age of messy musical mediocrity hailed from Sweden under the moniker of Cranium, and the aforementioned war declaration was right on the album sleeve of their debut EP Speed Metal Satan.

Originally hailing from the same era when the likes of S.D.I., Living Death and Sodom were beginning their respective rise to prominence within the Teutonic speed metal underground, they would sadly never field an album during their short stint in the mid-80s, but thankfully they kept the same stylistic expression with them circa the mid-90s when their reformation would finally see them bearing fruit in the studio. Naturally it's not a full on throwback from either a performance or a production standpoint, as the extremely raw and vicious sound on display here could almost fit in with the still burgeoning black metal craze of the day in Northern Europe, though Cranium's penchant for shred-happy guitar solos and a lack of blast beats would have made them a bit of an outlier among the likes of even Gehenna, with whom they share some strong similarities. But between the buzz saw tone of the guitar and the shrieking, sepulchral character of the vocals, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to see the average Swedish black metal trustee to take to this.

Building off what can be best described as an exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish atmospheric prelude of horror dubbed "Lucifer's Breath (The Storm To Come)", the four skull-crushing anthems that round out this EP's proper songs are nothing short of pure sonic annihilation. The first onslaught "Storm Of Steel And Hate" lives up to its name with an outright vicious assortment of speed riffing and inhuman mutterings, giving the listener little room for a breather within its just under 4 minute long duration. The next crusher "Riders Of Damnation" comes in a bit more chunky and bottom-heavy, matching the heaviness of old school Destruction and having a bit more of a thrashing bite to it. "Bestial Butcher" rides in on the noises of a roaring chainsaw and delivers a vile yet slightly more elaborate thrashing display that includes some slower segments of evil between the high octane kill sections. The closer "Raped By Demons" blasts out the thrashing mayhem even more intensely than the rest and could almost function as a direct homage to the Persecution Mania approach, complete with a blinding riff set that's about as Blackfire as they come.

While this wasn't quite the earliest example of a band putting on the thrash armor and giving a gauntlet-covered middle finger to the establishment of the day (Witchburner's debut hit the shelves a year earlier, for example), it's probably the most visible example of an overt throwback to the good old days from the mid to late 90s apart from the two LPs that would following under the Cranium name. It functions as one of a few overt precursors to what would eventually become the revival of the thrash metal scene circa about 2002, and much like old school heavy metal revivalist mainstays Wolf, showcases a Swedish act being years ahead of the curve. There is no nuance to speak of here, no careful way about how it makes its intent known, it just takes that oversized chainsaw and cuts everything that popular sentiment at the time held dear into pieces. Definitely a must hear for fans of the more extreme end of the speed/thrash spectrum, and a total boon for those who are still basking in the now nearly 20 year run that thrash has been enjoying at present.

The early 90's was a dark time for heavy metal. Grunge had hit the scene and was making it big. Metal was seen as a tired genre that only "dinosaurs" wanted to listen to. However, during the mid years of the decade, metal began to make a comeback. Bands like Gamma Ray released critically acclaimed albums which pushed metal back into the limelight. And a band that is very often forgotten in this comeback among are a band from Sweden called Cranium.

This album is the definition of "what you see is what you get". The cover art tells and shows you what's inside this box, right down to the chainsaw. This album is full of rip-roaring, hard hitting, whiplash inducing, Satan worshipping speed metal. It opens with the eerie intro "Lucifers Breath (The Storm to Come)" and with the howls of wolves and the growls of Satan himself, sets an uneasy atmosphere. Giving way to this is "Storm of Steel and Hate". This song wakes up in a panic, going ahead at full steam while Raper belts out a piercing scream. The song then kicks your teeth in with snarling vocals, intense speed and lyrics speaking of demons riding through the sky and terrorising all in their path. A great way to open the album, especially one called Speed Metal Satan. Another highlight of the album is "Bestial Butcher". The chainsaw sound effect that plays at the start of the song is a great way to set it up and the way it intensifies as the song speeds off is just the icing on the cake. The chainsaw weaves in and out of the track, at one point slicing up victims as their screams are heard in the background. The lyrics, of course, talk of a mad butcher who cuts up victims with a chainsaw. This is the song that succeeds most at story telling, even if it wasn't the intention. Because of this, this song is easily the best track on this album. The rest of the songs are good, but rather forgettable. As mentioned earlier, what you see is what you get, nothing less and nothing more. Every song on this album is balls to the wall quick and speaks of either Satan or murder, which can make it sound a tad repetitive at times. But because of the albums short length (less than 20 minutes) it doesn't have the time to get terribly drawn out, so being an EP works in this album's favour.

In terms of the band itself, they succeed in most areas. The guitars and drums lend a sense of aggression and always paint a picture of hellish musicians who's soul purpose is to play metal music for all eternity. The bass is non-existent in most of these tracks but does make an appearance every once in a while. My slight problem lies with the vocals. The snarling does fit the music and the occasional high scream is always perfectly done and refreshing, but if you want to hear any lyrics then you get to eat shit because the singer snarls to the point where every word sounds the same. As for the solos, they come from the Slayer school of sounding chaotic. Most other reviewers see these kinds of solos as a hindrance, but in actuality they add to the song. All the songs on here want to sound chaotic and deranged and if the solos achieve that then there's no complaints there.

In conclusion, Speed Metal Satan is a great little hidden gem. It does have a few minor problems with it but with sheer speed and short length it succeeds in being a sharp and impactful little bit of chaos. If you're a hardcore speed metal fan you must have this in your collection. It doesn't disappoint.

Speed Metal Satan was Cranium’s first EP released in 1997, 13 years after Cranium’s inception as a band. I suppose it is the fact that the started in the 80’s and held all the influences, the sound and the overall thrash attitude over the years to release this all those years later to crush all the posers and wannabes in the 90’s. Cranium is a thrash/speed metal band from Sweden of all places tearing up the opposition with this primitive sounding EP. At barely 20 minutes this is an all out raw and chaotic thrash metal gem that is not very well known, I don’t see many people talking about it at least and that’s a damn shame because it’s quite an enjoyable little EP.

Everything from the chainsaw intro of Bestial Butcher and the monster thrash riff that follows to the wailing of Frederik Soderberg opening up Storm of Steel and Hate and the awesome anthemic type chorus this is pure and raw thrash metal. Contain harsh and vicious vocals sounding a bit like early Venom and other classic thrash bands of the early 80’s Cranium attacks at all angles with a thick and murky production. The guitar tone is very crunchy and reminds me a bit of a less harsh Exhorder, with riffs all over the place playing at hyper speed reminding you this isn’t just ordinary thrash, it’s FAST thrash! The solos here are exceptional as well almost like Dark Angel and traditional thrash metal like on Storm of Steel and Hate. The bass here is just as awesome as it should be with thrash metal being more than just a rhythm follow up; like the powerful lines at the beginning of Riders of Damnation make for quite a heavy rhythm section with the pounding drums and the viciously crunchy guitar riffing. Raped by Demons has an awesome ending part that’s just pure thrash metal intensity and the blasphemous lyrics are just too hard to sing along with. “RAPED BY DEMONS!” and “EVEN SATAN PLAYS SPEED METAL!” it’s just too hard to not bang your head and yell along.

Cranium started something awesome here capturing what it truly means to be a thrash/speed metal band of the 80’s, with this release as well as their two full lengths both being released in the late 90’s, that’s impressive. It’s probably the entire spirit and attitude of the musicians capturing the legacy, or the raw and chaotic production and mixing of the EP. Everything about this screams and oozes thrash metal so I suggest pick this up for some raw, chaotic and totally memorable thrash metal.

"Support war against pop, synth, disco & grunge", that's their slogan on the retro, and their music fits very well with it!
Leather, spikes, chains, speed, violence and blasphemy, these are the ingredients of this Ep, it's a little peculiar so I gave it 75 but I was searching for it for years and when it came in my hands I put it into the stereo and tasted every riff, scream and "tuppatuppa", 20 intense minutes of 80's thrash revival, in the vein of cult bands such as Exumer, Bulldozer and other old school bands...
The registration is quite good with a raw production but not so much that you could dislike it, it's at the right point of "rawness"...
It's simply great to hear the sound of the chainsaws, their trademark, on "Bestial Butcher", but the song I most like is surely "Raped By Demons", with a catchy classic thrash metal riff leading you to headbang and sing with them "Even Satan plays speed metal"...
I think it's quite rare, but maybe you'll find some copies on the net, even at a good price...
If you like very raw thrash speed metal, you should increase my vote... I recommend this album to raw thrash lovers and collectors, that's absolutely not my favorite Cranium's album, i prefer Speed Metal Slaughter and Speed Metal Sentence with their shrill voice (just a few signs of that here, but it will become another trademark of the band) and funny titles and lyrics, but however they kick ass!