Into the Future

Into the Future (aka the Dirt Demo '86) came out three years after Court in the Act, and I think that might be one of the reasons that Satan didn't initially explode as much as they could have. The major British bands at the time were churning out hits like an assembly line, with better production and more accessible songwriting, and even the members here were a little involved in other projects, and yes, they had the provocative name that was going to get them in all manner of hot water (ha ha!), so this didn't have quite the prolific impact; it wasn't getting in front of peoples' faces, or butts in concert seats. That said, the smudgy mushroom cloud (?) cover artwork on this EP might be ugly, but the music itself is a great continuation of the style on the debut, and I daresay I think the mix is stronger, giving a little more tightness and power to the instrumentation. Michael Jackson also has a slightly more controlled delivery, with a little more dirt to the low end and some sharpness to the higher.

There are only four songs, at under 18 minutes, but the A-side for this one, "Key to Oblivion" and "Hear Evil, See Evil, Speak Evil" are certainly among the better 80s tunes they wrote, and ultimately would belong on a double-disc collection of career highlights. They showcase all of the band's great riffing techniques...complex, tremolo picked lines, packed with melody, a bit of shred or neo-classical influence, and most of all, propulsive power. Jackson's delivery is on point, he even has a few screams on here that I really enjoyed, they felt angrier and more controlled and not just an errant falsetto boast. There might be an added level of weight to how it sounds, and part of that is the production, but it's kind of a bridge to their sophomore album, which was trying to keep a little more current with the heavier, thrash environment around it. The only one of the four that slacks is "Fuck You", and that's not because the music is bad...it's amazing, but the fact that it's mostly an instrumental with just the dumb "Fuck you!" exclamation for the lyrics...when Overkill did this, they made it a straight to the face statement with an aggressive thrash song...here, the music deserved much more, or it should have gone full-on instrumental.

Otherwise, this is one dope, deserving follow-up to the debut, consistent while it moves them a little forward with regards to production. Unfortunately, it's hard to find on its own, but you can usually get it packaged with Suspended Sentence for a pretty killer value, if you can get it at all. I think the songs are also on the Early Rituals collection that came out through Listenable, but I haven't been able to check that one out. Anyways, this is definitely one that I can remember on cassette, spinning it next to Possessed's The Eyes of Horror EP because both of them combined would match the daily duration of my paper route job. The NWOBHM might have been dissolving as of this time, but the chops on display showed that Satan was prepared to take on all comers for the future.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

There’s this goofy cliché that I heard a while back that goes something along the lines of “Nothing is constant, except change”, but in spite of the rapidly expanding possibilities that were emerging in metal in the late 80s, Satan elected to keep themselves in the early NWOBHM paradigm. Barring a new singer with a slightly rougher vocal style in Michael Jackson (no relation to the pop singer) and perhaps a somewhat smoother guitar sound, this is the same winning format that made “Court In The Act” the solid slab of speedy, riff happy heavy metal that garners much praise from early 80s fanatics on both sides of the Atlantic. The only thing that is perplexing about the shorter, leaner and meaner machine that is “Into The Future” is why it doesn’t receive as much attention as the two highly regarded LP releases under this outfit’s moniker.

It can’t be emphasized enough that Satan’s sound represents a unique crossroads in metal that is perhaps only matched by Metal Church, though even there the tendency leans a bit closer to thrash. These songs are catchy, melodic, and feature choruses so infectious that they look ahead to some of the German power metal acts that would emerge in the 1990s alongside Gamma Ray. The blistering opener “Key To Oblivion” finds a middle ground between the older school of Helstar and the later pursuits of Grave Digger, with the speed and fury of “Freewheel Burning”. The only divergence in this song with power metal is found in the humble production and the gritty, mid-ranged vocal performance.

One obviously shouldn’t ignore the fact that when Satan slows down, it’s primarily just a tad slower than what normally is considered fast in their world. “See Evil, Hear Evil, Speak Evil” and “Ice Man” are definitely not the fastest songs in this band’s repertoire, but they actually show up some of their earlier material in the riff department. The latter of the two even incorporates some humorous genre hopping into the blues/country territory at the end, perhaps upon seeing similar happy-go-lucky antics out of Nuclear Assault. “Fuck You” kicks the afterburners back on, with an instrumental riff fest that accomplishes something not all that different from what “Ram It Down” would a year later, but with a zany reference to Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” right smack in the middle of it.

If nothing else, it can be clearly established that Satan doesn’t slack off on their non-full length releases, and there is nothing in their short and somewhat erratic stint in the 80s that shouldn’t be looked into. “Into The Future” could perhaps be qualified as their least work, but that does little to diminish it given the magnitude of their collective studio accomplishments. Yet another release that is wholly unworthy of the shelf, yet also in dire need of being rescued from it.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on December 20, 2010.

I don't need to introduce you to the NWOBHM band called Satan. With only two full lengths, I reckon them among the best of the movement. Surely, many other heavy metal fanatics will agree with me on that. Their two albums are quite popular, but unfortunately this little EP gets overlooked too often. What we find here is heavy metal, Satan styled: catchy choruses, good musicianship and a unique sound. If you like any of their other releases you should definitely check this out.

Good, standard heavy metal riffs are mixed in with original arrangements and great solo's. The guitars sound rather clean and polished, unlike their acclaimed "Court in the Act" album. Overall the production is a lot less muddy than their previous efforts, which is a good thing to me. One little problem is that the bass is inaudible at times, but overall the production is amazing. Diverse drumming brings the band to an even higher level, which can also be said for Jackson's raspy vocals and high shrieks. As always, you can expect non-metal influences who blend in surprisingly well with the rest of the stuff.

I don't know why the band never put these songs on a full length, because they are truly among my all-time Satan favorites. If you like fast heavy metal with original compositions and catchy choruses, this should be in your collection! Those who were put off by the production on the previous album should worry not, because this has a cleaner mix. Despite having fewer songs, this is definitely on par quality-wise with the two albums, so check it out.