Satan's Host "Metal From Hell"

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:38 pm

I don't really think it's that incredible, a few great songs, love the cover, but still rather listen to Jag Panzer or Titan Force...

The Knell · Post by **The Knell** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:13 pm

Desolator wrote:I think Horror Records are supposed to release that too soon(ish?).

that would be fantastic!

ION BRITTON · Post by **ION BRITTON** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:59 am

MassOfKthulu wrote:there is no midnight wind release as such,what's going around the net is rehearsals that were never intended to be released.
it does sound better than MFH (production wise) but thats not hard to achieve
It's a masterpiece of course,even the half-done way we have it
but i wouldnt spend any money on it.mp3s will do in this type of case.
The witches have returned,and you forever BURN

Basically i think it sounds even worse! A crushing rehearsal nontheless. "Witches return" is probably THE ultimate SATAN'S HOST hymn.

daniel · Post by **daniel** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:19 pm

I met the brother of the guy from Horror Records about two years ago and he was talking about 'Midnight Wind' coming out on vinyl back then already. He was the one that came up to talk to me cos I was wearing my homemade 'Metal From Hell' shirt haha, back then when I listened to it more.

DTP · Post by **DTP** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:23 pm

thanks dudes, i decided to buy the boot cd, let's hope it's not too crappy sounding (it's Greek, after all)

one day i'll locate a vinyl copy of MFH...one day....

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:16 pm

I need to re-visit this one... only played it a couple of times and put it aside b/c on first impression it struck me as almost a bad joke of an album- 'raw' and 'evil' only in the comical sense. Just my opinion, and based on a first impression. I tend to be really picky when it comes to raw albums like this (e.g., I love early Venom but hate early Sodom) so it may just not be my style. If I re-play it and like it, I'll take back that 'comical' crack

EDIT- OK, been playing this album this afternoon and I'd like to revise some of my comments above. 'Comical' is not a good description; 'cheesy' is a much more apt term here. Seriously, there's nothing 'evil' or 'raw' about this album. It contains the type of 'hail Satan, O Satan, Yes Satan' lyrics that are the stereotypical perception of 80s Metal, but they come across totally cheesy, right down to the silly 'evil' fake names used. I probably would have thought this sounded really cool and totally evil... when I was 15. Now I'm in my 30s and I've chuckled my way through the album twice today.
While the songs are still decent/enjoyable, I don't find the production to be very raw at all- the production strikes me as simply being Cheap. The sound is compressed and everything's buried behind the vocals. I don't hear any knob-twiddling or guitar tuning that gives the album a harsh or raw feel; instead I get the sense this was done really cheap and really fast. I'm reminded more of Jack Starr's cheap side projects like Devil Childe and Phantom Lord than I am anything truly raw and evil-sounding like 'Welcome to Hell' or 'The Return...'. One might be tempted to mutter "quick cash-in"; after all, Evil sells

Last comment- while I've always liked Harry's vocals, I feel his voice is wrong for this material. It just sounds very weird having him sing these incredibly cheesy, uber-generic 'satanic' lyrics. It would be like hearing Geof Tate singing in front of Slayer- bad match.
Summary- decent enough album- I actually do like the music once I cut through all the satanic fluff and shoddy production. It might get played when I'm in the mood for really cheesy, generic fun (which does happen from time to time

).
Sorry to sound harsh on an album so many here seem to adore... just my opinion, not an attack on anyone's tastes. Some of the stuff I like would probably trigger y'all's gag reflex

Helm · Post by **Helm** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:45 am

Yeah I do not have a problem to go along with Mercyful Fate, say but 'ooooo bang your head for lucifeeeer' is a bit too much for me too.

Stormspell · Post by **Stormspell** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:56 am

Interesting album, but not the album of all albums for sure.

The Erlking · Post by **The Erlking** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:20 am

Sorry for some offtopic...

nightsblood wrote:(e.g., I love early Venom but hate early Sodom)

Heh, I loved early Sodom (in the sign of evil) from the first listen but it took awhile for me to get into their later stuff like Persecution Mania and Agent Orange. And I still think they're not as awsome as let's say Kreator's first two albums.

Oh Helm, I recently got into Mekong Delta. The Music of Erich Zann album to be specific. Haven't heard the other ones yet. I'm starting to understand your appreciation for this band. Since I've recently enjoyed some technothrash (mostly Annihilator and Deathrow among MD) it's time to revisit watchtower. I listened to them when I was still discovering thrash metal in general and didn't quite "get it" but I remember enjoying them anyway.

Piotr Sargnagel · Post by **Piotr Sargnagel** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:22 am

I have only heard it twice. It didn't impress me at the time but I got the reissue recently and will give it a listen this weekend and give my opinion then.

The Erlking · Post by **The Erlking** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:38 am

Ontopic now

And about Metal From Hell.. I think it's good. I've only heard a rip of it but I thought the sound wasn't too bad. My Dark Heart - Shadows Of The Night vinyl sounds worse than the Metal From Hell rip I've heard. Don't see how it's that bad.

edit. nightsblood, I seriously dislike the whole word "cheesy". Probably because I've read too many MA reviews and it seems that many things I love about 80s metal are labeled "cheesy". Like lyrics about battles and monsters, leather and chains, power and glory, not-so-serious lyrics about satan and evilness are some of the things that makes metal so good for me and nowadays they are ridiculed too often in favour of "serious thinking man's metal" like fucking metsuggah. And how "cheesy" is beard metal.. Don't get me started. No, I don't think Metal From Hell is comic nor very evil. Not every band with satanic/evil lyrics has to be haunting as Black Hole or disturbing and evil like Parabellum. I think that lyrics like that are just part of HM aesthetics and can be done in several ways. To me MFH sounds just heavy metal with "balls to the wall" attitude and good vox.

Most of the times the lyrics that are said to be silly/cheesy/stupid by americans don't sound so bad to me. Well I mean I know where they're coming from with the conclusion but they just don't sound irritatingly silly to me. Maybe it's because english ain't my native language?

nabel · Post by **nabel** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:01 am

It has a lousy sound quality but I can listen to it. (I have good tolerance of band sound quality if music is good enough.) It's not the greatest album of alltime but it has quality to be much more than average album.

Would love to hear Midnight Wind, did it have same line-up as Metal From Hell?

(I have the Horror Records piclp version of Metal From Hell.)

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:51 pm

Erl- I agree 'cheesy' is overused when describing a lot of old metal; it's why I didn't use the word in my orig post. I usually have a fairly high tolerance for metal that many others describe as 'cheesy' (e.g., Manowar), but personally I think the term fits in this case. To me, 'cheesy' is reserved for bands and albums that are sticking to metal cliches to a ridiculous extent usually to get more attention/boost sales, and that's how I interpret this album. Being cheesy does not de facto make something bad; it implies that perhaps one shouldn't take it too seriously.

The Erlking · Post by **The Erlking** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:04 pm

nightsblood wrote:To me, 'cheesy' is reserved for bands and albums that are sticking to metal cliches to a ridiculous extent usually to get more attention/boost sales, and that's how I interpret this album. Being cheesy does not de facto make something bad; it implies that perhaps one shouldn't take it too seriously.

Well I agree kinda with you on this but do you really know they they had only sales and attention in their mind? I don't know much about the band so I don't have any clue but what if they just liked the cliched lyrics and image. I know I do at times

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:24 pm

fair enough, I certainly can't prove their intent. Maybe they thought it was fun, or cool, or a way to make a buck, or something else entirely. And yes, cheesy can be fun at times