Thursday 5 January 2017

Hey Satan - S/T (Album Review)


Release date: January 28th 2017. Label: Cold Smoke Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Hey Satan – Self Titled – Tracklisting

Fallon City Messiah
Legal Aspect Of Love
Sunshine Blues
In Cold Blood
1991
Song For A Lost Mariner
Red Light Women
Bastardizer
Black Flags Down
This Meat Stinks, Honey

Band Members

François : Lead Vocals/Guitar
Laurent : Vocals/Guitar
Frank : Drums

Review

Hey Satan is a Stoner Rock band with something different about them. This is a band that blends moments of Classic Rock, Desert Rock and Psych for a heavy and interesting sound of their own. You can tell that the band have been influenced by bands such as Kyuss, QOTSA and Led Zeppelin.

Opening track – Fallon City Messiah – is perhaps named after a certain individual that we all know and love. The song does have a Clutch style vibe with the delivery of both the vocals and riffs. Though those initial feelings start to disappear as the song progresses. Heavy Blues Rock spliced with Desert/Stoner Rock that see Hey Satan play with huge confidence. An almost perfect combination of classic stadium rock swagger and modern sounding Stoner sounds.

Second track – Legal Aspect Of Love – has a vintage QOTSA feel to it then it explodes with huge blasts of Stoner Rock/Metal riffs that you don’t really expect. The lyrics have quite a playful and humorous feel to them that matches the crazy instrumental work the band are currently playing.

Third track – Sunshine Blues – is a more straightforward Stoner Rock track with the band playing heavy slow-paced riffs at the start before the heavier moments appear. The vocals by Insert Name Later are cool, focused and precise. The music is once again influenced by the more familiar sounds of Desert/Stoner Rock scene. Hey Satan does inject some much needed creativity along the way.

Fourth track – In Cold Blood – is one of the standout songs on the album. As the band play a more direct style of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with superb instrumental work that demands your full attention. The screeching guitars towards the end add a sense of chaos with the band still in full control of their music.

Fifth track – 1991 – sees the band add a thunderous dash of Blues Rock with the music deciding if it wants to be a seventies sounding loud rock anthem or a modern day sounding stoner rock/metal sing-along. The song finds the right balance between the two different styles of music.

It seems that Hey Satan wanted to create the loudest album they possibly could without them venturing into the world of heavy metal. They succeed on all counts as this is a very loud album from start to finish. Other great tracks to check out are Song For A Lost Mariner, Black Flags Down and Bastardizer.

Hey Satan’s self titled debut album is a celebration of all things HEAVY and LOUD. The production is first rate. All in all, Hey Satan have delivered a brilliantly entertaining debut album that is packed full of anthemic songs. This is one album you’ll be playing over and over again.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Héléna at Domino Media Agency for the promo. Hey Satan will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Cold Smoke Records from Jan 28th 2017.

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