Satanic Rites formed around 1980 or thereabouts to join the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene. They hailed from Halifax – a few junctions over the M62 from my humble hovel – and were one of the many bands at the time who promised much without meeting success.
A single appeared in (I think) 1981 which was well-received and did well in the Sounds (remember that weekly rag?) chart though then seemed to merge in to the shadows until reappearing in the mid-1980s after a few line-up changes the most notable of which was the addition of Deborah Webster, who had a mighty voice indeed. Sadly she passed a few years ago.
Two albums would follow – Which Way the Wind Blows and No Use Crying – and they have both now been given the Cult Metal Classic treatment being re-released in limited edition CD runs with bonus tracks.
A review of No Use Crying will follow. Firstly here we’ll look at Which Way the Wind Blows. It is an excellent album of hard-edged NWOBHM with a melodic side to it and even a bit pomp/prog rock in parts with sparing use of some nicely place keyboards.
The riffs chug away very well being clear and powerful with well-paced solo work. Bass well up in the mix laying down the foundation, big drum sound and the cherry on top being Deborah’s vocals.
Her style is majestically powerful and full of range belting out the lyrics in fine style and the hooks and melodies too. Pick any song you like on this album and you’ll hear how Satanic Rites had something a little different to offer.
You may think that with a name such as Satanic Rites their style would be a heavy, doomy blast however the heavy/melodic/slightly proggy style is refreshing and upbeat. Apparently they took their name from an old Hammer Horror film (remember them?), possibly the Satanic Rites of Dracula which had Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Joanna Lumley in the cast.
But we digress……Which Way the Wind Blows is indeed an excellent album and another “lost” one from the classic NWOBHM days which Sonic Age Records are so adept at re-discovering at doing their good stuff with.
Have a listen to Feel the Power:
The album comprises of nine cuts of instantly accessible and enjoyable heaviness with melody and that huge vocal. The title track being an exception being a slow burning six or so minutes of an atmospheric ballad which shows the band could do that stuff as well as the chunky rockers.
The bonus tracks comprise of the debut single from 1981, demos of Hit and Run and Fear of the Night (both from the album) and also Slam the Door and Law of the Land, previously unreleased.
Thanks to Cult Metal Classics for hitting the spot yet again with re-discovered New Wave of British Heavy Metal. As usual with the label it is a limited run of 500 CDs. As I type (17 December 2023) Sonic Age Records have availability. Link is:
https://www.sonicagerecords.com
You may find it other places too such as No Remorse.
A review of No Use Crying to follow after I’ve given it some more spins.