Some time last year I auctioned for the first two albums of American devil worshippers SATHANAS, all because of the great cover artwork. And to say it right away, the covers are the best parts of the albums. But let’s concentrate on the CD “Black Earth” and it is hard to believe that former members of ACHERON are part of this, because in terms of musicianship this sounds as if a high school band with a little elevated skills were mistreating their instruments.

And the end result is nothing more than totally dumb and generic mid-tempo Death Metal. That the CD doesn’t go anywhere, though, could also be because of the limp production that sounds more like a demo. OK, the album contains a few nice riffs, like on “Jaws Of Satan”, but that doesn’t really salvage much anymore. Next to the cardboard drum sound the most annoying thing is the unnerving croak of mic tormentor Paul Tucker. Compared to this “demon with allergies” crap I can fart more fear inducing. Most songs contain several breaks and twists, but without rhyme or reason.

No folks, compared to the ACHERON debut this sounds like a light breeze and can sink into the deepest underground until kingdom come!

(Online January 8, 2011)