CoC : Satanic Slaughter - Land of the Unholy Souls : Review

Satanic Slaughter - _Land of the Unholy Souls_
(Necropolis, 1997)
by: Drew Snow (6 out of 10)

With this their second album released on Necropolis Records, Satanic Slaughter have brought forth a CD filled with older material from the early stages of the band in the mid- to late-80s, before the criminal acts of a member or two halted development. I haven't heard their self-titled debut, so I can't say exactly how dated this album sounds, however, judging it solely on its own qualities, I can't see how a release such as this can hold its own today in the late 90s. Pretty old-school (obviously), with a very one-dimensional take on 80s black metal, with much thrash influence (similar in some respects to Sodom and others, but with more emphasis on the black metal part of things), Satanic Slaughter give us thirteen tracks of very spotty material. There -are- a couple of songs which stand out as killer efforts, namely "One Night in Hell", "Servant of Satan", and "Demon's Feast". Unfortunately, the penetrating, menacing guitar riffs and perfect mix of mid-paced rocking sections with all-out blasts of energy present in those songs are all too rare throughout the rest of the album, and this quickly becomes the type of CD where you immediately find your favorite songs and forget about the others. Though I hate to use the word, the one that comes to mind when listening to Satanic Slaughter is generic.

(article published 14/7/1997)

ALBUMS
10/5/1996	G Filicetti	6	Satanic Slaughter - Satanic Slaughter