Lucifer Star Machine – Satanic Age
Release Date: 14th April 2023
Label: The Sign Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Garage Rock, Hard Rock, Punk.
FFO: Volbeat, Misfits, Motörhead.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Lucifer Star Machine have been around since the early 2000s, formed in London the band relocated in 2014, and are now based in founder/singer Tor Abyss’s home country of Germany. Satanic Age is their new album following 20202’s The Devil’s Breath.
The Satanic Age dawns with the spooky, spoken word Inauguration Of Lucifer (Intro), before the curtain drops and the band launch into the title track with the debauched gusto of a stag party in hell. That’s what this album sounds like then. The band steamrolling their way through twelve tracks (excluding that intro) of gnarly, fast-paced rock ‘n’ roll that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve and doesn’t give two shits for your opinion.
As you can probably guess from all the references to ‘Old Nick’, there is an element of horror lurking throughout, particularly prominent on the title track and the groovy Psychic Vampires. Although, a nastier, greasy edge to the music means that these are more akin to a full-on Eli Roth remake than the schlocky originals.
Purgatory Souls is two minutes of Motörhead fury on overdrive, while I Wanted Everything brings the melody and is where the Volbeat vibe really shines through.
Despite its forthright title, Cunt of Destruction is surprisingly subdued in its use of ‘naughty words’, shortening the phrase to C.O.D during the chorus. However, the snarling Censorshipped soon makes up for this. It’s a bile soaked spit ball of defiance aimed squarely in the eye of the self-righteous PC brigade.
The pacing of the album is well-thought-out, with the harder, more aggressive tracks nestling up to the more melodious ones, and stomping final track Till Death means that LSM sign out with a bang rather than a whimper.
Having not previously encountered LSM, there was an initial fear that they had fully embraced the ‘Misfits-esque horror shtick’ and would be a bit one-dimensional and dated. Glad to say, that particular fear was unfounded. There is enough variety and modernity in the songs to ensure that they don’t get pigeonholed.
Good stuff!
(4 / 5)
