Episode 45 – Fitzcarraldo (right click to download)

It’s a DJ’s cliché to say your set sounds like a “journey”, but fuck it, that’s exactly what SATAN MADE ME DO IT tries to achieve a lot of times. This episode is, we think, a fine example. It starts really slow, moody and easy, then building up, song after song, to a level of intensity that will reach its peak in the end and hopefully leave you feeling challenged. Dont’ take it too seriously, though.
We came up with this “climbing progression” when thinking about “Fitzcarraldo”, Werner Herzog’s movie from 1982 where the mad German director carried a 300 ton steamship over a hill in the Amazon. The movie production was almost “Apocalypse Now” stuff of legend. Go watch it.

Click for show notes and a complete tracklist.

Episode 45 – Fitzcarraldo

Filipe Felizardo is one of the finest new guitarists in Portugal, and there are a bunch of talented guys now on the scene. Minimalist, slow paced, John Fahey and Earth influenced, we love the sound of Filipe’s new record (no doubt helped by his self built amplifier) and the droning on this particular track. Also, feel free to take a peek at his comic book art here.

Is this the first track by Iron Maiden on a SATAN MADE ME DO IT episode? We think so. Except from that burp from “Still Life” we used somewhere. ANYWAY, one of us thinks that “Strange World” is the best song from the best Iron Maiden album, so making it probably the best Maiden song EVER. Controversial statement for sure, especially if we think that Iron Maiden themselves basically hate “Strange World”, never having played it live or rerecorded it with Bruce Dickinson. And this song was one of the reasons why Dennis Stratton was basically kicked out of the band. “Strange World” has nothing to do with your usual fare of galloping, progressive, epic music, nor so with the earlier more punkish stuff. This is something different, but oh so beautiful: the amazing guitar work, the absinthe lyrics, the introspective and even psychedelic tone and atmosphere, surprisingly fitting for Paul Di’Anno’s voice.

We keep things British with Agnes Strange (returning after appearing at Episode 3 – Vintage Addiction) and Salem. Agnes Strange track has incredible riffing, progression and details (the cymbal work!), so it’s a shame that silly lyrics like “She’s growing old like a flame going out / She’s much too old to twist and shout / She doesn’t understand the electric sound” or “She never comes to concerts / she never comes to shows / She never ever listens to her radio” almost kills all the evil Atomic Rooster vibe here. “Fighting for the Cause” from Salem is infectious as hell, but lame, lame guitar solos, though. Fortunately those are minor flaws which don’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the music.

So now we start to speed up things a bit. Iron Curtain, from Spain, do a great job at taking influences from Motorhead and Running Wild and keeping things down to earth and on party mode, while Amulet presents us with a great NWOBHM rooted stuff from their debut album from 2014.

Evil comes with Goblin’s “Sighs” taken from their soundtrack for Dario Argento’s “Suspiria”, and stays with Midnight. Another fabulous track from his “No Mercy For Mayhem” album, one of our favorite releases from last year that we always make sure to keep in the bag whenever we get the chance to spin some records.

One of us didn’t like how Vampire cleaned up the sound for their 2014 debut album, after their promising demo two years before. But the fact of the matter is these Swedish dudes keep hammering us with great blackened death/thrash. We picked “Night Hunter” from this year’s “Cimmerian Shade” EP, but we’re likely to be returning with more from them, for sure.

We’ve come a long way since Filipe Felizardo and Iron Maiden’s introspective incursions at the beginning of this episode. Time to give it all, now. First with the alcohol drenched crusty black/thrash from insane Japanese Barbatos (cool cover from their last album), followed by “The Third And Final War” from Nocturnal Blood, an amazingly heavy and brutal song that somehow manages to cram in a fantastic headbanging riff in the mid-section. Pure goodness that we will definitely consider for future live DJ sets.

That’s it folks. We saved a Xmas gift for last. Eat plenty of sugary and greasy stuff and come back for more satanic lust next year!

— Tracklist

1. Frog Princess Choir Pt.1| Filipe Felizardo (POR) | The Invading Past and Other Dissolutions, 2015 https://soundcloud.com/filipe-felizardo
2. Strange World | Iron Maiden (UK) | Iron Maiden, 1980 http://www.ironmaiden.com/
3. Granny Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll | Agnes Strange (UK) | Strange Flavour, 1975 http://www.discogs.com/Agnes-Strange-Strange-Flavour/master/442661
4. Fighting for the Cause | Salem (UK) | 1983 Demo # 2 [demo], 1983 http://www.salemband.co.uk/
5. Taste My Whip | Iron Curtain (ESP) | Road To Hell, 2012 https://ironcurtainattack.bandcamp.com/
6. The Gauntlet | Amulet (UK) | The First, 2014 https://amuletmetal.bandcamp.com/
7. Sighs | Goblin (ITA) | Suspiria: The Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1977 http://www.goblinofficial.com/
8. No Mercy For Mayhem | Midnight (USA) | No Mercy For Mayhem, 2014 http://totalmidnight.webs.com/
9. Night Hunter | Vampire (SWE) | Cimmerian Shade [EP], 2015 http://vampireofficial.com/
10. Satanik Holocaust | Barbatos (JAP) | Straight Metal War, 2015 https://www.facebook.com/pages/ABIGAILBARBATOS/208365735859610?fref=ts
11. The Third And Final War | Nocturnal Blood (USA) | Hell’s Headbangers Compilation Vol. 8 [compilation], 2015 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaman-of-Horrors-OfferingsNocturnal-BloodThe-Haunting-Presence/339470522904848
12. Crionics | Slayer (USA) | Show No Mercy, 1983 http://www.slayer.net/