Release date: 8th April 2022
It’s always great when King Satan releases new material and their third album, Occult Spiritual Anarchy, is another fine bit of work from them – perhaps their best yet. One of the things I love most about King Satan is that the band is an ever-changing beast; each of their albums is stylistically different, yet undeniably King Satan.
Occult Spiritual Anarchy is more metal-driven than their previous two offerings, and perhaps sounds closer to how the band sounds in a live environment. It’s certainly the band’s heaviest album to date, but it still has that very specific electronic/industrial vibe that was on their first two albums and there’s no doubt that these newer songs will slot in very nicely next to older material in a live environment.
Opening strongly with Left Hand Path Symphony and continuing well from there, King Satan pull no punches and hit you with banger after banger. Each song hits hard and the overall flow of the album is nice, with each song progressing well to the next. Whilst the album is more metal-oriented, there’s no lack of electronically-driven material, with later track Demon Made Flesh being a particularly good example of that.
The album also features a rerecorded version of the track Spiritual Anarchy from the band’s 2017 album King Fucking Satan. You can perhaps describe King Satan’s music as spiritual anarchy, and this slightly more aggressive and heavier version fits perfectly into the album – in fact, it feels like Spiritual Anarchy was written for this release (the name certainly matches the album!) and if that’s not the sign of a masterful rerecording, then I don’t know what is.
One of my personal favourites on the album is This Is Where The Magic Happens, which was actually released as a single at the tail end of last year. It’s one of the heavier and more in-your-face tracks of the album – which was perhaps why it was chosen as the first cut from the album, to give the listener an insight into what may be expected from the full-length. The chorus is seriously catchy and although I haven’t been lucky enough to hear the song live yet, it certainly gives the impression that it will kick some serious ass in a live environment.
King Satan have knocked it out of the park with Occult Spiritual Anarchy. Each time they release a new album they manage to surpass their previous release – and considering what high regard I hold their debut in, this is no mean feat. Occult Spiritual Anarchy is a unique bit of work, and once again showcases King Satan at the top of their game.
Buy the album from here: Electric Spark Records | Recordshop X
