Ever since he left Electric Wizard in 2012 Tasos ‘Taz’ Danazoglou has been basically ploughing the same furrow.
You Lived… may be his third record this year but after the 70s classic hard rock fixation of Mirror’s recent self-titled album, he’s back revisiting his mid-80s Metal Blade Records and Bathory collection – something he’s already dedicated three albums to with Satan’s Wrath.
And while here he recruited a whole different lineup for it, including former Sentenced and Impaled Nazarene bassist Taneli Jarva, Diavolos and Satan’s Wrath are so much alike influence and sound-wise – down to the pure analogue guitar sound and echo-drenched production – that only the most seasoned old-school extreme metal fan will be able to fully distinguish them.
They’ll probably enjoy the slightly more proto-death metal vibe, numerous nods to Death’s Scream Bloody Gore and the trademark vicious harmonies (especially since SW’s Die Evil album leaned more towards black/thrash), their Exciter spoof artwork or suitable cover of Onslaught classic: Death Metal. But its dual purpose makes it a tad unnecessary.
