{"id":82608,"date":"2020-03-20T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=82608"},"modified":"2020-03-24T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T14:58:11","slug":"album-review-lucifer-lucifer-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-lucifer-lucifer-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"LUCIFER – Lucifer III (2020) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUCIFER
Lucifer III<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nCentury Media (2020)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Galloping from their clandestine coven like some phantasmal mare and black carriages comes Lucifer\u2019s latest offering to the altar of sacrifice.<\/p>\n

In spite of the swirling black tassels of Johanna Sadonis, the wistful promotional videos, the snappy coffin creak riffs and wisps of funereal fog, there\u2019s always been something more to Lucifer than being just another female-fronted occult-influenced rock act. Three albums in and I\u2019m still singing the praises of a band that matures with each release, proving themselves to be torch bearers of a scene bogged down by all too familiar tales of witches hats and big, black cats n\u2019 cauldrons.<\/p>\n

The two promotional lead off tracks for this album more than testify as to how cool this band is; \u2018Midnight Phantom\u2019 is the natural evolution from the original cult occult rockers Coven who seemingly centuries ago married seductive, grooves with occasional harder edged glints of gargoyles and ghouls.<\/p>\n

Johanna Sadonis remains mesmerising vocally and physically, a wondrous and wistful presence cloaked in black as fog, albeit from a well-oiled machine, laps at her leather boots. And behind her, the merry band of worshippers concoct a bewitching blend of throwback rock made all the more relevant by its snappy, rock n\u2019 roll effervescent fumes.<\/p>\n

Nicke Andersson\u2019s drums are punchy and poisonous; timely reminders of a natural 70s vibe held in tandem with the cool licks and leads provided by Martin Nordin and Linus Bj\u00f6rklund, both of whom provide a vital yet refreshing backbone to a sound that could so easily become stale, but refuses to due to its constant changing melodies, brisk harmonies and sinister groove.<\/p>\n

The bass of Harald G\u00f6thblad crackles nicely in time with the flickering embers of the nightside fire as the quintet embraces us one more time with a swagger that seems familiar yet oh so joyously infectious. \u201cThis is the last goodbye\u2026\u201d<\/em> mourns Johanna, prompting me to provide extra handclaps.<\/p>\n

Then it\u2019s off to the more placid chimes of \u2018Leather Demon\u2019, a slow-building trickle of seductive croons as Sadonis smokes \u201cThat\u2019s what it takes to light the fire in your eyes\u201d<\/em>. This as pure molten soul drips from the eaves while perched up against early Danzig for stark realisation and black serenading. \u201cThey call you leather demon\u201d<\/em> the singer wails like some haunting sea banshee whose cries outweigh the brooding storm claps and thunder peals; a stirring lead break through the sinister yet slow-moving elegance.<\/p>\n

As a promotional pairing, both \u2018Midnight Phantom\u2019 and \u2018Leather Demon\u2019 are perfect yet contrasting grooves to kick this album\u2019s release into gear. And so on to the rest of the tracks…<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Ghosts\u2019 has a weighty galloping drive. This one is a straight up edgy rocker, and it\u2019s rather interesting to see some commentators state that the song\u2019s like hearing Black Sabbath<\/a> fronted by Olivia Newton-John. And that\u2019s a compliment to Johanna Sadonis\u2019 mystical yet dulcet tones as the combo drifts into another slower segment of apparent menace fired by a meandering solo.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, \u2018Lucifer\u2019 is pretty much a rolling ode to the lord of the fiery depths. \u201cThey call him the Devil… the ruler of hellfire\u201d<\/em> muses Sadonis to another killer, swaggering riff. \u201cHe is the master of my delights, his eyes are burning all through the night\u201d<\/em>. It\u2019s simple yet effective \u201870s-styled coolness straight from the Hammer Horror spell book of sound.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s with the likes of \u2018Pacific Blues\u2019 where the band really ups its craft. Bordering on a wistful late-60s psychedelia, this track breezes by with a lacing of darker riffage and stabbing constant drum before Sadonis\u2019 tone rises out of the ashes to meet the black sky. \u201cWild horses could never tear me away from you\u201d<\/em> she barks, the 60s and 70s influence oh so thick but benefitting by the overall floating, subtle nature of the sound in general, in spite of that occult rock buzz that provides the spine.<\/p>\n

\u2018Coffin Fever\u2019 is one of the album\u2019s weightiest moment, an all out doom rocker that lumbers heavily, snaking between the headstones as Sadonis cries \u201cAll I see is blackness…\u201d<\/em>. Once again I\u2019m reminded of Danzig before that tambourine shimmers with ethereal delight. \u201cSet me freeeeee…\u201d<\/em> demands the vocalist, her ghostly sighs caressing those sunken gravestones like some otherworldly fog.<\/p>\n

The upbeat \u2018Flanked By Snakes\u2019 is very much a pub rock groove, bouncing merrily with doomier flecks, and \u2018Stay Astray\u2019 hints at a 50s a-go-go surf \/ garage vibe initially, before following a catchy path. \u201cLonely is the night for those who walk my way\u201d<\/em> Sadonis wails, the track bringing subtle chimes before driving back to killer band harmonies and snaking swagger.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cemetery Eyes\u2019 closes the album, beginning with timely percussive nods and stark guitar. A semi-ballad in some respects, the song builds steadily as another simple groover that flaunts with the epic. The whole track, like the rest of the album, seductively teasing us, beckoning us with a witchy finger into its misty coven.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just no denying the effortless manner with which Lucifer construct their songs. This is the sort of witchcraft that separates them from the glut; a hidden formula that dabbles with the past but just enough so as to not become a mere novelty throwback.<\/p>\n

Lucifer\u2019s latest spell is cast, the web of woe and wistful wonder acting as a blanket of the countryside like some brooding folk horror tale that speaks of will-o-the-wisps and corpse candles as it teases us to the edge of its murky mire. Only the figure of Johanna Sadonis is visible, adorned in black, waif-like yet stunningly toying us with temptation. All the while upon the breeze is that sound, always brooding, often half-hinted and sauntering. And as we follow, almost against our will, it\u2019s all too late when we realise that we\u2019re entangled in thorns and engulfed in fog.<\/p>\n

The Devil moves in mysterious ways… and Lucifer\u2019s third opus is such an example. A gorgeous yet ghoulish soundtrack for when the Devil rides out.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LUCIFERLucifer III Century Media (2020)Rating: 9\/10 Galloping from their clandestine coven like some phantasmal mare and black carriages comes Lucifer\u2019s latest offering to the altar of sacrifice. In spite of the swirling black tassels of Johanna Sadonis, the wistful promotional videos, the snappy coffin creak riffs and wisps of funereal fog, there\u2019s always been something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4046],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-lucifer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82612,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82608\/revisions\/82612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}