Album review: Heathen Deity – Satan’s Kingdom

Diabolical black metal is no laughing matter to Heathen Deity. The Midlands collective titled their long-awaited 2021 debut True English Black Metal and delivered a level of undeconstructed savagery that proudly matched up. There was no symphonic contrivance on that record, no blackgaze pandering or ambient softening of serrated edges. Zero fucking around. Second album Satan’s Kingdom largely picks up where they it off, translating hellfire into infernal sound with no regard for anyone other than grim, frostbitten like minds and, probably, the Dark Lord himself.

On one hand, it’s a thrillingly old-school experience. The sonic focus on bone-rattling blastbeats, flesh-stripping riffs and soul-scourging vocals above all else harks back to a time when sacrificing any of those at the altar of slicker production or in pursuit of a more ‘atmospheric’ sound was sheer anathema. Even the press notes trumpeting an almost hour-long runtime feels somewhat like nostalgic service to older fans who spent many a weekend rifling through dusty CD racks in dank record stores. Song titles like Embrace The Essence Of Satan – Ephysians 6:66, The Swine That Lead The Swine and Satanae Albion aren’t ironically OTT. These songs are just that damned evil.

Equally, there is the sense of timelessness that comes with the very best of black metal. Hanging rotten flesh off its skeletal composition, heads-down highlight Fucking Worthless could’ve been conceived back when Euronymous and Dead were still wide-eyed youths. The faintly folky acoustic guitars and monastic chants of Chapel Of Filth and For Thine Is The Kingdom add heretical dynamism and room to breathe without losing the wretched thread. By the time we spiral into epic, almost nine-minute closer Burning Angel Wings you can practically smell the sulphur and feel the heat.

Unrelenting in their attack and defiant in their unbending adherence to tradition, it feels unlikely that Heathen Deity spend long looking to the future, but if they keep churning out sounds like this there’ll soon be little choice but to celebrate them as part of the British black metal vanguard. Hail.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Gorgoroth, Dark Funeral, Blood Countess

Satan’s Kingdom is out now via Cult Never Dies