You know, when writing reviews, sometimes the words just flow and the whole thing can be composed, typed up, cleaned up, and submitted in the time it takes to listen to an album a mere two or three times. Other times, it can be a real task, with more deletions and rewrites than Prince Andrew’s public appearance schedule. This review falls firmly in the latter category, and I’d like to make use of this public forum to apologise to the editor for taking so long, oh, and the previous joke too whilst I’m at it. But why is writing this so hard? Is the material something that is out of my comfort zone? Nope, I’ve bought all of Lucifer’s album, and had ‘IV’ on pre-order before the review download was sent. Is it a band I dislike? Well, I refer you to the above sentence. I just keep on sitting down at the keyboard, full of good intentions, ready to give a potted history of the band for those who have not heard of them, throw together six hundred words or so to give a fair review of the music with a few appropriate references, maybe an attempt at humour (I again refer you to the above apology), and well, it all goes to pot because I always write with the album playing, and frankly, I was continually distracted by how damn good ‘IV’ is and forgot the job in hand!
Album opener ‘Archangel Of Death’ shows that the band are sticking to their tried and proven formula of masterfully crafted hard rock: the guitars deliver thumping riffs and howling solos; the rhythm section is simultaneous drum tight yet coolly loose; and of course the whole thing is topped off by the stunning vocals of Johanna Sadonis. The fact that she isn’t drowning in a tsunami of awards and money whilst the likes of Adele’s foghorn autobiographical bellowing looks set to make that lady a billionaire I do not know (I appreciate there may well be Adele fans reading, but in a classic case of “each to their own” her voice just sets my teeth on edge and has me diving for ear defenders). ‘Wild Hearses’ turns up the fuzz and menace to ‘Vol. IV’, mixing verses laden with menace and Satanic imagery so appropriate for their name with a chorus bearing more hooks than a whole fleet of pantomime pirates.
‘Crucifix (I burn for you)’, a song to accompany the album cover continues the flow of excellence, somehow combining instantly the accessible pop of Abba (anyone have a bet on those Swedish Eurovision titans being mentioned in an Ave Noctum review?) with the occult mysticism of Coven in a way that doesn’t clash in the slightest, rather giving birth to a sound with an almost impossibly healthy hybrid vigour. Each and every song on ‘IV’ deserves its own review, and one that is written with far more skill and accomplishment than I could ever hope to achieve. ‘Bring Me His Head’ is a toe tapping banger of a tune; ‘Mausoleum’ launches with a church organ intro to up the creepiness; ‘Nightmare’ throws in a piano to summon the spirit of Alice Cooper’s ‘Steven’; and the whole thing closes with the magnificent head banger that is ‘Phobos’. As for the tracks I’ve missed, it’s not that they aren’t deserving of praise, it’s just that I’d run out of superlatives long before I could do them all justice.
It was 2020 when I reviewed Lucifer’s last eponymous release ‘III’ (see Ave Noctum passim), and with the normal process of touring and promoting being delayed and only just starting to build up again, the creative and performing energies of the band clearly needed to go somewhere. Whilst assorted live stream events occurred in lockdown, clearly this was not sufficient, and thus ‘IV’ was created, providing both an outlet for band, and a welcome release ahead of forthcoming live dates in 2022. The fact that writing duties have been spread further than the duo of Johanna Sadonis and drummer/husband/cult music demi-god Nicke Andersson only highlights the way the band has developed as a unit, and if there is any musical justice in the world, ‘IV’ should see the band ascend to the status of fame and accolades they deserve.
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