The world of heavy metal, and in this case Doom, is truly an international beast. From what many consider the formative days of Black Sabbath over half a century ago (I’ll let wiser heads than mine such as Andrew O’Neill in his excellent “A History of Heavy Metal” book explain the evolution of the music) in the heartland of then industrial Britain, it has spread across the globe. If ever you wanted proof of that proposition, I present to you ‘Signs of Saturn’, originally released as a download only in 2021 by Lucifer’s Children, a band from Paraguay, it is now getting a physical release in 2022 care of Poland’s Fallen Temple. Hell, the distribution of the various formats of their prior album ‘Devil Worship’ is even more globe-trotting, being variously available on tapes from Chile, CDs from Brazil, and vinyl from Holland. Anyway, to quote Marty DiBergi, “hey, enough of my yakkin’”, and time to get down to the music.
‘The Blessed Harvest’ opens the album, and true to their biography, this is Traditional Doom, where both the “T” and “D” are deservedly capitalised; the riff is heavy; the rhythm section slow and solid, and the lyrics of magic and mystery are delivered with clarity and power by Lidi Ramirez. ‘Exiled Angels’ follows with a dragging inevitability, and without even looking at any promo-photos I’d be willing to bet the band will be rocking down-tuned Gibsons and flares of doom. By the time ‘My bloodlust to the moon’ thumps from the speakers it is obvious that Lucifer’s Children are influenced by classic acts, and with the Chandleresque guitar work and slogging drum and bass it is easy to imagine, especially with the occult themed lyrics, that the band are the answer to that question of what would happen if Saint Vitus collaborated with Jinx Dawson. Title track ‘Signs of Saturn’ ups the pace slightly to get heads banging and fists pumping; worry not though you double denim clad denizens of Doom festivals across the globe this is no thrash sprint and you can happily wallow in the slow and steady beats. ‘Goat of Mendes’ (how traditional a title for a doom track is that?) has an even slightly faster delivery, taking in the sound of early lo-fi Pentagram, all before any urgency whatsoever is shed in album closer ‘The one who hears the time’s voice’. Dragged over a ten minute plus length, it is the very essence of traditional doom, combining slow and heavy beats, a guitar solo loaded with drawn out sustain rather than machine gun paced shredding, and esoteric themes of sorcery, time, and mysticism being explored by the lyrics. By the time this sixth track fades out 45 minutes had passed all too quickly, and replays are demanded.
Lucifer’s Children have not ventured into unexplored musical territory, bringing in unnecessary avant garde elements for the sake of simply being different. Rather they have shown a rightful reverence for such classic acts as Trouble and Candlemass, whilst imbuing their work with a youthful energy. As it is, with the so called “big four” of Doom all getting ever longer in the tooth, something your grey haired and child of the sixties scribe can utterly empathize with, new bands will be needed to carry the torch and keep the scene alive, and with ‘Signs of Saturn’, Lucifer’s Children are doing just that.
(8/10 Spenny)
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