Satan: On Earth as it is in Hell

A few months ago I posted an interview with Russ Tippins and Andy Reed about the early days of Satan. Earlier this year the band released another masterpiece called “Earth Infernal”, so it’s time to talk to Mr. Tippins again. We discussed the new album only, and although that was really tough to avoid questions about other matters, I did my best and kept it straight!

The first single, “Twelve Infernal Lords”, was released in 2020 with Decibel magazine. Was it the first song you wrote and recorded for “Earth Infernal”? 

Yes it was. We had a first draft demo of it before “Cruel Magic” was even released. That’s not unusual for us. Currently we have blueprints for five new numbers.

What is easier for you — writing a song from scratch or reworking some old ideas and leftovers?

Definitely from scratch. We rarely dig up old ideas because if we didn’t use them then there must be a reason. Taking one piece of a spare song and trying to create something completely new is difficult because divorcing yourself from the original format takes a lot of will power and tough decisions. I know this because we have done it in the past but as I said, only a couple of times since the reunion. 

Russ Tippins.
Picture: Stephan Birlouez

Do you need inspiration to work on songs or do you work on songs on a daily basis no matter what?

Ideas will come whenever they choose to. You have to be ready to put aside whatever you’re occupied with and record a quick memo of the idea. It’s usually a riff of course — a good riff can carry an entire song and even lead to verse/chorus ideas but it could also be a vocal melody or even just a lyrical phrase. Such a small spark can bring about whole chord structures and even grade-A riffs. The trick is to recognize something that is strong enough to act as such a catalyst. Once I have that spark I can sit down and begin the development process.

Then the pandemic came and you had to postpone the recording. I know that you used the time to improve the songs. Could you tell us more on this matter? (What parts in what songs you changed etc.)

Well for instance, if you heard the Decibel flexi (“Twelve Infernal Lords”), you might notice that it ends pretty suddenly after the middle section. The more I listened to it the less I liked that ending. It just seemed so arbitrary. Steve suggested to stretch out the final riff into a long fade and maybe cross fade into the next track. I liked that idea, I could really picture it so we did it. We had time to do that, an opportunity to reflect on what we had created. Usually that kind of reflection would occur in the months after a release and it’s too late to make amendments. In that regard the pandemic was advantageous.

By the way, wasn’t there a risk to overthink the arrangements?

Yep that danger is real but, the after-effects of the pandemic were such that we also had plenty time to sit on the new amended versions, chew them over, wait & see if anything seemed overly contrived. In fact, with one song we ended up reverting to the original format! Namely “The Blood Ran Deep”.

Graeme English

There were other misfortunes along the way, and Graeme English broke his elbow. What happened?

He was out walking his dog one night and while gazing up at the stars he tripped over the damn dog and fell! 99 times from 100 it would be a simple bruise or scuffed pants trousers but he landed at an awkward angle onto concrete. It was a compound fracture and took a long time to heal. That was another thing that held us up even further.

“Earth Infernal” is your 4th album with Dave Curle as a sound engineer. Would you say that he understands the band better than anyone else? Why didn’t you ask Dario Mollo to mix and master the album this time?

We had wanted to try it with Dave for a long while. It was a constant source of frustration to him to put in all the hard work on tracking then not be able to finish it off. Nothing wrong with Dario at all, just that we were curious and we couldn’t think of a reason not to finally give Dave a try — it’s not as if we couldn’t trust him... on the contrary. And of course we are over the moon with the result!

Graham Matteson is credited for some percussion on the album. What was his input?

He was some random guy that was practicing on his drums in the downstairs room of the studio. We were mixing upstairs and suddenly I wanted to hear bongo drums on the intro of “A Sorrow Unspent”. Sean was away on vacation but I thought Dave would play the bongos (he’s also a drummer). He said he couldn’t because he was still recuperating from his surgery — he recorded and mixed the entire album with an oxygen cylinder on his back haha. Anyway, he mentioned that there was a drummer in the practice room so we went down and asked him if he would play bongos upstairs for a minute and we’d pay him for it. He said no to the money but yes to recording the part for us. I did not know him and haven’t seen him since.

Steve Ramsey.
Picture: Stephen Birlouez 

I know, you played some leads in unison on the new albums instead of your usual way of playing in harmony. Could you explain the difference to those, who like me, have no idea about music theory?

Sure. So with harmony you have the main line (a specific series of notes) on one guitar while the second guitar plays a parallel line usually three notes higher than the main line. Sometimes it can be lower than the main line too. The result is a very sweet sounding line like thin Lizzy or a choir. With unison the second guitar doesn’t play higher or lower than the main, it just doubles the exact notes which makes it more monotone sounding but much more powerful, like punching somebody in the gut with both fists together.

I understand that both ways of playing solos take a lot of rehearsals and preliminary work. Is there a space for improvisation?

Well yes, at least while it’s in composition. Steve and I often improvise lines and pick out the ones we like. Once we’ve decided which lines to play and in what order then it’s set in stone and the part must be adhered to exactly for performances

I guess the title “Earth Infernal” came from the lyrics of “Twelve Infernal Lords” and “Earth We Bequeath” or was it vice versa and the title influenced the lyrics?

You are correct. The songs came first then the album title. I like the fact there is no title track on this record (as with “Court in the Act”). Instead there are two songs that merely infer the LP title but it’s kind of interesting don’t you think?

People have been talking about ecological problems and climate change for ages but nothing has changed, I’m afraid. How do you think, why and what can we all as individuals do to change the situation for the better? 

I (we) do not profess to know what should be done about the situation. We never have, but it was apparent that nobody was talking about it anymore. Our only aim was to get the subject back onto the world table and let the scientists do their job.

“Burning Portrait” reminds me of classical music, something like a mix of polka in verses and waltz in choruses. Was it your original idea to write something uncommon?

It’s always my idea to write something uncommon! As a consumer I enjoy listening to music I don’t understand much more than stuff where I know what’s coming next. I want to be surprised. Now with Satan I don’t want to totally bamboozle our listeners but you can be sure there will always be a few surprises in the music we write.

Brian Ross.
Picture: Stephen Birlouez

I love the connection between “Ascendancy” and “Burning Portrait” which tell the story of a man who went straight to the top but that success changed him to worth. Do you think that huge success always turns people to something bad?

Mostly it does yes. The higher they rise the more they tend increasingly towards paranoia and delusions of invincibility. Success is like a ballistic arc, it can only go upwards for so long before the descent begins. In the same way capitalism is doomed to failure because prolonged economic growth only causes a bubble which is going to burst sooner or later and recession follows.

Could you explain the lyrics of “Luciferic” please? Is it about a duel between religion and science (some consider the latter as a Luciferic thing)?

It’s simply describing the birth of science and culture which, in astrological terms began in the Luciferic age. Before that, human beings were just animals that knew how to make weapons to hunt for food. It was base survival, language and knowledge was limited only to provide what they needed to keep themselves alive. There was little self-awareness. Culture just didn’t exist. All those millennia on planet Earth merely crawling in the dirt, then in only a few hundred years man was soaring in the heavens. The Egyptian architects, the Greek scholars, Confucius wisdom and philosophy. Civilization began.

Am I right thinking that “The Blood Ran Deep” is about the battle of Teutoburg Forest? I understand that this is probably the question to Brian Ross, but why did you pick up this particular battle among others?

The battle being depicted is the Battle of Branxton (or Flodden field as some call it) between the Scottish and the English in the 16th century. It’s interesting because the Scots put their noblemen and even the King himself on the front line in a display of solidarity with their foot soldiers to hopefully boost morale. In the end it backfired when the King was slain early in the battle along with the officers. The army collapsed into chaos without any leadership now to rally them. It was the worst massacre ever on British soil with 11 thousand Scots killed.

Sean Taylor. 
Picture: Stephen Birlouez

What do you feel once an album is done: relief? excitement? depression? something else?

I suppose relief is the closest thing to what I feel. When you are up close and personal with a group of songs for at least two years and know them intimately in every detail, when you hear them coming through studio speakers for the hundredth time over weeks/months, it’s a joy to have the burden off your shoulders and now it’s in someone else’s hands. It’ll probably be another year before I can bring myself to listen to “Earth Infernal”. Actually I don’t even need to hear it. Every detail is permanently seared into my brain. Having said that, there is already a feeling of excitement for the new song embryos we have at this point.

What’s the current status of Skyclad? Are you working on new songs?

Steve Ramsey: We are but not in a hurry to make an album. At the point in our career now where it’s not necessary to keep up any momentum and we can just wait until we’re ready

By the way, Russ, why haven’t you joined Skyclad? Isn’t it your cup of tea?

I haven’t been invited to join! haha... I’m into the music but they already have two from Satan and any more would only turn it into a joke. Skyclad is Steve’s baby anyway.

Russ, as far as I am aware, you are working on the next Tanith album. Could you already reveal some details? Will the album include those songs that Brian Ross called off of “Cruel Magic” because they were too fast for him? 

Uh, no, because they were pieces composed expressly for Satan. But sure we’ve been working on new Tanith material since 2019 and as I write (note: September, 7^th, 2022) I’m somewhere over the Atlantic heading to New York to get together with the band & finally get these tracks down onto tape.

Thanks to Russ Tippins for the interview and Stephen Birlouez (amongtheliving.fr) for the live pictures of the band except the one with Graeme English wich I found somwhere else.