{"title":"PARIAH","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-kindred-re-issue-cu","title":"The Kindred (Re-Issue)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePariah’s cult debut re-issued! “The Kindred” brings you pure old school Thrash Metal fury! Satan changed their name to Pariah in 1988-1989. Satan’s evolution for the time being came to an end here with this band, Pariah, in 1988. What Satan were going for with “Suspended Sentence”, could definitely be seen as a hint to the direction they would take as Pariah. That raspy, ill-tempered, aggressive Michael Jackson (indeed) is still here on vocals and these guys really wanted to tear things apart with this album. The main lineup here is entirely the same from Satan and Blind Fury (vocalists aside). Simply put, one could easily say they took “Suspended Sentence”’s interesting idea of “NWOBHM meets Thrash Metal” and basically focused on being even more aggressive this time. We might be throwing out the obvious here again, but if you are new to Pariah or perhaps Satan, familiarize yourself with the fact that guitarists Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey are truly an insane duo. For the most part with “The Kindred” their guitar work is pretty thrashy and extremely melodic. Then out of nowhere those classic NWOBHM solo’s, dual harmonies, and majestic melodies come into play all over the place and they manage to make it work incredibly well in between the thrashy antics. The production and mix seems to be an improvement over “Suspended Sentence” and here the guitars tend to have more of a sharper edge, Jackson’s vocals are constantly in the clear and never overpowered by anything else, and overall there is a tougher vibe surrounding this. Everything here is pretty damn heavy. While Tippins and Ramsey are really out there in a realm of their own, there’s great performances again by Graeme English on bass and Sean Taylor on drums. Overall you’ve got a whole package of virtuous musicians here that really mastered the beauty of balance. All in all “The Kindred” goes all the way with every track being fast and aggressive. Satan and Pariah are all typically made up of the same core members and definitely created some timeless and unique Heavy Metal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hammerheart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":56710760399179,"sku":"R8840-0271","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Red","offer_id":56710760431947,"sku":"R8840-9184","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_b2a7d552-af2d-4eb2-ad0a-658acf544005.jpg?v=1772808816"},{"product_id":"blaze-of-obscurity-re-issue-an","title":"Blaze of Obscurity Re-Issue","description":"\u003cp\u003ePariah’s cult album re-issued! “Blaze of Obscurity” brings you pure Thrash Metal fury! Satan changed their name to Pariah in 1988-1989. There’s Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, the list seems almost endless. Sub-genres are important in metal and bands are quickly classified and labeled. Pariah (the last re-incarnation of Satan) is one of few bands that are difficult if not impossible to classify. Is it Heavy metal? NWOBHM? Thrash Metal? Pariah did not make it easy to describe their sound. It might be too sophisticated to simply label it Heavy Metal, which in its infancy was a rather simple affair. They don’t sound like any Metal band out there, perhaps discounting some of the more aggressive and technical ones, and then the signature NWOBHM sound is added. The guitar playing by Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey is undeniably what defines Pariah as well as Satan in the past. Undeniably, Satan has gone a long way; from humble NWOBHM beginnings, to Experimental\/Melodic Mettal (in Blind Fury) and something that could be described as a NWOBHM\/Thrash Metal hybrid (“The Kindred”). It’s as if they’ve been experimenting trying to find their identity, and theyfinally found it. Stylistically, “Blaze of Obscurity” could be seen a step back to “Suspended Sentence”, but this time around they got everything right, down to the last note. Those who have heard Satan know what to expect: great guitar playing. And sure enough, “Blaze of Obscurity” is a demonstration of guitar mastery and is overall a very guitar-driven album, with plenty of mind-boggling riffs and solos are all over the place, but more importantly, it’s a demonstration of some amazing songwriting as well. This is easily Pariah\/Satan’s creative peak and one of the most consistent albums I’ve ever heard, featuring eight great and conceptually perfect songs with lyrics that come across as sophisticated and thought-provoking. It is not fair to put the entire spotlight on Tippins and Ramsey though since the drumming and bass work from Sean Taylor and Graham English really shines. The rhythm is fast and tight, keeping it focused, aggressive and intense till the end. Vocalist Michael Jackson (yes, that’s his name) has to be commended too as this is easily his careers best performance. The verdict: “Blaze of Obscurity”: the level of musical genius expressed here, along with near flawless songwriting, is more than enough to skyrocket it to heights reserved only for classics. Probably not your choice for some light listening those quiet Sunday evenings, but those who take a more serious, intellectual approach when selecting their music will find very much to appreciate here.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hammerheart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":56710760694091,"sku":"R8242-1630","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Yellow","offer_id":56710760726859,"sku":"R8242-3215","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_2db9cb5b-4cba-4ad1-9cec-7729b5dbc1ea.jpg?v=1772809156"},{"product_id":"unity-go","title":"Unity","description":"\u003cp\u003ePariah’s “Unity” re-issued! Satan released this album under the name Pariah in 1997! Thrash Metal attack! First time on vinyl. “Unity” was the comeback album of Pariah\/Satan, released after 9 years after they split-up, in 1997. Released on the band’s own label Aartee Music, and only 1.000 copies were made on CD. Pariah (Satan) is a band that did change much over the years, evolving at lightning speed, so was a bit of a surprise that “Unity” did not sound drastically different to their previous albums. They sound perhaps a tiny notch softer and less aggressive than before and this is largely because Alan Hunter (Tysondog) possessing a softer and more traditional voice, reminiscent of Joe Elliott from Def Leppard - has replaced Michael Jackson as vocalist. “Unity” doesn’t disappoint as Ramsey and Tippins exchange riffs and solos as briskly as before and the consistent and strong songwriting of “Blaze of Obscurity” is present here also. Broadly speaking, this still works in the realm of what you’d call Power\/Thrash, with the chugging speed of Thrash Metal mixed into guitar work and songwriting that’s melodic in a way that’s closer to the NWOBHM sound than anything else, but this differs a good bit in both songwriting and vocals. The compositions are more varied than before. This more diverse approach to songwriting leads to some first-rate guitar work from Steve and Russ, who are just as comfortable blazing away with thrash riffs as they are the kind of killer twin guitar work they’re known for, and every song has bushels of hooky, smoking riffs that rival the best of them. This is Pariah we are talking about and the material is strong enough to make “Unity” an entirely worthy comeback and a worthwhile listen. If you liked “Blaze of Obscurity”, you should get “Unity” as well!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hammerheart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":56710761546059,"sku":"R9205-3986","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_5680eeaa-3d1e-4304-86b5-31bd9563e6ab.jpg?v=1772809801"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/pariah-1.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}