Satan are one of the better bands that came out of the NWOBHM and possibly one of those bands that really had a hand in inspiring the speed/thrash metal genres later on in the 80s. They have remained true to their inimitable style since they reunited a few years ago and they are seemingly on a streak, since they’ve delivered pretty awesomely both in the studio as well as on the stage, in recent times, without fail. Russ Tippins, the band’s main guy and one part of the dynamic guitar duo for Satan, along with Steve Ramsey of Skyclad, happily answers a bunch of questions about the band’s recent activities…
Satan are back with yet another superb album – not far too long after a live album, you seem to be more active these days than back in the days!
R: It’s true! We finally did what we should have done back in the day… make a great record with this line-up. Tour the world to promote it. Then stay together and make another great record. That doesn’t sound too difficult when I put it like that but maybe we just expected too much too soon when we were 20 years old. We really thought we’d be millionaires within months of “Court in the Act” being released. It didn’t happen and we panicked and changed everything. Now we are more patient and wise enough to know that the music is what really matters. We all have careers outside of the band, and we finally got to play all these wonderful locations across the globe that now have an underground metal scene in healthy numbers.
Really what caused the demise of the band back in the day and do you consider the bands that were created, following each “off” period as a continuation of Satan or as a completely separate entity?
R: I would say that Blind Fury was a separate entity as the singer Lou Taylor had much more control over the band’s sound and direction. It was more like four of us joining his project. With Pariah it was more a continuation of Satan because all that really changed was the band’s name. The music and the line-up carried on. It all stopped eventually because we’d been making music together for ten years without any tangible success. We were 26 years old and tired of living like teenagers. You know, a car would be nice, my own house to live in, but none of us could have those things without a job. And we couldn’t hold a job while playing with a touring band. We just wanted to start having a life.
You did manage to recreate the band with all the original members and even recapture the sound of the band in full flight... is that the reason why it took Satan so long to get back together and did the scaling back of Skyclad’s activities help in all that ?
R: The time had to be right. I don’t know how else to put it. And to be honest, the ‘re-union’ for Wacken 2011 was meant to last only for that show. As a thank you to fans that had been campaigning online for a Satan show. We just did not expect the intensity of the experience. It really knocked us off our feet and changed our attitudes about what might be possible. And yes, Skyclad were taking a break so there was time available to do more shows and even write music together. And Brian had been pushing for a Satan re-union for years.
Satan might not be as popular as they could have been but they are highly regarded as one of the progenitors of speed/thrash, a bit of an influential cult band and bands like Blind Guardian and others have covered some of your songs, to what do you attribute the endurance of your music?
R: I don’t know, it’s not for me to say. You want me to appraise my own music? That’s like asking a comic to explain his joke. The joke loses something in the process of explaining it. It’s no longer funny. All I would care to say is that since the beginning, and even now, I write the music that I would like to hear as a listener. But nobody else seems to be doing it. So the only solution is to create it myself. That’s my personal motivation. I can’t speak for the others.
Also what does the future hold for Satan? Are you happy just to be doing this on the level you are right now?
R: It’s not a bad level to be at. We actually make money doing this right now. And of course we are looking forward to touring the world again next year. But art needs to grow & progress. And it can’t be one sided. We are already working on ideas for future compositions. The more we give, the more we expect in return from fans. I do not want to be sitting here in two years in the same position. Keep moving or die.
There always seems to be a social “angle” on a lot of the lyrics, how do you come up with the topics of the songs – is it something predetermined – ie let’s do 3-4 songs in this vein etc… also congrats for doing something as “brilliant” as the “Fall of Persephone” is the song based on a movie ? The ancient myth just a cautionary tale you came up with and used some symbolisms to title?
R: Well thank you so much for saying! I think we all knew this song would be the one that people would talk about. Persephone was a mythological Queen/Goddess. The daughter of Zeus to be precise. The meaning of the song is perfectly clear in the lyrics. It is not about Persephone herself but an entity that is named after her. I know that fans like to figure out their own interpretations of lyrics and I think that’s how it should be. I don’t want to put spoilers out there before anyone has had a chance to even hear it. In general, we write about what we see happening around us in this world. There are certain injustices that need to be highlighted.
You seem to have made “the judge” a permanent fixture on the covers like some kind of a mascot… have you given it/him a name?
R: Haha, no name as such but yes, people all over the world seem to like it – especially now with Eliran Kantor drawing the cover art! I can’t even remember where the original idea came from. I have a horrible feeling that it could be something as random as the fact that we all liked “Court in the Act” as a title. There were three songs on that album that were about justice. Then, it would follow that a judge would make a good central character for the artwork.
When you were younger – who were your influences to become a musician and tell us a few of your favorite artists/bands recordings?
R: Personally, for me Jimmy Page. I’m still a massive fan. My favourite record of all time is “Led Zeppelin 1”. I don’t play like him at all though. When we were forming the band way back, it was based on the two guitar attack of Priest, Wishbone Ash etc. Other guitar players I also love for their panache are Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck & Ulrich Roth. With Steve it was always Tony Iommi, Angus Young & punky bands like The Damned.
What is your take on the internet these days is it a way to reach out to the fans or a bane that threatens the success of musicians in your opinion?
R: There are advantages and disadvantages. The only reason Satan is back together is because of the internet, the ground-swell of connectivity and nostalgia among the underground fans. It has built up over ten years and led to the point where now at a show, the audience age is mainly 25 and under. The disadvantage is that people can download our music for free. In general record sales are only a fraction of what they were in the 80s. Ever since CD became the main format, sales have declined. But vinyl is making a comeback. On our last US tour vinyls outsold CDs by 2 to 1 at the merch stand. For fans who want vinyl there is no substitute, they have to buy the product, so there is hope.
Are there any concerts planned to promote the release of the new album? You seem to have toured quite a bit as of late. Could we expect a Greek date? I mean both Skyclad and Blitzkrieg have been here so...
R: I would love to play in Greece. Steve and Graeme have told me it is a great atmosphere. The only problem is that unlike Skyclad, Satan is not so popular in Greece. We have had offers but only on a small scale. We would lose a lot of money to play in Greece.
Weird questions! If you were a God (or even Satan) for a week – what would you do?
R: Get Brian a new vest.
Which one of the seven deadly sins are you?
R: Muttony…
Who in the rock oe general music scene – deserves to be bitchslapped?
R: Ronald Reagan…
If you could “erase” one thing from modern music, what would be it?
R: Autotune and Protools…
If you could be someone else (man, woman, fictional character, historical figure) who would you chose to be and why?
R: Brigitte Bardot, then I could play with myself.
If your wife of g/f sold all your records to buy herself an expensive ring, what would have been your reaction?
R: Sell the ring for beer…
Please send out a message to our readers and the Greek fans in general?
R: Bear with us. Hopefully “Atom by Atom” will give us a bigger profile in Greece and we can finally come and play for you.
R: It’s true! We finally did what we should have done back in the day… make a great record with this line-up. Tour the world to promote it. Then stay together and make another great record. That doesn’t sound too difficult when I put it like that but maybe we just expected too much too soon when we were 20 years old. We really thought we’d be millionaires within months of “Court in the Act” being released. It didn’t happen and we panicked and changed everything. Now we are more patient and wise enough to know that the music is what really matters. We all have careers outside of the band, and we finally got to play all these wonderful locations across the globe that now have an underground metal scene in healthy numbers.
Really what caused the demise of the band back in the day and do you consider the bands that were created, following each “off” period as a continuation of Satan or as a completely separate entity?
R: I would say that Blind Fury was a separate entity as the singer Lou Taylor had much more control over the band’s sound and direction. It was more like four of us joining his project. With Pariah it was more a continuation of Satan because all that really changed was the band’s name. The music and the line-up carried on. It all stopped eventually because we’d been making music together for ten years without any tangible success. We were 26 years old and tired of living like teenagers. You know, a car would be nice, my own house to live in, but none of us could have those things without a job. And we couldn’t hold a job while playing with a touring band. We just wanted to start having a life.
You did manage to recreate the band with all the original members and even recapture the sound of the band in full flight... is that the reason why it took Satan so long to get back together and did the scaling back of Skyclad’s activities help in all that ?
R: The time had to be right. I don’t know how else to put it. And to be honest, the ‘re-union’ for Wacken 2011 was meant to last only for that show. As a thank you to fans that had been campaigning online for a Satan show. We just did not expect the intensity of the experience. It really knocked us off our feet and changed our attitudes about what might be possible. And yes, Skyclad were taking a break so there was time available to do more shows and even write music together. And Brian had been pushing for a Satan re-union for years.
Satan might not be as popular as they could have been but they are highly regarded as one of the progenitors of speed/thrash, a bit of an influential cult band and bands like Blind Guardian and others have covered some of your songs, to what do you attribute the endurance of your music?
R: I don’t know, it’s not for me to say. You want me to appraise my own music? That’s like asking a comic to explain his joke. The joke loses something in the process of explaining it. It’s no longer funny. All I would care to say is that since the beginning, and even now, I write the music that I would like to hear as a listener. But nobody else seems to be doing it. So the only solution is to create it myself. That’s my personal motivation. I can’t speak for the others.
Also what does the future hold for Satan? Are you happy just to be doing this on the level you are right now?
R: It’s not a bad level to be at. We actually make money doing this right now. And of course we are looking forward to touring the world again next year. But art needs to grow & progress. And it can’t be one sided. We are already working on ideas for future compositions. The more we give, the more we expect in return from fans. I do not want to be sitting here in two years in the same position. Keep moving or die.
There always seems to be a social “angle” on a lot of the lyrics, how do you come up with the topics of the songs – is it something predetermined – ie let’s do 3-4 songs in this vein etc… also congrats for doing something as “brilliant” as the “Fall of Persephone” is the song based on a movie ? The ancient myth just a cautionary tale you came up with and used some symbolisms to title?
R: Well thank you so much for saying! I think we all knew this song would be the one that people would talk about. Persephone was a mythological Queen/Goddess. The daughter of Zeus to be precise. The meaning of the song is perfectly clear in the lyrics. It is not about Persephone herself but an entity that is named after her. I know that fans like to figure out their own interpretations of lyrics and I think that’s how it should be. I don’t want to put spoilers out there before anyone has had a chance to even hear it. In general, we write about what we see happening around us in this world. There are certain injustices that need to be highlighted.
You seem to have made “the judge” a permanent fixture on the covers like some kind of a mascot… have you given it/him a name?
R: Haha, no name as such but yes, people all over the world seem to like it – especially now with Eliran Kantor drawing the cover art! I can’t even remember where the original idea came from. I have a horrible feeling that it could be something as random as the fact that we all liked “Court in the Act” as a title. There were three songs on that album that were about justice. Then, it would follow that a judge would make a good central character for the artwork.
When you were younger – who were your influences to become a musician and tell us a few of your favorite artists/bands recordings?
R: Personally, for me Jimmy Page. I’m still a massive fan. My favourite record of all time is “Led Zeppelin 1”. I don’t play like him at all though. When we were forming the band way back, it was based on the two guitar attack of Priest, Wishbone Ash etc. Other guitar players I also love for their panache are Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck & Ulrich Roth. With Steve it was always Tony Iommi, Angus Young & punky bands like The Damned.
What is your take on the internet these days is it a way to reach out to the fans or a bane that threatens the success of musicians in your opinion?
R: There are advantages and disadvantages. The only reason Satan is back together is because of the internet, the ground-swell of connectivity and nostalgia among the underground fans. It has built up over ten years and led to the point where now at a show, the audience age is mainly 25 and under. The disadvantage is that people can download our music for free. In general record sales are only a fraction of what they were in the 80s. Ever since CD became the main format, sales have declined. But vinyl is making a comeback. On our last US tour vinyls outsold CDs by 2 to 1 at the merch stand. For fans who want vinyl there is no substitute, they have to buy the product, so there is hope.
Are there any concerts planned to promote the release of the new album? You seem to have toured quite a bit as of late. Could we expect a Greek date? I mean both Skyclad and Blitzkrieg have been here so...
R: I would love to play in Greece. Steve and Graeme have told me it is a great atmosphere. The only problem is that unlike Skyclad, Satan is not so popular in Greece. We have had offers but only on a small scale. We would lose a lot of money to play in Greece.
Weird questions! If you were a God (or even Satan) for a week – what would you do?
R: Get Brian a new vest.
Which one of the seven deadly sins are you?
R: Muttony…
Who in the rock oe general music scene – deserves to be bitchslapped?
R: Ronald Reagan…
If you could “erase” one thing from modern music, what would be it?
R: Autotune and Protools…
If you could be someone else (man, woman, fictional character, historical figure) who would you chose to be and why?
R: Brigitte Bardot, then I could play with myself.
If your wife of g/f sold all your records to buy herself an expensive ring, what would have been your reaction?
R: Sell the ring for beer…
Please send out a message to our readers and the Greek fans in general?
R: Bear with us. Hopefully “Atom by Atom” will give us a bigger profile in Greece and we can finally come and play for you.