Satanic Blood

"Satanic Blood" is the audial equivalent of a new born being sacrificed during a black rite. It's visceral, hard to bare witness to, and simply evil. Whether the members of Von took its existence seriously or not, clearly they functioned as a collective medium for something otherworldly. Indeed, while other records exist that are akin to this, there's something about "Satanic Blood" that makes the listener (if they're giving it their whole-hearted attention) feel uneasy.

For some, the near constant snare/kick blasting gets to be monotonous (apart from the slow and gloriously atmospheric "Veadtuck"), but for the more open minded, the relentless pounding has a hypnotic effect, adding to its black magical quality.

Another point of interest here is that other bands of this ilk, I think, tend to be more chaotic. While Von, as a band, are actually pretty tight, further enhancing the feeling of a collective unit that is subjecting you to something intense and unholy.

And speaking of unholy, the lyrics are about as cryptically phrased and violent as it gets. Truly dark stuff.

This is one of those records that people either worship or loathe. I, for one, worship at the blood soaked altar of Von.