Review by Daniel for Paul Chain - Detaching From Satan (1984)
The Italians hadn’t made much of a blip on the doom radar up until 1984 with only a few extremely underground demos & singles from acts like theatrical horror metal personalities Death SS & the progressive rock inspired Black Hole seeing the light of day by that stage. But the Italian doom scene was about to get a firm shot in the arm with this little E.P. representing the most important & highly regarded Italian doom release of the 80’s.
The catalyst for this landmark came in 1979 when Death SS guitarist Paul Chain decided that he needed another avenue to express his heavier & more experimental & improvisational side so he formed a side project by the name of Paul Chain Violet Theatre which gave him something to do during the long breaks between activity with Death SS. The bands co-existed until 1984 when Chain decided to disband Death SS & this enabled him to focus all of his attention on recording his debut solo release; a four song EP entitled “Detaching From Satan”, which seems to be a reference to the fact that Chain had grown tired of the Satanic approach that his former band had taken with their lyrics & imagery & was a clear sign that he was looking for a change of direction.
Interestingly, the Violet Theatre featured appearances from several Death SS members so Paul wasn’t trying to distance himself from the band altogether but one of the most unique aspects of the record was the complete lack of traditional lyrics. It’d likely go straight over your head if you weren’t made aware of it but Paul is actually using a self-devised language of made-up sounds or phonetics in place of actual words & I find it be very effective. Perhaps it even makes it easier to make the vocals fit the music if you think about it because there’s no need to jam phrases in just to suit a lyrical storyline. But that’s not the only unusual element of “Detaching From Satan” as it’s just as ambitious from a musical point of view.
The production is very raw & lo-fi but strangely this seems to give the music an authenticity & charm that it might not have possessed otherwise & I actually think it enhances the overall package. The drums are very loud in the mix & the rhythm guitar sound has that dirty layer of distortion that early Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General & Hellhammer were known for while the bass guitar bubbles away in praise of Geezer Butler’s more bluesy early 70’s outings. Sometimes the recording seems to show signs that the master tape has decayed somewhat… again having a positive effect as it adds a further layer of mystique to the atmosphere; only increasing Paul’s underground metal credibility. There’s a distinctly 70’s feel throughout with lots of experimentation & a very live feel; particularly to the improvised lead work. There are lots of effects employed during the over-the-top Hendrix-inspired psychedelic guitar solos & the unhinged vocal arrangements & the regular use of choirs & church organs gives the record a noticeably gothic atmosphere.
Vocally, Paul sounds quite similar to Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant during most of this material with the obvious exception being the closing doom metal epic “17 Days” where he employs an approach that’s much more in line with gothic rock artists like Bauhaus. I really enjoy his performance which has a lot of character & is a nice foil for the consistent procession of ultra-heavy Black Sabbath riffage. The overall package is almost reminiscent of a 70’s D-grade horror film soundtrack at times but the strong sense of melody prevents it from completely alienating the listener. There are moments of unbridled evil & others which exude a more epic feel but despite the unusual & often quite morbid atmosphere, I don’t think “Detaching From Satan” is quite as whacked out as most people make out. Especially if you’re already well acquainted with the highly ambitious & experimental Italian progressive rock scene of the 1970’s. In fact, on more than one occasion I found myself feeling quite similar to the first time I heard Norwegian avant-garde metal outfit Ved Buens Ende……
Anyway… I’d encourage all fans of Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General & Pagan Altar to give this one a crack because it’s a great little record.