David Halbe 
Lyrically is where this band shines. A throwback to the ‘70s film, the satanic verses are full of characters like Bogenhagen, Damien Thorn, The Antichrist and of course Satan.
As I get older my collection of heavy metal music seemingly gets bigger as I continue to hunt down the music that I missed when I was growing up.
Case in point, Damien Breed was a thrash metal act from Germany established back in 1989. The band released their debut album, Ave Satani, back in 1993 then changed their name to Seelenwinter sometime in 1994.
I’ve always wanted to own a copy of Ave Satani because I’m a huge fan of The Omen and my favorite film in the series has always been Damien – Omen II (1978).
I love the opening sequence shot in Israel, when the famed archaeologist, Carl Bugenhagen, takes a fellow archaeologist to see a mural called ‘Yigael’s Wall‘, which was said to have been drawn by a monk who had visions of the Antichrist as he would appear from birth to adulthood. The portrait of the antichrist as a child is what Damien Breed used as an album cover for Ave Satani.
I dreamed of owning the album. Assuming it would incorporate the Omen’s theme song “Ave Satani”, composed by Jerry Goldsmith. A foreboding score for which he received the only Oscar of his career.
I had no idea tracking down a thrash album from 1993 was going to be difficult, but my search proved to be so elusive I felt as if the Prince Of Darkness himself was keeping me from owning this release. I’ve often wondered if it’s because that style of metal had fallen out of favor in the early ‘90s.
When I think of pinnacle metal albums released in 1993 aside from Sepultura‘s Chaos A.D., it’s not thrash metal that comes to mind.
In my mind, thrash metal ended with the Clash Of The Titans (1991) tour. Thrash’s metal pinnacle achievement was that unlikely stadium run.
After that we all got heavily into death metal. Bands like Carcass‘s death metal masterpiece, the infamous Heartwork.
Or Death‘s classic release Individual Thought Patterns. Both records were constantly in my tape deck.
Having just arrived at the University of Illinois to start my collegiate career, groups like the industrial metal masters known as Nine Inch Nails (The Downward Spiral – 1994).
Or even the gothic metal delivery of Type O Negative (Bloody Kisses – 1993). Both groups dominated the local radio stations on campus. There wasn’t any room for thrash until it’s revival in the mid-2000s.
That being said, I finally managed to track down a copy of Ave Satani a couple of weeks ago and I’m sorry to admit, it doesn’t live up to the hype. The album is sadly no more than average but holds some memorable nuances. The riffing is decent, but not as powerful as it might have been if the band had fully concentrated on the horror thrash concepts they were exploring. Lyrically is where this band shines. A throwback to the ‘70s film, the satanic verses are full of characters like Bogenhagen, Damien Thorn, The Antichrist and of course Satan. Highlight Tracks for me are: “The Warning of the Priest”, “The Sign” and “(It’s Time Damien) The Revelation”.
If you like mid-tempo thrash concept albums about the Devil, Ave Satani is definitely for you. The beast has no brother and apparently, he has no follow up effort aside from the Seelenwinter EP released in 1994 just before the band changed their name.
Damien Breed will undoubtedly survive as an evil footnote in the annals of horror metal. Check out this obscurity and re-live the rise of the antichrist known to the world as Damien Thorn! \m/
DAMIEN BREED is:
- Dirk Grabow – Guitars
- Holger Berndt – Drums
- Olaf Schultz – Vocals, Guitars
- Frank Bohnes – Bass
