Martyred Outlaw – Satan’s Circus

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I first heard about Martyred Outlaw through Live In Prequil’s Brian Hall when I was working on the review for their self-titled EP. And based on his comparison (as well as a couple others I had heard), the general description of this band has been that of an early Pantera and Metallica hybrid.

That is a high bar to set for a band, comparing it to two of the greatest metal bands of all time, but after one listen to Satan’s Circus, I found that comparison to be fairly accurate. Musically, if you were to combine Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power and mix it with Metallica’s …And Justice For All, you’d have an idea of what Martyred Outlaw sound like.

Martyred Outlaw are Drew Beacco on vocals, Gerrick Dastrup and Shaun Christensen on lead and rhythm guitar, J.D. on bass, and Brady Dastrup on drums. Together, these guys play well, but more than that, they’ve injected a killer sense of rhythm and groove into their songs – much like Pantera was known for. Singer Drew Beacco even sounds somewhat like Pantera’s Phil Anselmo with a slight hint of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson.

If you want to be a great heavy metal band, your songs have to be memorable, which requires more than just beating the listener to death with distortion and screams. The question is can you sound good doing it? Is there a melody underneath all of those things, and will anyone be able to hear it? If you listen to Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Slayer, you’ll find memorable rhythms in their songs, and Martyred Outlaw are no strangers to this concept.

Satan’s Circus is the sort of album that any true headbanger will absolutely love! Normally, as a critic, I’m supposed to nitpick one or two things about the album, but if there are flaws on this record, I cant find them. Everything that metal fans love is on this album. It has versatile vocals, rhythms that will rock your socks off, soaring guitar solos, pounding drums, and the songs are even mixed well.

Eight out of the ten tracks on this album – like ”Dirty Harry,” “New Kind of Hate,” and the title track “Satan’s Circus” – are total thrashers, but there are two on the lighter side, and I challenge you to not get “My Soul Moves On” stuck in your head. The song is catchy as hell, and I’ve had it stuck in my head for a week.

We have some killer metal bands in this area that can play their asses off, which is surprising considering this area doesn’t exactly scream thrash metal. If there are any other bands out there who feel they can compete with these guys, Aura Surreal and Live in Prequil, I’d be up for checking out your record. Get in touch with me through The Independent.

Martyred Outlaw are a fantastic band, and Satan’s Circus is a killer release that should be in the collection of every local metal fan, if not every metal fan period. Check them out online at

www.facebook.com/martyredoutlaw, go see their shows and make sure to buy their album!

Rating (Votes: 2 . Average: 5/5)

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