Customer Reviews

Satan Takes A Holiday

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Come on along, Charon awaits us! Let us board the boat, & take this satanic holiday. We shall take a tour of the many interesting & entertaining dimensions of the devil's realm. We travel through time, & witness the wailing & joyful souls, floating & echoing, & haunting about us, beckoning our souls to dance upon the black flames.

As with all of his previous works {Strange Music & The Satanic Mass}, Anton LaVey performs musickal rituals that brings the infernal trinity of emotion ----- wrath, lust, & compassion, unto manifestation.

These tunes are a rare treat, as they come straight from sincere, heartfelt emotion, which may now be considered "corny" by the increasingly desensitized & jaded populace.

We are delighted by the impishly playful "Satan Takes A Holiday", which I also recall as being the theme musick for one Lawrence Welke Halloween show, in which two devils danced effervescently upon the earth, deep into the night, as the town's people cowered in their homes. The vocal track of same features Blanche Barton, as well as "Blue Prelude", another one of these suicide songs, like Gloomy Sunday {Stange Music}, which relieved many a wretch from their misery.

Nick Bougas lends his exceptional vocal talents to several selections herein. He has a bright future in the past. I was delighted to hear the theremin used within in couple of pieces, that "spookaphone" used in many of the classic horror & science-fiction movies. It was invented in the early 1920's by Russian physicist Leo Theremin. The theremin could be called the father of modern-day synthesizers. It basically resembles a small table {or box} with an antenna that tunes in to the ethers. The pitches of the vibrating tones are operated the player, who moves his hands in the proximity of the antenna. The closer one gets, the higher the pitch. The farther, the lower. Waving the hand controls the vibrato.

So, the theremin, along with other not-so-much heard instruments, comprise much of the opus. All pulled out of Dr. LaVey's memories, & recreated back perfectly into reality. All of these songs will evoke something from you, whether it be because of the lyricks, the musick, or both. To many who are soley steeped in Death Metal, this misick will be a revelation, a veritable awakeinig of other unexercised senses. I have found, that with an eclectic mix of musickal styles, can, like a glass of fine wine between servings of a fine meal, rejuvinate the pallet, & stimulate a more profound recognition & appreciation of all expressions of Satanic sentiment. The contrasts are most engaging!

Every song, no matter how jovial, sounds eerie, thus keeping with the theme of the Infernal Majesty taking a vacation for a little while. If Satan took a break, went on a cruise, travelled about for pleasure, instead of some "job" of being constantly "evil", this is probably what it would sound like, translated through the creative mind & talented hands of His High Priest, & Our Black Pope, Anton LaVey.

All the way through, until the morbidly majestic "Satanis Theme", Satan Takes A Holiday will always prove to be a most memorable trip.

A few reviewers have labeled this album as being unpleasant, untalented, pretentious, etc. I wonder if they have even listened to it. It is obvious by reading the emotion in their reviews that many of them have some sort of hang-up about LaVey personally, and are downplaying everything he does.
Mr. Lavey's work on this album is unrivaled. He adds an element to these songs which makes them quite special. His playing is magnificent, truly a talented person. Some of the effects on this recording sound sub-par, but the music itself is very nice. These songs really grow on you. It's a good album to listen to when you want to hear something different. I suggest you throw all preconceptions about LaVey out the window, and truly enjoy this album.

"Even the Devil needs a little revitalizing recreation now and again. Anton LaVey here applies his kaleidoscopic vision to conjure forth occult musical treasures, sending them out into the ethers, to haunt and delight us. With his background in classical, burlesque, circus, and roadhouse styles of playing, LaVey uses modern synthesizer technology for illegal purposes- to evoke feelings. Every number LaVey plays - from Sousa march to child's lullaby- is carefully chosen as a potent brew of major and minor chords, lyricism and prosody, then supercharged to it's most lusty interpretation. All of the instruments on this recording are played by LaVey on his keyboards, performed without the benefit of computer sequencing. Satan has little use for digitalized downloading or pixilated processing. The murky, deathless halls of Tartarus resound with songs of suicide, strained gaiety, and unreserved romance. Dim the lights, settle back and let His Infernal Majesty take you on a holiday tour of His world...."

..this isn't at all what I was expecting, but it is a surprisingly enjoyable CD. The reviewer who said it's "a bizzare love dementia" is right. It's a devilish delight.

I'm not a Satanist and I'm not a follower of LaVey. I was looking for "Death Takes A Holiday" on the net and saw this CD. I checked to see if Amazon had it and heard the audio clips. I'm very tempted to pick this CD up. It's far too easy to nit-pick a CD like this, but it's obvious that the songs and playing on this disc are a labor of love, I love the songs (what I've heard of them) too, and I'd enjoy singing or humming along. I love what I've heard and I'm truly tempted to order it.

That it sounds for the most part like a the soundtrack to a carnival funhouse is intentional, I guess - - especially given the title and song selection. But given also the ominous cover photo (imagine seeing that face pop up in a Halloween spookhouse) and who Anton La Vey was, well hey. The portentious proves pretentious. Satan's a fibber after all, it seems. This is the baddest He can be?

This is an extremely unusual recording, but it contains some excellent music. From fairground tunes to lullabies, Anton LaVey, Blanche Barton, and Nick Bougas sing and play music using the theramin, pipe organ, piano, oboe, pipe organ and band organ. You've never heard anything like this!

A thrilling blend of carnival misanthropy and burlesqe mischief,wanton night-club renderings and dirges. To any who dare walk the left handed path I need say no more.This is not "popular music" so any simple-minded drones beforewarned......

Anton LaVey, Founder of The Church of Satan and lover of music that has been forgotten. He and some colleagues recorded this album to share with the world music that has been forgotten, therefore truely "Occult". The music on this disc is evocative, it takes the listener back to a time when music had harmony and told a story that all could understand, enjoy, and sometimes cry to (especially, "Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land"). Highly Recommended!!

when i bought the album 'satan takes a holiday' i expected to experience the frightening torture of punishing flames and pitchforks. i was instead greeted with an warm embrace of pseudo-classic bridge party tunes. much to my suprise i actually found myself tapping my foot along with some of these songs. the instrumentation is enchantingly shrill and carnival-esque. an occasional vocal from lavey brought a smile to my lips. his style is very original and dark in it's own special way. all in all i believe this album is the result of years upon years of emotional anguish. you be the judge. purchase 'satan takes a holiday' right now! it's a bizarre love dementia.