Record Label: Self-Released
Genre: Ska/Punk/Metal

Holy Hell!!! It’s been waaaaaay too long since there has been new music from the Mephiskapheles. Their last album “Might-Ay White-Ay” hit the record store shelves back in 1999 when things like record stores still existed.

This six song EP (aptly priced at $6.66 for the digital album on the bands’ Bandcamp page) is self-titled and self-released. Also, the first 666 copies of the vinyl release are on a black and red splatter vinyl. It’s good to see that the band hasn’t let their evil ways behind them. The Dark Lord would be proud.

With the mention of “Might-Ay White-Ay”, that is definitely where this album picks up from. Where “God Bless Satan” and “Maximum Perversion” where heavily influenced by two tone ska and jazz, “Might-Ay White-Ay” was a metal-core/ska fusion album and a heavy departure from their earlier sounds. This EP manages to blend the metal influences well with a heavier ska-core sound. In one instance you’ll have a guitar solo that melts your face off and the next second there is an upbeat, bouncy ska part. There are also some decisively metal with horns songs (“Snakes in the Garden) and some straight up third wave songs (“Friends Like You”) to keep things interesting.

Although this is only a six song EP, it gives me hope for new music and more shows on the road for the Mephiskapheles. This self-titled release is exactly what I have hoped for after the long hiatus of these purveyors of Satanic ska/metal. While it seemed like I was the minority at the time, I’ve always enjoyed the new sound that the band developed before their split in the late 90s and I’m glad that it is what they’re sticking with going forward. Here’s to 666 more years of Satanic ska and menacing metal!

Bottom Line: Picking up where they left off with “Might-Ay White-Ay”, this self-titled EP splits its time between shredding your flesh off and skanking your ass off. Thank the Lord of Darkness for sending his minions back to the Earth realm!
Notable Tracks: Satan Stole My Weed, Hell On Earth, Friends Like You, Any Fool
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