Saint Vitus | ‘Blessed Night’ 7″

Everyone’s favourite band of misfits are back, and for this stopgap release it’s seven inches of pure Vitus.

Of course they’re a veritable Doom institution. Yet this is the band who’ve told stories of how hostile the punk audiences – who they’d played to around L.A. – were to them at the beginning. How they “…got trashed, spat on, everything else, but then after a while, the same people that were doing that were on our side.”

That resilence in the face of such hostility has stood them in good stead with punks and metallers. It also seems to have shaped their convictions over their music. They knew what you needed, even if you didn’t know.

‘Blessed Night’ kicks off with nearly twenty seconds of feedback, before Dave Chandler comes in with a groovy uptempo riff.

Wino has venom in his voice as he sings about heeding “…the message of the star.” Mark Adams and Henry Vasquez hold the beat perfectly (Vasquez does a sterling job of replacing the late Armando Acosta). Four minutes of headbanging material. It’s strange to discover that this will be the closer to the new album, as it sounds like an opener.

The B side, a live version of ‘Look Behind You’ starts off with Wino trying to remember whether it ended up on an actual album (‘Thirsty and Miserable’ EP. Get it if you don’t have it already.) and kicks into a solid, if somewhat unspectactular version of the song.

I do have to note my disappointment at the cover. While Vitus were never renowned for their visuals, this is bad. Photoshopped crap. What’s wrong with having four hungover longhairs standing around a cross? At least it would look like a bit of effort was made.

With it costing around £12, you’re better off waiting for the album. However, it is a reminder of how vital Saint Vitus are. Welcome back lads.

3.9 / 5 – Christopher Owens ::: 15/02/12