“We may not pay Satan reverence, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents.”
– Mark Twain

“The devil went down to [Brooklyn], he was looking for a soul to steal.”

Charlie Daniels, kinda

On the 30th day of April in the year of our dark lord 2026, a host of abominations held court in the den of iniquity known as TV Eye, upon the hallowed grounds of Queens, New York. Ok, that’s about as much of that as I can handle- here’s a review of a really dope cross-genre bill. Headlining this evening is Satanic Planet, the evil supergroup consisting of Lucien Greaves (co-founder of The Satanic Temple), Justin Pearson (The Locust, Swing Kids, Deaf Club, Three One G Records founder), Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido de la Frontera), and Dave Lombardo (motherfucking Slayer, Mr. Bungle, Misfits, Fantomas, Dead Cross).

Kicking off the night was comedian- yes, you read that right- Bailey Pope. A local legend and co-host of the music and comedy variety show Fun Gutter, the heavily inked Pope (no relation) is known for her dry wit and highly personal anecdotes. As someone who came up in the hardcore scene, Bailey was the perfect person to warm up the room with her commentary about being an aging metal fan and pointedly hilarious roasting of the other acts on the bill. Bailey’s new special AKA is out now and you absolutely must watch it.

The second act in this four-ring circus was real-life twins and Three One G Records darlings, Venus Twins. For the uninitiated, imagine a lanky twinky ball of fire with flame colored hair to match- and then double that. On stage left, we have Matt on a heavily affected, shifted, and distorted bass and frenetic shouted, screamed, and shrieked vocals. Over on stage right is his brother-from-the-same-mother, Jake, sitting behind a drumset that might have gone through the wash a few too many times (and then dragged behind their van on the way to the gig). The duo, originally from Denton TX, released their first Three One G supported EP ///// (Pronounced Stitching) in 2024 and are expected to follow it up soon with more of their Melt Banana/Hella/Lightning Bolt- inspired brand of chaos.’

 

As we were waiting for the third band to take the stage, with the velvet curtains drawn, the house music went quiet before a chorus of resistance was heard echoing from the PA:

“We’re told that after the war the Nazis vanished without a trace
But battalions of fascists still dream of a master race
The history books, they tell of their defeat in ’45”

As the acapella resistance song by the greatest anarchist musical collective of all time, Chumbawamba (yes, that Chumbawamba) played, the curtains parted to reveal Jenna Pup and Scott Esem in front of the iconic HIRS Collective wall of amps. As we all sang along to the final line “…and we’ll never rest again until every nazi dies”, the duo immediately tore into XOXOXOXOXOX, a collaboration with Melt Banana from their latest album We’re Still Here.

The Philly-based HIRS Collective is a rotating cast of characters brought together to put as much anti-fascist queer rage anthems into the world as possible. In the fifteen years they’ve been putting out music, they’ve delivered over fifty releases with hundreds of collaborators. Co-founders Pup and Esem remain the cornerstones of the project, with a live show that maintains the spirit of everyone who is a part of the collective despite having only two bodies on stage. The HIRS set weaves samples of classic 90’s and 00’s dance tracks between bangers such as “Assigned Cop At Birth”, “Judgment Night”, “We’re Still Here”, and the re-named “Trans Girl Got A Gun”, a continuous aural assault that only ends when all is said and done.

On a personal note, as a trans musician and artist, I need to say that HIRS Collective is more than just a band. HIRS embodies the punk ethos in the purest way possible- by leaving nothing unsaid, and never mincing words. Their music and advocacy is a direct statement of trans rage, declaring that we will not be silenced, and we will meet any threats towards our sisters and brothers with strength and violence to protect the queer community. Jenna will be the first to tell you that music saved her life just as her music has saved the lives of countless others.

At long last the main attraction took the stage. Taking the stage in Queens on this evening were the group’s founders, Lucien Greaves, Justin Pearson, and Luke Henshaw. Notably absent was drummer Dave Lombardo, who despite being a core member, has never played a live show with the group. Instead, we were treated to a duo of drummers in Kevin Avery (Retox, Planet B) and Scott Osment (Deaf Club, Glassing). The pentagram of performers donned black ceremonial robes, adding to the air of ritual on stage.

I can honestly say I never thought I would see Justin Pearson jumping on the DJ booth of TV Eye, screaming about the dark lord while the founder of The Satanic Temple preached a sermon of “As Above, So Below,” but the act was effective. The crowd swayed and danced and at various intervals bellowed their hails to the ruler of the underworld- it was pretty fucking sick. While the material was faithfully recreated, with Henshaw’s synths providing the droning and rumbling atmosphere along with the hypnotic drumming, not all of the elements translated well. Pearson and Greaves alternated between spoken incantations and shrieked vocals through heavily modulated microphones, the latter of the duo unable to penetrate the backing tracks very well.

A highlight of the Satanic Planet set was the appearance of the Dark Lord Herself. Halfway through the set, a bedazzled Lucifer appeared from the crowded masses with cinched corset and flowing cloak. Set against hypnotic trance-like music, the burlesque Beezlebub captivated the congregation with dips and twirls. At the end of the song she disappeared into the night, likely persuaded by Lucien and Justin’s chanting to “burn the church.”

While there have been various claims of The Satanic Temple’s founder not supporting LGBTQIA+ members, or taking too soft a stance on disavowing transphobic figures, the organization has repeatedly stated that they are dedicated to fighting for the rights for the queer community. In light of this, it was refreshing- and somewhat reassuring- to see the queer representation on this bill. In a time where the rights of queer people and birth-giving individuals are under attack, in addition to the advocacy of The Satanic Temple, we need queer celebration and rage on display as well. While there might be some kinks to work out on the technical side of the performance, Satanic Planet gave us an outlet to worship at the altar of rock, together as one, and the result was a beautifully queer satanic love-fest.

Satanic Planet announced that their sophomore release will be out next October, just in time for Halloween- so keep an ear out!

Buy Satanic Planet music and merch here:
https://threeoneg.com/artists/satanic-planet

Follow The Satanic Temple here:
https://thesatanictemple.com/

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ROBBY GRODIN
Follow their work here: 
Follow their Instagram: