Fido – What if Satan’s the Good Guy? (Album Review)

Today’s review features Fido’s new album, What If Satan’s The Good Guy?. This bold progressive rock album explores themes like “faith, suffering, morality, and the darker aspects of human nature.” The band says, “This album is for fans who crave rock with intelligent lyrics, powerful social commentary, and emotional depth.”

Fido is …
Amy Owen, lead vocals,
Julian Lloyd, guitar and bass, and
Matt Chambers, percussion and second vocals

The band draws its sonic inspiration from bands like Tool, Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, and System of a Down.

So let’s have a listen …

The band sent us a link to a YouTube playlist of 15 songs for the album. Some of the videos are less than 2 weeks old and some are a year old. I guess congratulations are in order for finally getting all the songs finished! Each song comes with its own live-action video. Click the YouTube link.

The album starts with the song “Vis Majeure” which translates loosely as Superior Irresistible Force – These events are typically unforeseeable and beyond the control of the party, making performance impossible or impractical.” The band asks the audience, “Was all that was made, good?”

The song starts with the sound of the universe and the big bang. A narrator with a deep voice is asking us “was all that is made, good?” A simple riff that sounds like Tool enters with film of atomic bombs.

The next song on the album is “Innocence”. The band teases as “the greatest crime?” This song has the first female vocal on the album. Some nice arpeggiated guitar playing. Very clean and lots of reverb. Then the main chord riff and vocals enter. Followed by a screeching hot guitar solo. I really like the female vocalist. The video has images of people and love. I love how the song ends in a lullaby.

The third song on the album is “The Banality of Evil Part 1”. The lyrics and the video are filled with imagery of serial killers, over a trippy instrumental bed. Followed by images of priests from the Catholic sex abuse scandal.

“The Awakening” is the fourth song on the album. The first true guitar riff on the album kicks off this song. The song is about passion and desire. The video is all about imagery of sexual encounters. See me, Feel me, Dance with me. This song “explores the sexual maturing process and the guilt that often arises from societal teachings that portray sex as something shameful or dirty. With powerful riffs and bold lyrics, this song dissects how society’s perception of sex shapes our feelings of guilt and repression, and how we navigate the awakening of our own desires in a world that shames natural sexual exploration.” Best song on the album so far. The song has a cool ending with a deep male vocalist saying “do what I say, not what I do” over a fiery guitar riff, then bang back to the chorus with the female singer.

The fifth song on the album is “Really?” This song is “a fearless rock track that takes a sharp look at some of the Bible’s most questionable stories, from Noah’s Ark to the feeding of the 5,000. But the message doesn’t stop there—it also shines a light on greedy billionaires, their role in the climate crisis, and the blind faith that keeps them untouchable.” Very nice sounding guitar riff at the heart of this song. I really like the female vocals and the heavier edge of her voice in this song. Nice guitar solo in this one. The video ends with a film clip of Moses parting the Red Sea from the Ten Commandments.

“Interregnum” is the sixth song on the album. The band describes this video as “an instrumental piece that acts as a musical break in an album.” Some nice guitar riffage. Video is filled with beautiful landscapes.

The next song is “Sky Magician”. ?If there’s a higher power, why does he stay silent? “Sky Magician” is a hard-hitting rock anthem that confronts the terrible tragedies of our world—war, famine, suffering—and asks why God does nothing. With its intense riffs, haunting melodies, and fearless lyrics, this track challenges blind faith and the idea of a benevolent higher power.” Sky Magician, Superstition. The video is filled with images of God offset against images of poverty and famine. Asking the deeper social question of why bad things happen to good people? I really love the female rap vocal at the end of the song, very nice flow. The song ends with the classic Warner Brothers cartoon Elmer Fudd saying “that’s all folks!”

The eighth song on the album is “Waiting for God-oh”. The band playfully teases “a religion that discriminates, surely not?” The video starts with images of LGBTQ couples. I really like the guitar chord arrangement in this song. Then the heavy guitars enter. “She and she, he and he”. The song breaks into a big chorus followed by a heavy, rage-filled epic guitar solo. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here”. The video ends with an interview with a priest about same-sex marriage and discriminating against the LGBTQ community.

The ninth song on the album is “Atheist in a Foxhole”. The song starts with a lovely guitar riff and vocal riff. “Sons and mothers, going to kill their brothers, soon to die, but why?”. This war is killing me! – great line. The video is filled with images of war, asking Where is God in the midst of war?

Song number 10 is titled “I’ve Stopped Talking to God – a Holocaust Survivor’s story” The video kicks off with images of trains taking Jews to the holocaust camps and with an old lady talking about the holocaust over an interesting arpeggiated guitar riff. The song has a very pensive sound for it’s long intro, but then a vocal chorus kicks in, which gets heavier as it goes – “I’ve stopped talking to God!” Into a nice counter-intuitive bridge. This song just gets heavier as it goes along. Ends with a holocaust survivor saying “I think he owes us an explanation.”

The next song on the album is “Invaders Parts 1 and 2” which the band describes as “Consumed by Greed and then Disease.” This song does sound like System of a Down, only with a female vocalist. “What if your greatest success led to your greatest downfall? ‘Invaders’ is a gripping alternative rock track that explores the brutal cycle of illness, remission, and relapse through the eyes of a man who has built his life on greed and financial power. As his body betrays him, he begins to question whether his suffering is mere fate—or a form of punishment.” Some heavy guitar riffage in this song. Nice! The song stops in the middle to the sound of an EKG, then picks up with a satanic sounding guitar riff. My favorite song on the album so far.

The twelfth song on the album “Empty Chairs” starts with a lovely arpeggiated guitar riff. This is a song about remembering the love of the ones who have gone before us. The video is about missing the dead. Filled with images of longing, pain, and remembrance, … and hope.

Song number 13 is “Shoot the Messenger” which the band teases “When Incel Rage Turns Deadly”. The video starts off with images of computer hackers. “A chilling look into the dark corners of online radicalisation, Shoot the Messenger tells the story of a young man who is socially isolated, vulnerable and consumed by self-loathing. Labelled an ‘Incel’ – Involuntary Celibate – he is easily manipulated by bad actors online, developing a hatred for society and his political masters. He embraces the belief that violence is the answer—culminating in an assassination attempt on a prominent right-wing politician. But in the end, he becomes just another pawn in a larger game, silenced before he can even understand the full weight of his actions.” Very heavy guitar riffs in this one. Nice! This song does remind me of Tool, only with a female vocalist with the same timbre to her voice. The video morphs into gun and violence imagery. The incel rage has turned deadly. Ends nicely with the Tool like intro riff.

The fourteenth song on the album is “Rapture” “on the End of the Universe & The Big Crunch” for which the band asks “is this is how it all ends?” This is an instrumental song with some heavy riffage. The video starts with images of monkeys getting in and out of a tree, followed by a video of the continents morphing shapes, then a video of planets and volcanoes. “With its intense fuzz driven guitar riff, this instrumental track captures the cosmic devastation of the universe’s final moments.”

The final song on the album is “Nothing to see here, just listen”. Very heavy mix of female vocals singing “we are the chosen few.” I love when the chorus kicks in this song. Very interesting vocal melody. But too short. I wish the band had made this song longer, with more instrumentation.

SCORE/Outstanding: From the first System of a Down-inspired Middle Eastern riff that kicks off the album, to the compelling vocal rhythms of the final song, this is surely what the music industry means when we say “epic!” This video album is full of interesting imagery – both in the videos and lyrics. The whole package is very compelling and will keep both your eyes and ears interested from start to finish. The combination of the heavy guitar riffage and powerful female vocals truly set this album apart from the merely ordinary. Have a listen and watch the videos, I think you’ll agree this record is Outstanding! Much love, Beth

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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