Critic's Review
Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Much of Satan Is Real's reputation stems from its cover, a bizarre photo depicting the Louvins -- awkwardly posed and in gleaming white suits -- standing amid the flames of hellfire, a 12-foot-tall plywood Lucifer looming behind them. The jacket is so notorious, in fact, that it merited inclusion in the second volume of the Incredibly Strange Music book series. It's a shame the album has acquired such a high kitsch quotient, because in reality Satan Is Real is one of the Louvins' finest and most impassioned recordings. The duo's second all-gospel LP, its songs -- most of them originals -- explore the brothers' deeply held beliefs without pulling any punches. The title track, in which Ira preaches that any acknowledgment of a higher power demands a similar nod to the reality of darker forces, sets a haunting tone which carries throughout the course of the set; from "The Christian Life" (later covered by the Byrds on their country-rock landmark Sweetheart of the Rodeo) to the stinging "Are You Afraid to Die," these tales of death, sin, and despair resonate with raw power and stark beauty.
