The American Satan franchise consists of American supernatural-thrillers centered around a hard rock band; including one limitedtheatrical movie, a sequel television series, and studio albums released by the faux band from the franchise. The overall plot centers around a fictional band named The Relentless, who make a contract with a nefarious supernatural force in attempts to reach their dreams of fame. Created by Ash Avildsen, the events are based on supposed real-life experiences he's had in the music industry.
The 2017 movie received positive critical reception upon its release.[1] Despite its mild box office performance through its limited theatrical run,[2] Avildsen hopes the film will eventually be called a cult classic.[3] The sequel television series was similarly well received by critics and its viewers; with praise directed at its expansion with individual character development.[4][5]
Development
The franchise is based on true experiences that franchise creator Ash Avildsen experienced through his estranged relationship with his famous father John G. Avildsen, and his career as founder of Sumerian Records in the music industry. While the filmmaker has incorporated supernatural aspects to the story, he states that he believes similar occurrences in his life have "guided and misguided" his career as a record producer.[6][7] Avildsen initially wrote the premise for a scripted television series, but with similar music centered shows debuting he restructured the story to fit a feature film. Once the movie was released, he continued work on the television series which was released as a sequel continuation. Developed under the working title of "Paint It Black" from The Rolling Stones song of the same name, his friend Tom Zutaut convinced him to name the series after the Guns N' Roses song instead.[5]
During development of American Satan, contractual record label complications arose which made it so that Biersack could not perform lead vocals on any of the tracks being written for the fictional band, The Relentless. With intent for the band to be a part of the metalcore genre, similar in style to Avenged Sevenfold or Black Veil Brides, the lead singer of Palaye Royale named Remington Leith, was brought in to perform vocals on the songs instead.[8][9]
An emerging rock band made of members from the United States and England named The Relentless, drop out of the college education and move to California to follow their dreams in achieving stardom. Together they live in a van, while they travel to perform for their fans. When their passion exceeds the required means to survive, the band turns to a mysterious stranger named Mr. Capricorn, who claims to be a record producer. Their new manager claims to see their true potential, with promises to help them realize their goals, their journey in creating history through their music takes a dark turn. They soon discover that their music and controversy begins to influence society beyond anything natural in the history of music. As they begin to question whether Mr. Capricorn is something supernatural; increasingly more sinister than when they first met him, they decide to take their destiny back in their own hands before its too late, and before he realizes they are seeking to right their wrongs.[10][11][12][13]
Developed as a spin-off/continuation of the feature film, Paradise City details the continued adventures of the fictional band The Relentless. The plot follows the band as they continue to engage in controversial activities, and continue their ventures connected to occult rituals to maintain their fame. Through their stardom, each member is faced with events that cause friction within their ranks. As a new manager approaches them named Ms. Capricorn, they begin to question her true nature due to recurring situations that arise from their previous management. Through their struggles to maintain their familial relationship, the chaos of the industry causes some haunting events from their past to resurface. When a young teenager who idolizes them arrives to follow in their footsteps, the band's future intertwines with his hopes and dreams within the music business. As they discover their influence over him and the younger generation, they begin to realize the changes that they can make within society.[14][3]
In October 2021, following the positive reception, the series was renewed for a second season. Principal photography commenced in early 2022.[15][16]
Animation
In October 2017, Ash Avildsen announced plans to expand the franchise into an animated television show. The filmmaker stated that he hopes to create a fictional universe of interconnected media, centered around various fictional bands and rock stars.[17]
Released in 2017 by Sumerian Records, the American Satan film score was composed by Jonathan Davis from KoЯn, in collaboration with Nicholas O'Toole.[22][23][24][25] For the Paradise City, Isabella Summers from Florence + the Machine compose soundtrack score. In 2020, Sumerian Records released the first part of the soundtrack for the television series with the title of Paradise City – Season One Soundtrack (Vol. 1).[26][27][28]
Reception
For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.
