_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Satanic Warmaster ::\ :: Album :: Exultation of Cruelty :: :: Year :: 2024 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Werewolf Records R.date :: 2025-08-05 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: EVIL-XUL S.date :: 2024-12-13 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 271kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 235.67MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: Disc 1 / 2 :: :: :: :: 1. Black Circle of Death 6:25 :: :: 2. Harken the Bells of Damnation 7:26 :: :: 3. As Blood Snarls a Macabre Silhouette 7:29 :: :: 4. Inhale the Cruelty of Winter's Breath 6:45 :: :: 5. Lord of Blood and Darkness (Der Drachenprinz) 3:39 :: :: 6. Exhale the Vapor of Starlit Tombs 9:08 :: :: 7. Behold the Infernal Kingdom of Hell 5:00 :: :: 8. A Dead Rose for a Dying World 9:16 :: :: :: :: :: :: Disc 2 / 2 (Raw Version) :: :: :: :: 1. Behold the Infernal Kingdom of Hell 4:56 :: :: 2. I Inhale the Cruelty of Winter's Breath 6:46 :: :: 3. As Blood Snarls a Macabre Silhouette 7:28 :: :: 4. Der Drachenprinz 3:44 :: :: 5. A Black Circle of Death 6:18 :: :: 6. Exhale the Vapor of Starlit Tombs 9:01 :: :: 7. Harken the Bells of Damnation 7:28 :: :: 8. Orkreich 9:33 :: :: 9. Burning the Holy Temple 5:36 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 115:58 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: Werwolf is the dude who runs the Finnish project Satanic :: :: Warmaster and I hope he allows me to start with some words for :: :: a legendary Norwegian artist. Dear Fenriz, ôOld Starö, when :: :: will you realize that you can send ôEternal Hailsö to an :: :: ôAstral Fortressö that ôBeckons Us Allö as many and as long as :: :: you like û your most influential masterpieces are the works :: :: from ôAblaze in the Northern Skyö (I donÆt like it very much, :: :: but thatÆs another story) to ôTransilvanian Hungerö? Especially :: :: the latter has inspired legions of following artists and :: :: Werwolf is one of them. So letÆs open the curtain to his cosy :: :: living room (see artwork) and listen what the (war-)master has :: :: done. :: :: :: :: Right from the start, Werwolf leaves no doubt that he loves to :: :: create bitter and grim sounds. He picks up and continues the :: :: aesthetics of Darkthrones Transylvanian experience. The strict :: :: and diabolic opener defines the direction. This piece and :: :: ôHarken the Bells of Damnationö present the first highlights of :: :: the album. Of course, one can discuss the overdose of keywords :: :: in the titles of the songs (ôI Inhale the Cruelty of WinterÆs :: :: Breathö or ôBehold the Infernal Kingdom of Hellö), but one :: :: cannot debate about the quality of the linear tracks. They take :: :: a straight road while reflecting the (positive) stubbornness of :: :: the artist. Breaks are useless, one can vary the genre-typical :: :: melody lines by one semitone and thatÆs it, right? Even tempo :: :: changes do not affect the character of the songs. But despite :: :: this comparatively one-dimensional approach, I cannot confirm a :: :: lack of excitement. This form of utterly malicious black metal :: :: just never gets stale. Yes, Werwolf does not score with :: :: innovate or highly creative material, but he acts competently :: :: and does not copy the lines or riffs of other formations. It :: :: sounds similar and familiar, of course, but he has not produced :: :: a slavish imitation. And, by the way, he stays true to himself. :: :: :: :: While the fantastic ôI Inhale the Cruelty of WinterÆs Breathö :: :: lives up to its name with full force, the shortest track ôLord :: :: of Blood and Darkness (Der Drachenprinz)ö seems to be the :: :: soundtrack for a long hike through the autumnal Finnish :: :: forests. The keyboards sets its first and impressive :: :: exclamation mark in this instrumental and it gets obvious that :: :: WerwolfÆs constantly vicious vocals have a significant :: :: influence on the character of the other songs. Anyway, the :: :: relaxing and majestic of ôLord of Bloodàö remains an exception. :: :: In many moments, ôExultation of Crueltyö harkens back to cult :: :: albums such as ôPure Holocaustö and while doing so, Satanic :: :: Warmaster give us the pleasant feeling to listen to honest :: :: black metal without any modern bullshit. Even the production :: :: does not sound like a new one from 2024. It just offers dense :: :: guitars and the devilish voice. By contrast, the drums have to :: :: struggle in order to be heard somewhere in the background, the :: :: bass is probably there, but no one knows where. Who cares? :: :: ôExultation of Crueltyö is an amazing work with seven tracks :: :: which exude the bestial odour of true or even trve (haha) black :: :: metal from every poreà too bad that an eighth track is :: :: following. The closer is not just the closer, it marks the one :: :: and only downer at the same time. Its acoustic intro flows into :: :: boring, slowly moving lines. This piece is not just much too :: :: long, it also lacks substance. Werwolf should have stopped :: :: after the first 46 minutes. :: :: :: :: But the good news is that the closer does not mark the end of :: :: this release. The double CD version offers a raw mix of the :: :: original work with a slightly different track list and here ôA :: :: Dead Rose for a Dying Worldö is missing. Coincidence, intention :: :: or miracle? Either way, the two exclusive songs of the raw :: :: version should have been taken on the regular edition as well. :: :: ôBurning the Holy Templeö is an instrumental with sporadic, :: :: gloomy keyboard lines. Its mid-tempo sections remind me of :: :: BathoryÆs ôIn Nomine Satanasö, but the rapid mid-part tells a :: :: more aggressive story. ôOrkreichö is a trip to the dungeon :: :: where the synthesizers await artists who love to play primitive :: :: melody lines. It starts very medieval and a bit boring, but it :: :: is able to develop its full aroma the longer it lasts. This :: :: would have been the better closer for the original album. Apart :: :: from the different track lists, I donÆt really see a reason for :: :: the second CD. It is ten percent rawer, if at all. But okay, it :: :: also does not do any harm to a release I can recommend to :: :: everybody who loves to feel the force of primordial black metal :: :: again and again. I just do not know if Fenriz still belongs to :: :: this group of music consumers. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :