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artist: Satanic Warmaster
title: Exultation of Cruelty
year: 2024
genre: Black Metal
type: Album
label: Werewolf Records
language: English
rel. date: 2024-12-13
source: WEB/MP3
quality: CBR 320kbps / 44.1 kHz / Joint Stereo
runtime: 00:55:00
size: 132.21MB
rip date: 2024-12-21
source url: http://tidal.com/browse/album/405700912
tracklist:
1. Black Circle of Death 6:23
2. Harken the Bells of Damnation 7:24
3. As Blood Snarls a Macabre Silhouette 7:29
4. I Inhale the Cruelty of Winter's Breath 6:44
5. Lord of Blood and Darkness (Der Drachenprinz) 3:39
6. Exhale the Vapor of Starlit Tombs 9:07
7. Behold the Infernal Kingdom of Hell 4:58
8. A Dead Rose for a Dying World 9:16
release notes:
The prolific Satanic Warmaster has been a more-than-prominent force
within the fabled Finnish black metal scene - paving the way -
ever-astute in his knowledge of what constitutes the genuine BM
experience. Properly steeped in controversy and never flinching in his
Satanic worldview, mastermind Werwolf has been the voice for what is
so much more than a genre of music since the beginning: a mindset and
a life code. And for those of us who follow the pathway under the
Black Mark, Satanic WarmasterÆs music has been the thematic track to
our operation.
In 2022, Satanic Warmaster released ôAamongandrö, which is of a
masterclass, and the task of following up such an opus is no easy
feat, but one that IÆm sure Werwolf has tackled with zeal. Now, as the
annual turns its cursed page over to the year anew, SW has unveiled
its seventh full-length studio LP under the banner of Werewolf
Records.
In this new chapter, you can expect something a bit different - an
engineering reversion. However, the melodies are still racing, the
rhythms are swiftly galloping and the thunder echoes through storm
clouds that rain unholy blood into chalices of SatanÆs imbibing. True
Finnish black metal through and through. Few artists are doing it
better these days, and ôExultation of Crueltyö stands as an effigy of
what BM sounded and felt like many years ago, from its melodious
majesty down to its overtly wicked aesthetic and of course its gritty
production. ôHarken the Bells of Damnationö - ignited under
lightningÆs strike and then streamlining through gauntlets of scaling
riffs and driving blast-beats, while the following track, ôAs Blood
Snarls a Macabre Silhouetteö, conveys a slower mid-tempoÆd type of
savory vibe with soldierly rhythms and groovy passages accented by
ethereal overlays. When compared to Satanic WarmasterÆs previous
record, ôExultation of Crueltyö is a modest album, not quite raw, just
rougher around the edges.
Werwolf is not breaking any ground here, nor any barriers. ôExultation
of Crueltyö is a textbook Finnish black metal record - exactly what
those of us who may have been taken aback by the dynamics of
ôAamongandrö were hoping for. Personally, I wouldnÆt liked to have
seen Satanic Warmaster proceed further down evolutionÆs path, instead
of reverting back to a baser level of black metal. Definitely some
recorded-in-a-dingy-basement vibes here.
To embark on a most cruel journey and to behold the power of death so
ultimate are the themes here. A sound as decaying as our dying world:
rotten, decompositional and grimy. It irks meà To hear comprehensive
and explosive album cuts like ôBehold the Infernal Kingdom of Hellö
set to such a dry buzz. Oh what could have been. YouÆve got to be in
the mood for this one; an exclusive experience that harkens back to
the early æ90Æs way of doing things, and if youÆre anything like me,
youÆve grown weary of this particular approach. If I had a fucking
dollar for every black metal promo IÆve received that describes an
album as something out of the early second wave, I wouldnÆt be rich,
but IÆd be able to buy myself something real nice. DonÆt get me wrong,
I do appreciate stripped-down BM, but I feel like ôExultation of
Crueltyö is one of those ôhey look! IÆm still black metal as fuckö
efforts at redemption, even though thereÆs no need for reconciliation
whatsoever. Decent album, just nothing to write home aboutà