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/:: 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 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ 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. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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__\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__
\\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO///
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