Review by Felix on July 15, 2026.

The proverb says it is easier to become a father than to be one. I agree. But in terms of (black) metal legends, it is exactly the opposite. Listen to the debut of Tsjuder, a band which reached its legendary status with “Desert Northern Hell”, and you will find out that the songs do not lack grimness, wickedness or narrow-mindedness. But in terms of their quality, they stand in the shadow of the later classics of the Norwegians. Maybe it is just a matter of taste, because Tsjuder avoid big mistakes if we ignore the completely useless “Unleashed”, an intermezzo that kills the flow of the album. But in my humble opinion, the great moments are rare. Either way, this is not a scathing review. Tsjuder already proved on their debut solid skills, and so the short album (31 minutes) scores with a proper amount of variety – within the given frame of Northern black metal of the nineties, of course. The songs do not follow conventional patterns, and the drummer is familiar with every tempo you want to hear. On the other hand, the lead vocalist does not appreciate unorthodox approaches very much. He has eaten a big piece of hatred for breakfast, and so he sounds like a typical black metal singer: malicious, mean, and destructive.

So what is the element I am missing here (and please keep in mind that I am singing the song of an upper-class kid who cannot be satisfied)? Well, the guitar work is definitely not bad, but unfortunately not very expressive either. As a result, “Kill for Satan” does not possess one or two outstanding song jewels, although “Dying Spirits” and “Beyond the Grave (The King’s Reign)”, whose great riff at the beginning guarantees a profound depth, hold some very strong sections. Yet it is also true that, for example, the title track presents a few standard parts that are as original as the name of the song and the album. From a sporting point of view, one could say that Tsjuder were good runners from a very early age, but were not always sure which direction to take. Sometimes they offer different parts and all of them are okay or even very well done, but the whole is, for whatever reason, less than the sum of the single parts.

“Kill for Satan” is more direct than atmospheric. Tsjuder show themselves as a robust, authentic unity that does not call for battle without reason. Naturally, the then newcomers cannot hide the influences from their fellow countrymen. Typical Darkthrone leads, early Gorgoroth-esque misanthropy, and devastating Immortal-Holocaust show up, while the excellence of the trve Mayhem from 1994 remains unreached. Of course, one cannot always expect a milestone… but “Kill for Satan” is definitely a recommendable album. No must-have, but a promising debut, and history has told us that it did not promise too much. The fact that the production finds the balance between professional power and underground credibility also speaks for the full-length. Those of you who haven’t had the chance to check out this work should give it a try unless you’re in the middle of doing something that might result in you becoming a father. In that case, carry on. That’s even more fun than listening to this record.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Frost on December 3, 2021.

I'm surprised this album has no reviews yet. Every other LP has some reviews on it, but this one remains untouched for some reason. I'll go ahead and remedy that right now.

Many elitists love to lament the death of the black metal scene after Dead took his own life and Euronymous was subsequently stabbed to death by Varg. They absolutely love the sound of their own voice where they proclaim black metal, the whole of black metal as a genre and identity, died on the hill with those two, but I don't side with those people. They don't like to look beyond what they perceive to be true to realize that Mayhem wasn't the only band that was putting out music worth contributing to the young burgeoning black metal scene at the time. Bands like Tsjuder were one of those bands. Formed in 1993 under a different name before settling on Tsjuder at some point before or in 1995, they released music throughout the mid to late 1990's before releasing their debut Kill For Satan in 2000.

2000 is definitely a little bit far removed from the hustle and bustle of the Norwegian black metal scene's early days and the sound was ever evolving out of the primitive and simplistic days of Mayhem. Black metal was exploring new soundscapes of innovation and creativity with bands like Ulver, Emperor, Burzum, Ved Buens Ende (even though they only released one album), Manes, and so many others. Even bands from other countries were starting to moving forward with their own spins on the black metal sound, expanding on the second wave and kicking and screaming into what would eventually become the third wave of black metal. However, Tsjuder are one of those bands who stuck to their guns of playing the old established second wave style, stubbornly clinging to it like a Satanic Warmaster, Marduk, 1349, or a Carpathian Forest. Filled with plenty of blast beats, tremolo picking, dissonant riffing, sickening shrieks of proclamation of Satan's almighty reign over the world - it's all here and it's happy to stay nestled in the far-flung days of the 90's.

I have to admit I'm a sucker for this kind of black metal. While it's not very original, what I love about Kill For Satan is just how passionate it is. It's evil, primitive as fuck, hateful and makes no bones about what it's trying to be. It's not trying to pull any fancy tricks with fancy post-BM experimental electronics or anything like that. It's pure AAA grade Norwegian black metal. The album starts off with a Hellraiser sample, which is perfect for this as it breaks into 'The Daemon Gate'. This song gives you a brutally accurate representation of what you're in for. The riffs are razor sharp, churning at a breakneck pace with little a break while the bass, while nothing ultimately special or standout, gives the necessary bubbling rumbling low-end to give the riffs that extra bit of burning sting. You won't find much variation in the drums, unfortunately, but I'm not too bothered by this because as I said earlier, this kind of black metal is more of what I'm into. The drums, though, were handled by a guy named AntiChristian, but they sound like they were handled by a drum machine. They don't sound natural. The snare sound especially bad with its plastic thumping, that bothers me because it's all I can focus on then the bass drums aren't rattling like machine gun turrets. It all sounds so fake. Perhaps it's a consequence of the production, which causes the album to sound hollow and thin throughout.

There's admittedly not much variation in the songwriting, either. There are some breaks in the songs with slow parts like in the song 'Lord Of Terror', but it's so poorly executed. It makes the song feel incredibly jarring and hacked to bits because it ruins the pacing, making songs feel longer than they really are. Thankfully it's not constant, but it happens enough to where it makes you want to check to see if the CD didn't skip to the next track all of a sudden, or you just wonder if the next song started when it actuality, it hasn't at all. You're still on the same song. There are some atmospheric breaks on the album, which is admittedly a relief. There's a whole song with that dark atmospheric tone called 'Eternal' and it's one of the better compositions here. It does break up the relentless blasting and distracts me from the awful noise of the drums.

Overall, I'd say give this album a shot. If you like your black metal raw, cold, evil, and dripping with an aggressive bent from Norway, check Kill For Satan out. It's nothing special, but if you like the black metal stylings of Mayhem, early Immortal, Marduk, or anything the purists would eat up for being "trve" and "kvlt," then this one is for you. Otherwise, you're not missing much.

Rating: 7 out of 10