Review by Felix on December 4, 2022.

“Satanic Warmaster has sold hundreds of thousands of albums internationally.” Ahahahahaha. Frankly, I didn’t know that there is so much humor in black metal (promos). May I also tell some funny nonsense? Metallica will open the stage for the main act on Satanic Warmaster’s next world tour. Bad joke, you’re right. Perhaps I am well advised to put the focus on Aamongandr.

The first song bursts out of the speakers immediately, no warning, no intro, no warm-up period. My first impression was that this approach could result in a pretty one-dimensional output. Only full speed ahead with restlessly hammering drums is always at risk to be not enough. But the venomous gnome who runs Satanic Warmaster was obviously aware of this danger. Thus he has equipped 'Berserk Death' with both grumbling guitars at the very strong beginning and keyboards that take the lead as the song progresses. Don’t worry, this instrument is cleverly used. It creates a slightly spooky atmosphere without pouring sugar on the guitar lines. Moreover, its melody line gives the song a great flavor. Nevertheless, the guitars do not stand in the shadow of the keyboards. Due to the dense production, they form an impenetrable fog. But the permanently humming guitars do not swallow the drums and the vocals are also put in the right light. All in all, they build a solid wall of sound in the fast sections, but they leave an impact during the mid-tempo parts as well. 'Duke’s Ride' probably will show you what I mean – a good song, although its calm break and the following part (inspired by early and then still authentic Dimmu Borgir?) are slightly irritating. Considering the somewhat melancholic opening riff of the closer, Burzum is another influence of Satanic Warmaster.

Werwolf, the man behind the project, is not only a Finnish citizen. He is also involved in many other bands. It therefore goes without saying that he knows all essential ingredients for a black metal album. Okay, this does not prevent that some standard parts have crept in. Not boring ones, to be clear, but standard. Anyway, the dude is able to give his art some unexpected impulses from time to time. 'The Eye Of Satan', for example, is not only a wrathful orgy of high-velocity parts and less stormy sections with cleverly interspersed keyboards. To my surprise, an almost folkloric melody battles with the wall of metallic noise during the last 50 seconds of this track and gives the song an additional flavor. The nearly seven minutes of 'Darkness… Triumphator' do not know such gimmicks, but their headstrong stubbornness impresses me. This is not the first song (and it won’t be the last, hopefully) that sets the focus on rapid rhythms and infernal guitar lines, but it is excellently executed. Too bad that we cannot say the same about the promo text which seems to be done by a weekend poet with an affinity for never-ending sentences. But please spare me quoting further details from it.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on March 5, 2021.

Nachzehrer is Finnish black metal. Is that enough of a description? No? Then there is the additional hint that Satanic Warmaster sounds different from Quiet Riot or Mötley Crüe. More like Def Leppard on "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge". Nah, just kidding. To be honest, the album from 2010 is not one of the great moments of Finnish sound art. Among other things, that's because of the production. The guitars sound clunky to sticky, the drums have exactly zero power. The vicious creaking of the voice also only comes to the fore to a limited extent and suffers from the dominance of the dull, monotonous guitars.

Of course, true black metal has an inner strength that cannot be completely destroyed even by a bad recording result. In this respect it is nice that Satanic Warmaster comes very close to the core of the genre on Nachzehrer. The album consistently exudes negative energy. Well, the music-free intro is worthless filth, but the regular tracks basically give no reason to complain. Some almost melodic parts, such as at the end of 'One Shining Star', set the tone, while 'Rotting Raven's Blood' could have done with more momentum, especially at the beginning. But basically the guitars always find the right tone to maintain a certain tension. Only in the last piece they don't play a role. 'Nachzehrer' ends with the ramblings of a storyteller, gently accompanied by ambient keyboard tones.

The bottom line, however, is that despite quite good tracks like 'Satan's Werewolf', much of Nachzehrer sounds decent, but not outstanding. 'Satan's Werewolf' offers a good mixture of rumbling primate black metal, a chorus that is striking in a positive sense and a relatively finely spun melody with violin character. Mostly, however, the lone fighter behind Satanic Warmaster feasts on less than filigree guitars, whose bluntness almost rivals the coarseness of Bathory’s second full-length.

Sometimes you also wish the songs would get to the point faster and only know the five or six minute mark by hearsay. Thus, Nachzehrer has a few lengths that are not conducive to the enjoyment of the album. Be that as it may: the record from 2010 offered nothing new and not the slightest deviation from the standards of black metal art. Instead, it explicitly emphasises the aesthetics of the genre and leaves a predominantly positive impression with tracks like 'Warmaster Returns', which, however, as described above, is not supported by a punchy production. This results in an acceptable disc, which is by no means a must for friends of Finnish black metal. Especially since there are supposed to be a few other bands of this genre in the land of a thousand lakes. At least that's what I read somewhere, I think.

Rating: 6.6 out of 10