Review by Felix on November 26, 2023.

Satanic Warmaster belong to these (more or less one man) bands that seemingly never deliver low quality albums, but they also will probably never reach the highest levels. Werwolf, the mastermind behind the project, is able to write very good songs, but the last step, the final touch of ultimate excellence is missing from my point of view. Nevertheless, the debut “Strength & Honour” shows that he has been a competent composer right from the start. His songs do not lack maturity and signs of awkwardness are completely missing.

The seven tracks teach us another lesson of malicious, grim black metal. There are not many breaks and surprising twists and turns have gone lost between the rehearsal room and the sound studio. Given this situation, the songs are quickly decipherable, but fortunately not predictable. The drums set a fast pace, the guitars pick up this tempo and Werwolf’s vocals add a bitter note. Generally speaking, maybe five or ten percent more depth would have helped the songs to become real black metal gems. Nevertheless, there are truly fascinating details to find in some of them. The opening guitar line of the title track draws the listener into the song right from the get-go and the more or less atmospheric, keyboards-supported part in my personal highlight “A New Black Order” also leaves a sustainable flavour.

Homogeneity is written in big letters over “Strength & Honour”. The songs are by no means interchangeable, but even the blindest chicken can recognise their common origin. Unfortunately, the same animal cannot completely ignore the politically more than dubious lyrics as well. “Enthroned Aryan spirit, the resurrection of our Reich”, did the good man sleep in history lesson? On the other hand, provocation is a wide spread stylistic device in the genre and I don’t want to take this gossip too seriously. “Der schwarze Orden”, a synonym of Hitler’s SS, is, as expected, another lyrical disaster. I don’t enjoy this antisemitic nonsense, to say the least, but fortunately it is the pretty cold and quite strong music that characterises the full-length. Ultimately, we are talking about a music album and not a book of poetry.

The closer “Night of Retribution” marks a great finale. Its opening guitar line is as effective as the one of the title track. The entire guitar performance conveys a merciless aura, because the production has been done very well for this album. I like these productions that walk the fine line between underground atmosphere and professional appearance. “Strength & Honour” (fortunately not “Blood & Honour”!) does not lack pressure and creates a permanent aura of ominous twilight. No doubt, this is, despite its lyrical trials and tribulations, a recommendable debut and its spiritual connection to the works of bands like Horna or Malum is definitely a good thing.

Rating: 8 out of 10