Review by Jeger on December 17, 2024.

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 Warmaster's music has been the thematic track  to our operation.

In 2022, Satanic Warmaster released Aamongandr, which is of a masterclass, and the task of following up such an opus is no easy feat, but one that I'm 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 Satan's imbibing. True Finnish black metal through and through. Few artists are doing it better these days, and Exultation Of Cruelty 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. 'Harken The Bells Of Damnation' - ignited under lightning's strike and then streamlining through gauntlets of scaling riffs and driving blast-beats, while the following track, 'As Blood Snarls A Macabre Silhouette', conveys a slower mid-tempo'd type of savory vibe with soldierly rhythms and groovy passages accented by ethereal overlays. When compared to Satanic Warmaster's previous record, Exultation Of Cruelty is a modest album, not quite raw, just rougher around the edges.

Werwolf is not breaking any ground here, nor any barriers. Exultation Of Cruelty is a textbook Finnish black metal record - exactly what those of us who may have been taken aback by the dynamics of Aamongandr were hoping for. Personally, I wouldn't liked to have seen Satanic Warmaster proceed further down evolution's 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 me… To hear comprehensive and explosive album cuts like 'Behold The Infernal Kingdom Of Hell' set to such a dry buzz. Oh what could have been. You've got to be in the mood for this one; an exclusive experience that harkens back to the early '90's way of doing things, and if you're anything like me, you've grown weary of this particular approach. If I had a fucking dollar for every black metal promo I've received that describes an album as something out of the early second wave, I wouldn't be rich, but I'd be able to buy myself something real nice. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate stripped-down BM, but I feel like Exultation Of Cruelty is one of those "hey look! I'm still black metal as fuck" efforts at redemption, even though there's no need for reconciliation whatsoever. Decent album, just nothing to write home about…

Rating: 7 out of 10