Review by Felix on November 10, 2024.

Six reviews with an average of 96%, a Finnish band, a great, nearly iconic artwork, and only positive words from my musically interested friends about the album: there are a lot of reasons to lend an ear or two to “Let The Devil In”. The one that gave me the final motivation to listen closely to it was that a true insider who sent me the list of his essential black metal albums a few days ago – and “Let the Devil In” was listed there. So, devil, I let you in if you let me in, too. It is surely boring in heaven.

The first thing I realize and cherish is the dense, not overly transparent, nuances-killing, foggy yet simultaneously stormy and full production. It’s a great mix for the genre because it does not send any rays of light and creates an atmosphere of permanent discomfort. In other words, as soon as the first notes ring out, the listener fulfills the mission: she or he lets the devil in, because the diabolic mood of the album cannot be ignored. But it goes without saying that the large number of words of praise I have heard before diving deeply into the output do not focus on the production but on the song material. And I fully understand the more or less enthusiastic reactions. The full-length offers violent outbursts like the opener “Empire of Suffering”, viscous lava in sonic form like “Nocturnal Revelation” – and everything in between. The never-ending, uncompromising guitar lines send the listener into a tunnel of dark emotions. Even less violent titles like the almost thoughtful “From the Black Coffin Lair” show no way out of it. But my highlight of the album’s first half is “Burning Voice of Adoration”. Its guitars herald and celebrate sinister triumphs which are carried by the constant passion of the operating culprits and outstanding melodies.

It is correct that Sargeist were not among the very first bands from Finland. Units like Horna or Azaghal began with their evil activities a few years earlier. Nevertheless, due to the great performance on “Let the Devil In” and the fact that the album sounds Suomi as f**k, we can count Sargeist to be the style-defining actors in and from the land of the thousand lakes. Followers like Shadow’s Mortuary have inhaled this sound and tried to copy it (with a more or less individual note, of course), but despite some good ideas they have yet not proved their competence to record a similarly awesome work. “Let the Devil In” is free from fractures, its flow deserves a lot of attention and applause and the quality of the song material is simply amazing.

Let’s get to the songs of the album’s second half. The truly devilish chorus of the title track with its twice powerfully spat out four words sounds like a banishment to eternal damnation. This is the first detail that kept sticking in my brain, but naturally, the five songs have more exciting moments in their portfolio. The cruel melancholy of “Twilight Breath of Satan”, which is expressed by the combination of the sad guitar lines and the extremely raw vocals, can leave the listener shaken. This title has an enormous depth which opens up a huge resonance space where the listener can get lost. But it hardly makes sense to talk about single songs, because all of them provide the audience with an expressive, infernal experience and it is no significant difference whether one selects the devastating power of “Sanguine Rituals” or the high dynamic of the closer “As Darkness Tears the World Apart”. So yes, I do have not many new findings concerning these ten tracks to offer, but honestly speaking, I would have been surprised if it had been me of all people who is the one seeing through the hype. Believe me, there is no hype at all when it comes to “Let the Devil In”. It’s just a fantastic album that catches the misanthropic spirit of black metal excellently.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10