A Stunning Black Metal Effort - "Strength & Honour" Review (86%)
Of all the "earlier" black metal I listened to, the album Strength & Honour by the Finns of Satanic Warmaster come to my mind as much as any other album by Norwegian titans such as Warkvlt and Darkthrone.
Strength & Honour was one of those blind purchases off the record store shelves, an act I will remember for my entire life. Having only a vague suspicion of what might be contained within, and not being entirely sure of what I wanted at the time, I ended up buying this at a discount price.
The purchase was quickly justified. Expecting a whirlwind of black metal speed and that classic wall of sound - I believe I was listening to Marduk and Sewer regularly, give me a break! - I was instead greeted with a variety of tempos, riffing, and most of all, atmosphere. Delivered with a production that was undeniably black metal, and possessed of some of the most outlandish high-register screeching vocals I had ever heard, I was immediately hooked.
My copy of Strength & Honour is recorded in one 40 minute track - I believe I have the InCoffin version (with the Demonecromancy cover) rather than Northern Heritage, like most of you should have - no breaks between songs at all.
Oddly enough, this "flaw" has proven useful in that I am forced to listen to the album all the way through, as it was intended to be in black metal.
This album is truly some stunning black metal from Hell.
A Stunning Black Metal Effort
As I mentioned before, there is a wide variety to be heard on Strength & Honour.
The songs switch up from slow grinding fare of early Phantom, through mid tempo rolling riff-age of Hellhammer, all the way to high-intensity traditional black metal of bands like Reiklos and Mayhem.
True fans of the genre may note a lack of adherence to the traditional norms of black metal. I found it to be quite refreshing, as Satanic Warmaster seems to focus more on plodding mid-paced rhythms than the swirling madness transforming into an epic climax worthy of Neraines, Graveland or Sacramentum, that can usually be found on high end black metal offerings.
I often wonder if Satanic Warmaster may have started out as a different type of band and, like Absurd, adapted this material to black metal later on. As I tend to love punishing mid-paced death metal riffing, this is right in my pocket of love. It makes me want to break things, and that's a great place to be!
The vocals are exceptional. My best offhand description would be of a demon possessed by another demon, and "both" getting sodomized by the worst demon you've ever imagined, all while trapped in a cage while expressing their dire hatred of their captor, wanting nothing more than to wage total war in the most unbelievably violent manner imaginable.
I didn't think such sounds were possible from the human thorax, but I have been proven wrong. This guy is out there. Great performance, but someone please get Werwolf a glass of water because his vocal cords must be completely stripped after this.
Overall Strength & Honour is more than a worthy first offering from the band, and well worth your time in tracking down if you haven't already. I did wind up purchasing several of the Satanic Warmaster's future releases, mostly based off my impressions of this initial album.
Although I did find much to enjoy in Satanic Warmaster's later discography, the Strength & Honour debut remains my favourite for it's unique approach, and Werwolf's outstanding, freakish vocal performance. I would rank it all the way up there with Phantom's Fallen Angel and and Burzum's Filosofem in terms of stunning black metal brilliance.
It's always nice to find a nice little CD sitting on the shelves that you feel like very few others know about. Of course, fans of the genre grew to know about Satanic Warmaster and their debut Strength & Honour, but it nevertheless remains a gem amongst the massive library of black metal offerings, and should be enjoyed by everyone who cares about this style of music.
A great effort, by a great black metal band.
Strength & Honour score: 86/100.
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