Calling down a lightless age of cataclysm, spiritual warfare and damning all dissent within the hunger of hell’s blackest fire Lappeenranta, Finland-based black metal singularity SATANIC WARMASTER awakens beasts, normalizes blasphemy and calls despair over the ruins of eternal war below in the course of this exceptionally realized eighth full-length album. Delivered as a supposed third-in-line per a bevvy of pandemic-era activity ‘Drachenkreuz‘ stands alone in strong differentiation from the act’s recent works while retaining the undeniable signature handling of the tyrant in chief. Expect strangely approachable, well-rounded framing lain within this thrashing black metal album beset by the caustic, riff-obsessed diabolism of its maestro.

Satanic Warmaster has been the popular mandate of Werwolf since forming in 1998 beyond the musician’s efforts in Pest, Shatargat and station as vocalist for well-known fixture Horna. The extensive discography resultant has helped to redefine the identity of Finnish black metal and his continued work appears as testament to maintaining artistic sovereignty. Since I’d covered the band’s general history in review of album number six (‘Aamongandr‘, 2022) I’d refer to that writing for context beyond praise for the artist’s skill for arrangement, ability to pivot with each new release, and a “quality over quantity” approach with regard to this particular entity. The only psychic gap I’ve to address in approach of this eighth album is their seventh (‘Exultation of Cruelty‘, 2024) a steep within the dismal and raw droning of Judas Iscariot‘s ‘Under a Funeral Moon‘ tapped years. This new album is something else entirely despite being borne nearby the sessions for the two records that’d preceded it.

Initially writ as part of a decree to record two albums at once, ‘Drachenkreuz‘ was demoed alongside the sessions for ‘Aamongandr‘ but I can only assume that the material was already so strong that it’d deserved more time to cook and further differentiate from its surroundings. I say this to suggest that Satanic Warmaster have delivered one of their most approachable yet diabolically pure statements to date, a curiously rounded and “classics” structured release which frames its action around the album experience while representing many facets of Werwolf‘s authorship. That isn’t to prod at the idea of cumulative ideation or retrospective glom so much as a strongly representative sequence which is distinct from both companion and predecessor.

The storm-zapped, pit thrashing (kinda) Mercyful Fate-esque punch-in of opener/intro “Rex Typhonis” features two wildly smoking solos from Timo Tolkki (ex-Stratovarius), already subverting expectations and setting a fantastical “heavy metal” tone for the aggressive stamp n’ thrust which soon characterizes ‘Drachenkreuz‘. The harpsicord-like accompaniment (keys via maestro Trollhorn) ~52 seconds into “Nosferatu’s Land” and the farty synth pull (around ~3:57 minutes in) beyond that point ensure the overall first impression Satanic Warmaster make here between intro and opener is both representative (via the main rhythmic thread of the latter) but also inventive enough to differentiate from the cold distance of ‘Exultation of Cruelty‘. The total effect is inspired, offering the first signs that the album will favor violence and bombast over introspection.

Imagining the thorns, imagining the pain. — “Battlewolves” and to a lesser degree “Infernal Armageddon” carry a quasi-‘Pure Holocaust‘ era Immortal swat to some of their movement, jetting between otherwise characteristic Satanic Warmaster-isms with a swaying and stabbing cadence applied to their diction. This contrasts with the slower dragging Quorthonian bap of “Holocaust in Medieval Darkness” and to some degree title track “The Dragon’s Cross” where the gristle of Werwolf‘s main rhythm guitar tone strikes as a brilliant ideal for these applications; Beyond those points of interest “Christrape” and its feature of Damon Bloodstorm (Bestial Warlust, ex-Abominator) stands an outlier per its extended sample + fast and bloodied reap, another point of thrashing speed helping to coagulate the total effect of ‘Drachenkreuz‘.

Controversial, malignant, accessible, incorrigible, etc. however one’d cast dispersion upon Satanic Warmaster it is against the nature of the metal-minded to deny the precision with which Werwolf and crew represent not only black metal but its correlation with heavy metal (and the riff). Though I’m not sure every piece here on ‘Drachenkreuz‘ offers the purest, undistracted extraction of the band’s perceived knack their signature nonetheless acts to corral a host of prime arcana into strongly characterized form. Though I still have distinct favorites within their discography this album has proven exceedingly repeatable in experience, almost too quick-moving through its many points of raw mastery as its ~40 minutes bolts past. A high recommendation.

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