Opferblut

“Strength & Honor” was a great starting point for Satanic Warmaster. It set the bar high for what this band was capable of, hard-hitting, excellently written black metal. “Opferbult” continues on that exact path, while improving on what little flaws the debut had, it also is the only album to ever have more than 2 members. You have Werwolf on vocals and bass, Lord Sargofagian of Baptism as a session drummer, and Lord War Torech on guitars. With this line up the music becomes more tight and precise, making this album their magnum opus in my eyes.

The production on this album is much cleaner than the debut, while still maintaining that very raw and crunchy sound. Once again going for the fast and mid-paced approach to songwriting and approach, while still creating extremely memorable and engaging songs. Guitars are very tremolo-based here, you can clearly hear the second-wave black metal influences on the guitars and the rest of the instruments. With a session drummer now in the fold, you can definitely hear that the drums are tighter than ever. They sound fantastic here, nice and transparent while still remaining prominent, the snare sound especially is awesome on here. Werwolf's vocals also sound more refound here, instead of being ungodly barbaric and in your face the entire listen, while that was never an issue the vocals are more pushed back in the mix but not exponentially. They still have that very potent effect regardless, they’ve always maintained those howling shrieks you’ll hear no matter what release you choose to listen to. With the tightness of the drums, the guitars and bass do the same. They’re more punchy and hooky, making each song stand out from each other, this band has always done songwriting incredibly well, its simple but very fucking effective.

“A Ravens Song” is a good example of what this album does best. It’s fast and hooky, while keeping a very cold atmosphere. It begins by blasting its way through most of the song and then switching it up with some mid-paced intensity. The tremolos on this song especially are memorable and ear-piercing, and the vocals once again are very effective. This album is quite shorter than the debut, around 10 minutes less to be exact. What run time that was lost was traded for much a more pummeling listening experience. Hell, even an instrumental song finds its way here, it’s probably the most simple song on here, one single main riff being played repeatedly throughout the song. It’s a good breather before the final song kicks in “Farewell To The Fallen”, one the best songs on the album. Opening with a very hooky and punchy mid-paced riff, it’s surprisingly very groovy as it chugs along with the drums before it quickens up with the blast beats. However, it’s mainly a mid-paced song, it’s quite a different approach yet the same approach. You can easily bang your head throughout this whole song, it’s my favorite off of the album.

Back to the performances on this album, it’s absolutely top-notch. Its much more pinpoint and solid with the addition of a third member, nothing feels overly sloppy which opens the way for the songwriting to be even better. Much like the previous album melody is integrated really well on this album, without feeling out of place. The music has this galloping-like feel, especially with the guitars that sound epic and triumphant.

This album is a massive improvement from “Strength & Honor”. The band took what little flaws and sloppiness it had and tightened it up, upping the songwriting and making the production crisper while still very raw. When it comes to the 6 studio recordings this band has this is easily my favorite. A masterpiece of Finnish black metal that will stand the test of time. Fucking brilliant.

A weighty, lumbering discography made up of fairly frequent releases once or twice a year is often the calling card of a subpar artist. Very rarely can someone release consistent, high quality music that regularly. The presumption that one can is either a mark of arrogance, or a compulsive need to keep putting out material of any standard just to remind people you still exist. A more challenging but noble pursuit is to sit on works, discard those that are not worthy of your best, and risk being forgotten or written off before amassing enough high quality material to release it to the world. Artists that do the opposite risk any music of worth they actually released being buried under a wash of average output. It’s as if they’re desperate to stumble on whatever original flame there was, almost as if works of actual quality occurred by mere accident.

Satanic Warmaster are the bane of black metal completists everywhere. But in amongst the release incontinence – or rather in the first clutch of releases – we find the laid back ‘Opferblut’ (2003). It’s an unremarkable but well-crafted piece of flowing and driven black metal imbued with more subtlety than the name ‘Satanic Warmaster’ suggests. At its core is simple but purposeful tremolo picked mournful harmonies set beneath either mid-paced blast-beats or a galloping rhythm. The production is of garage level quality, with that all important reverb washing everything else out and allowing the music room to breathe. Vocals are unremarkable, registering at the high end of black metal screeching and kept pretty distant in the mix, they add nothing to the emotional impact of the music.

‘Transylvanian Hunger’ may be one of the most imitated black metal albums of all time, and Satanic Warmaster are probably more responsible for the dumbing down of this style with endless repetition of the techniques it exemplified. But on ‘Opferblut’ we see a more measured and patient release that certainly takes influence from Darkthrone’s classic, but inserts a melodic and emotional core to the style that has something of its own character. What results is an enjoyable and relaxing listen for those well versed with black metal, one that drives forward with intuitive transitions and shifts in key, the predictability of which is one of this album’s chief pleasures.

We’re in no doubt that these were modest beginnings for Satanic Warmaster which never flowered into anything much. But unclogging the music of excessive ideas can lead to more understated features being brought to the fore. The shifts in key from harmony to atonality or simple collisions of tempo are given additional weight and breadth in this minimalist context. Satanic Warmaster – along with the like of Judas Iscariot – are part of that third wave of black metal that took one or two ideas from the second wave and expanded upon them ad nauseum. Out of this was more average dross than music of note. But nevertheless it kept black metal true to a certain level of sincerity and subtlety at the turn of the century so lacking in more mainstream interpretations of the form. Despite being a half-finished work, releases like ‘Opferblut’ may be modest in ambition and short on originality, but they reach to the unpresumptuous core of black metal, and for that reason alone are worth revisiting on a rainy day.

‘Opferblut’ is a bland and unremarkable tour of black metal that yet manages to be a familiar and comforting listen all the same.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Satanic Warmaster... This band name sucks. Really. I mean, if it was some death metal stuff, it would be called „Hungry Zombie” or maybe „Dead Cannibal”. Anyway, don’t think it’s just one from thousand crappy Darkthrone-copies. Satanic Warmaster offers very „true”, necro-sounding yet awesome nordic black metal.

Opferblut is Satanic Tyrant Werewolf’s second full-length. It sounds better than the first album, I could say it’s a bit cleaner, the drums aren’t loud like those on Strenght and Honour. However, guitars have the most important role on this release. Frostbitten, grim and highly distorted melodies played fast galloping through the whole album. These melodies are often very catchy and sad. But no, don’t think the necro sound is gone, Opferblut is still very raw.

Satanic Tyrant Werewolf’s vocals are average BM screams, there’s nothing to say about that, his apearance is also absolutely typical. The thing that makes Satanic Warmaster and particulary this album much better than the average BM underground music is that it can hold your attention until the end of the album that isn’t that long anyway. Tere are no fillers, extra bullshit, intros or outros on Opferblut. It’s just raw, natural and – I can say – somewhat beautiful. Yeah, it sounds strange, but BM maniacs like me all know the feeling when music takes you away to another world. Yes, Satanic Warmaster can enchant the listener like it was some atmospheric stuff.

Opferblut seems a bit underrated to me. People should pay more attention to this release. I recomend it to everyone who is intrested in Scandinavian „true” BM underground, it’s better than many known bands out there today.

Best tracks:
-Bound in Lust and Hate
-A Wolf Cries in Anger
-A Raven’s Song

Few Finns keep themselves as busy as the Satanic Tyrant Werwolf (also known as Nazgul), authoring a myriad of treacherous, vile projects such as Blasphemous Evil, Warloghe, Armour, and Incriminated. He also handled Horna's vocal duties for half a decade. But he is most easily identified through Satanic Warmaster, a project in which he handles most instruments and vocals (often using session drummers).

Opferblut ('blood offering' or 'sacrificial blood') is the 2nd offering of this particular project, and while it offers little in terms of originality, it's a stark and insidious effort of sneering vocals, Satanic imagery and and unrelenting grim riffing onslaught. Seven tracks adorn this feral platter, and although they don't vary much in pacing, they all channel the sincerest hatred of the black metal mantra. The majority of the material features dark and Hellhammer-ized riffs thrusting forward over blasting guillotines of hopelessness. Nazgul has the screech of a nightwitch come to cut the throats of Christian babes as they nestle in the arms of their mothers. I'd dub these vocals 'cute' except...they are not that. Faster tracks like "Bound in Lust and Hate" and "A Wolf Cries in Anger" conjure subtly glorious chord textures within a bleeding black heart. The middle pace is not ignored however, fully defleshed in the scathing "Pentagram & Wood" or the barbaric punk rocking of "Farewell to the Fallen". "Rain Falls" is a nice instrumental interlude with some melodic guitars. "A Raven's Song" is probably my favorite track, with a primal burst that simmers into buzzsaw rhythms and a glorious loop of verse chords.

Opferblut is not a masterpiece nor could it be considered a classic of its genre, but it's a worthwhile work adherent to the philosophy of the great Finnish black metal: primal ferocity, simplistic yet punishing riff construction, and occult sensibility. It's not quite as good as its successor Carelian Satanic Madness, but on par with the debut Strength and Honour. If you favor the dark arts of Finland ala Horna, acquire all of these.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

This album had been on the top of my most coveted records list for awhile. I found it used at a very reasonable price after searching quite thoroughly for it. Man, am I glad that I didn’t purchase this at some of the asking prices that I saw it for. Opferblut is alright but it was hardly worth the quest that went along with it being so high on my black metal bounty. I have decided that I prefer most of Satanic Warmaster’s splits and EPs instead. This band just doesn’t sustain my interest for the entirety of an LP. This is an elitist album by an elitist band but after hearing it, I felt that was all I was getting and all I should expect and be satisfied with: elitist black metal with evil as fuck names, songs and album cover. It takes more than that to win over my hard earned cash. Alot more. How about something that sounds more than just another Norwegian black metal worshipping?

Opferblut is a record by a Finnish band that made me more appreciate what fellow Finns Beherit did to elevate the genre. Tyrant Werewolf has collaborated with numerous black metal projects like Vomitfago, Gestapo 666 and Horna but Satanic Warmaster is his main or flagship band. Lord Sargofagian does the drumming on the album but STW is heard all over with everything else; the riffs, lyrics and the vocals. The latter sucked for me. They are grating. They are basically the type that Ihsahn used on In The Nightside Eclipse and while I love that Emperor album, even the vocals there took me some time to fully embrace and enjoy just for that instance but they are not the type that I am willing to be less arch with when other, lesser bands use them.

Actually, besides just being so goddamn unoriginal, let me get the negatives out of the way about this record because they still pester me as I listen to this and even though there are more minuses than pluses, I would rather end this album’s assessment on a good note after finding and paying the price I did for it because there are some good parts to it too.

It would have been nice if at least some lyrics or even small liner notes would have been included in the fold because even for a minimalist, straight and out black metal album, the original release on CD is pretty spartan. I’m just used to seeing a little more content in the way of anything like that but it’s not that major of a thing but it doesn’t seem too hard to add a little more small tidbits of lines rather than the bare bones basics and a couple of stark photos of the band and a battlefield. From what I understood, there might be more to gander on the vinyl version if you can get a hold of it.

Most importantly, I want to share what I didn’t like on the album musically besides the vocals. The celerity of the all the songs as the album goes along gets predictable. Everything screams out with fury by deadened velocity. The derivation in the drumming will automatically hint to you that nothing will really be going anywhere or doing anything different except for just trying to sound old school. There are some good riffs blazing away but it’s been done before much better by the classic black metal bands from old. The sound recording of the production is about average. No complaints there. It’s what there isn’t here rather than what is here that is probably the biggest clamor with this record. That would be any sort of atmospheric flair. I think that’s what separates great black metal albums from good or average black metal releases. And mostly that can be even in the smallest details in making that leap. Opferblut has plenty of wicked conniption and satanic aura with the pacing but doesn’t go beyond the call in setting itself apart with details. Play this record and then go put on most any Gorgoroth album and you will know what I am talking about. Essentially, the flaw with this album is it relies much on the identity of more established bands that sound like this.

There are some good songs to be found on the album if you don’t put your expectations too high. Bound In Lust And Hate is a rather good song breaking out some riffs from Mayhem’s Pagan Fears and then finding its own chords of bleak frostiness. The Wolf Cries In Anger wasn’t all that much of a standout track but that one has grown on me. It has mid paced but breakneck rhythm and better blast beats than all the other songs. Pentagram & Wood is the best track though. It’s the song that distinguishes a blasting and furious pace the best. Lord Sarcofagian’s hits are rollicking beats that drive the song while Tyrant Werewolf sticks to short chords and keeps it brisk.

Satanic Warmaster has a couple other LP’s that don’t sound too different but might be a little better than the songs on here. All the Satanism and blasphemy can be found here as well but Opferblut is a disappointment in that I thought there would be more atmosphere and better vocals. This is old school black metal done with an elitist furor. If that’s enough for you then I am pretty sure you will enjoy this but Satanic Warmaster won’t change many people’s minds about who really does black metal the best.

I've heard the controversy on Satanic Warmaster at the beginning of last year for whatever reason, I figured.....shit I better check them out. As the old saying goes "There's no publicity like bad publicity" and if anything some of my comrades bitching and finger-pointing has led me to examine their music for my own personal opinion.

Either they are referring to their newer stuff, but man...this is quality shit right here. If Beherit and Archgoat owe more to the likes of Sarcofago and Von...Satanic Warmaster might as well be Finnland's answer to the classic Norwegian BM era of the early-mid 90's ala Emperor, Burzum, Darkthrone, Mayhem. I can hear a bit of Moonblood(which is NEVER bad) within the riffs and it just adds to the blackened arts they are able to craft.

Satanic Tyrant Werewolf has EXCELLENT blasphemous-like vocals. Lord War Torech is ripping throuh the buzzsaw-speed/highly majestic riffs that shine through, and Lord Sarcofagian is doing his best Fenriz impression behind the kit.

Most of the songs really don't show that much difference. Don't worry this isn't your boring-as-fuck-Marduck-monotonous-'hail satan x5000000000000' and not show any signs of shutting up. No this is more of the natural ability to go along with the flow, and feel of the music itself. Some of the standouts are "Black Destiny", "A Wolf Cries In Anger", "Pentagram & Wood", and "Rain Falls"(FUCKING excellent), the other aren't even fillers but more like bridges that hold the beauty of darkness between the violence and despair of chaos, misery, nihilism, and all those other wonderful little nouns that we've come to expect from such a genre that basks in the infernal flames of the underworld........or in layman's terms for the average Metalhead....this shit rules dude!

Fuck the naysayers, this is Black Metal for those who want to remain in the darkness. Highly reccomended for those seeking their Black Metal straight-forward and filled with riffs that will possess your soul.