Review: THE TRUE WERWOLF – Devil Crisis

Year of release: 2020
Label: Werewolf Records
Rating: 8,6 / 10

Thousands of SATANIC WARMASTER fanatics have been waiting for a new album for a very long time, but they were unlikely to be disappointed to learn that Werewolf was not releasing it, but the debut full-length of THE TRUE WERWOLF, about half composed of re-recorded older songs previously released at 7"EPs and shit. In the end, both projects are related in... almost everything from themes to sound. However, “Devil Crisis” approaches Werwolf's favorite topic from the different angle than SATANIC WARMASTER. The album is in every sense less rigid, more freedom-loving. There's even a song based on the Castlevania game series. Necromancy, witchcraft, magic and mysticism are presented in the context of THE TRUE WERWOLF surrounded by their inherent halo of mystery. In SATANIC WARMASTER, they are seen as a weapon of the New Black Order, which is accompanied by a brutal musical part. SATANIC WARMASTER is ruthless marches of satanic fascism of ghouls and werewolves, while “Devil Crisis” is proud hymns of the ancient castles shrouded in mist and uncharted areas that will echo in the souls of lovers of tabletops, dark fantasy and other retro stuff requiring developed imagination. As session keyboardists, V-Khaoz (DRUADAN FOREST, VARGRAV) and Trollhorn (FINNTROLL, MOONSORROW) participated in the creation of the album. If I don’t hear the second without a hint (but I suppose that he plays on “Chi No Namida”), then the work of the first is recognized without error; his parts give the music an even deeper mystical mood. The connection is deeper than it sounds: “Devil Crisis” is almost identical to VARGRAV albums in its essence, only the latter are made in the style of symphonic Black Metal, whereas THE TRUE WERWOLF uses the most traditional solutions. By and large, this is Nerd Black Metal, but, as usual in Finland, is absolutely honest. For all its romance, it is still more "true" than another piece of useless submusical shit wrapped in pseudo-satanic or warlike aesthetics. Not to mention the fact that the musical margin of safety at “Devil Crisis” will last for many years.