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Whoredom Rife have kept the flame of the Norwegian second wave of black metal burning bright over the past years, during which many of the original bands have either strayed far outside the borders of black metal, or stopped making music worth a damn. This is the brainchild of V. Einride, known for his exquisite work behind the kit in Keep of Kalessin. Here he handles all instruments except vocals, and writes all the music. Whoredom Rife have made steady progress with increasingly stellar efforts after their debut full-length Dommedagskvad in 2017, and this—Den Vrede Makt (loosely translated to The Wrathful Might)—marks their fourth full-length and eighth release in ten years.

Their march along the warpath continues ever on with this album. This becomes immediately clear from the barrage of hate unleashed as soon as the opening riff of the awesome title track hits. "Fiender" (Enemies) continues in the same vein, albeit with a simpler and more straightforward formula that is no less malicious. "Hevnens Rett" (The Right of Revenge) follows in an explosive fashion, completing a punishing triple threat to start of the album. The music is reminiscent of prime Taake, but with a superior drummer and a far more vehement vocalist in Kjell Rambech, who sounds positively furious. There are also nods to labelmates Darvaza, and Mayhem, although the latter has not come close to making black metal of this quality in decades.

While I really like the first half of the album, they falter a bit on the second half, which does not quite reach the same level. Particularly "Phantom Sword" is not as memorable as the rest of the songs, although "Ravenous" is very good. I can see what they were trying to do with the 11-minute album closer "The Beautiful End of All," but it does not quite work. It is much slower than the other songs, and, while I initially thought the change of pace was interesting, it is way too long. Whoredom Rife are at their very best when they fast and aggressive, right in your face and spitting evil.

So, while this album is a little inconsistent with some songs that are just OK, the good songs are fucking great, and overall, I think the bar has been raised from 2021's Winds of Wrath. They don't re-invent the wheel here, but I would definitely check this out if you're a fan of Norwegian second-wave black metal.