MARDUK

If Darkthone, Mayhem, Immortal and Burzum are the fathers of the Norwegian Black Metal for the Swedish black scene the most important historical band is surely that. The “Fuck Me Jesus” ’91 demo is become a cult thing, the best accomplish for a band that was changing its death e thrash influences on a blacker form of music. The Blasphemous, evil feeling of Marduk’s music was the dominant and most important factor, an answer to the dying mediocrity of the moderate

direction of the metal scene of those years. After the great underground success of the demo in ’92 was released the debut “Dark Endless” (Vote 8), another demonstration of the Marduk’s obscure evolution, of their journey through darker tunnels. The blasphemous energy is increased by ’80 elements, the influences of the metal scene of those years are transformed in a new, more serious context.

One year after that album came-out “Those of the Unlight” (Vote 8.5), an album made with one of the most obscure songs that Marduk ever made. The drums’ recording wasn’t perfect but the power of that creation was the incredible dark feeling of the Swedish band. The evil face was conquering every resistance of the light and a new band was becoming a cult. The satanic atmosphere of “Those…” was a Scandinavian black metal vision with some but not so much territorial influences, it was dealing much more with the dark side without a dominant Nordic background, like Mayhem were making.
The death and thrash influences were still there but in a new suite, in a deeper involvement with the black spirit of the band.

“Opus Nocturne” (Vote 9.5), the ’93 album, is very near to the perfection, the darker and more pure black metal creation ever made by the band. Every song is a black journey, a devilish art forged by fire and blood in a fullmoon night. The singer voice is like a phantom screaming, the drums the right black energy, the production the correct voice to the great riffs and atmospheres of the album. Not so many bands gain quality from release to release and Marduk, apart from their previous good works, have reached to most mature form of music, a step that open the gates to the history of the genre. It’s possible to breath immortal energy from the lines of blood of that album, a monument in the night, a vision of the darker spheres.

The fourth album came-out in ’97, “Heaven Shall Burn…When We Are Gathered” (Vote 8.5) was the most aggressive Marduk black creation, only one song was

a bit slower. Apart from one nihilistic and still good song, “Darkness it Shall Be”, the most aggressive parts were expressed with a moderate, essential, melodic touch, so to permit to differ every sons from the others.
“Heaven Shall Burn…” is an immediate album, the first time I listened to its songs I started to like them and magic isn’t gone with the passing of time. The solemnity of the awesome previous album is expressed in a more apocalyptic mood, with an in-your-face recording and songs structures.

It’s a plunder of evil violence, a heartless assault. The “Glorification” (vote 5) ep was, for logical reasons, motive of some bad words from the underground fans, because it’s done by some ’80 covers that weren’t too similar to the extreme black metal music that the band was doing that time.
Luckily, after that commercial release, the ’98 come-back was the excellent “Nightwing” (Vote 9).
The first four songs of that lp are the most incredible aggressive example of devilish and hellish black metal that the band ever made after the perfection of “Opus Nocturne”.
“Nightwing…” it’s a massacre, a black crusade without mercy, it’s a sort of devilish and hellish “Pure Holocaust” for more then an-half of the songs, then there are two very heavy and mid-tempo, slow songs that are there to represent the bloody mood of the medieval battlefield, with suffering and bodies of lifeless soldiers. The historical concept of Vlad Tepes is seriously treated in the second half of the album. At the end an “Opus Nocturne” remake songs is the best example of the right inspiration that the band had composing that music. The production is simply amazing, aggressive but very deep, sharp but massive, the best in the Marduk’s history. A very different history is the ’99 “Panzer Division Marduk” (Vote 8), Morgan & co. decided to record a totally in-your-face album, the most aggressive and brutal assault ever made by the band, leaving apart the medieval or ancient atmospheres and moods of the past works for a more modern vision, inspired by the modern war concept.
“Panzer” can’t be compared to the super “Opus Nocturne” and “Nighwing” quality but remains a good album, very different from the black metal assault of “Heaven shall burn…” because the melodic lines in the riffs are very few and sometimes the songs are too similar. The hellfire now is on the modern earth, but I prefer the black magic of the previous works.
“La Grande Danse Macabre” (Vote 8) is another chapter of the great Marduk’s musical activity, and it shows the band back to a non-modern but immortal theme, the death. The magic of the early album isn’t there but the quality is still good. The are two-three songs that are very different from the band’s history, too much heavy and slow, and a bit boring, but the other are very varied compared to the past, it’s possible to find slow and fast parts, like fast and slow songs. The singing is the typical Legion, style, without too many variations. I don’t know if I’m giving that vote to the band history or the quality of that release but surely they’re losing something of the past energy, and a turn of tendency is necessary.