Still sealed digipak. Osmose 2021press

Marduk definitely is one of the mostimportant and legendary black metal bands. With their twelfthstudio album ‘Serpent Sermon’ the Swedish black metal tyrants arefinally back. The line-up change that introduced Mortuus gaveMarduk a whole new lease on life after World Funeral, which sawthem, treading familiar territory, albeit in excellent form.Whereas neither the thicker, nastier sound of classics like ThoseOf The Unlight and Opus Nocturne, nor the infamous heads downblasting of Panzer Division Marduk really seemed to sum up what theband was capable of, Plague Angel, written prior to Mortuus arrivalbut bearing his vitriolic vocal stamp, seemed to epitomizeeverything the band was capable of and stood for. Now after twoslightly more adventurous outings in Rom 5:12 and Wormwood, Mardukmake a more conscious attempt to sum themselves up, and sum upblack metal in general for that matter. The ever-modest pressrelease that accompanied Serpent Sermon stated an intention toperfect a sub-style of black metal with each and every track. NowI’m not always sure what they’re going for here (mostly sounds likeMarduk… probably better than sounding like a bunch of other bandsanyway) but each song has its own vibe. But musically, a follow upto the catchy, simple, brutal Iron Dawn EP. There’s plenty ofhyperblasting, vicious stuff here – more than of late. The titletrack admittedly bears heavy Watain influences in its primaryriffing structure, and a great deal of the Nordic-heroic blackmetal blare that Marduk helped create in the chorus (refer toGermany’s Negator et al). It’s the most Swedish song you’ll hearall year, basically. But not the most Marduk song. ‘MessianicPestilence’ could be from Panzer Division if it weren’t for theoccasional departures from blasting for some sinister double kickedsections. But ‘Souls for Belial’ is the first song to come alongthat really has me believing these guys are out to end the world,having left it with one final up-yours. Terrific headlong riffs andexhilarating pace changes chocka, simple as fuck in its compositionbut undeniable in its memorability. Instant Marduk classic. ‘HailMary (Piss-soaked Genuflexion)’, ‘M.A.M.M.O.N.’ and ‘Gospel of theWorm’ sate your appetite for such blasphemous rushes later on,although these don’t quite notch up to ‘Warschau 2: HeadhunterHalfmoon’ or ‘The Hangman of Prague’. They’ve set out to conquerall though remember, so the album does feature some slowerblackenings, the cracking closer ‘World of Blades’ serving to bringthe album more in line with grimy epics like ‘To RedirectPerdition’ and the brilliant ‘Imago Mortis’. ‘Temple of Decay’ islike a sorrow-drenched, doom metal take on something likeCarpathian Forest’s ‘The Well Of All Human Tears’, and anotherstandout. ‘Into Second Death’ revisits anthemic death marches like‘Funeral Dawn’ to break up what is mostly a frantic, jangling,Darkthrone homage. Mortuus’ vocals are as hate-filled, gargled andweird as ever, probably my favourite Marduk vocalist. The way hetwists his malevolent voice gives a few songs that might otherwiseseem par for the course just the vinegar needed to really hit themark. The hysterical, charging blasts of songs like the title trackand ‘Souls for Belial’ are fantastic in their own right, probablyless musically accomplished but more immediately re-playable thanthe unnerving whine of recent standouts like ‘Limbs of Worship’ or‘Chorus of Cracking Necks’. The epic bits are more than alright aswell, bringing the oppressive doomsday sermon of Marduk fullcircle.

Track listing:
1. Serpent Sermon
2. Messianic Pestilence
3. Souls For Belial
4. Into Second Death
5. Temple Of Decay
6. Damnations Gold
7. Hail Mary (Piss-Soaked Genuflexion)
8. M.A.M.M.O.N.
9. Gospel Of The Worm
10. World Of Blades

Condition cover: nm

Condition cd: nm

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