Marduk - Rom 5:12 review artwork

Rating: 6.0

Country: Sweden

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. The Levelling Dust
2. Cold Mouth Prayer
3. Imago Mortis
4. Through the Belly of Damnation
5. 1651
6. Limbs of Worship
7. Accuser / Opposer
8. Vanity of Vanities
9. Womb of Perishableness
10. Voices from Avignon

Total playing time 55:24

Band Website: Marduk

Marduk - Rom 5:12

Morgan - Guitars
Mortuus (Arioch) - Vocals
Magnus "Devo" Andersson - Bass
Lars Broddesson - Drums

"You got your Funeral Mist in my Marduk!"

"You got your Marduk in my Funeral Mist!"

I know, that's a dismissive way to start a review for the acclaimed return-to-form of one the oldest active black metal bands in Sweden. And I know, it will likely piss off fanboy camps of both bands in question. But dammit, since Plague Angel marked the departure of the lethargic Legion and the introduction of Funeral Mist's Arioch, that's exactly what Marduk has been. Although many lump the aforementioned album in with the rest of Marduk's less spectacular mid-career work (for the record, Panzer Division Marduk was boring), it can almost be seen as an embryonic attempt at the grisly marriage that is, despite its imperfections, finally executed so well in Rom 5:12.

There's a little more going on in Marduk's trademark blastathons than usual thanks to a slightly expanded emphasis on melodic minor flourishes, as heard in the opener "The Levelling Dust," as well as complex (although somewhat subdued for the sake of the album's cyclical structure) Deathspell Omega & Funeral Mistisms, dirgey breakdowns, and more dynamic songwriting in general. The snare sound is also much fainter than in previous albums, which leads me to believe Marduk are finally becoming conscious of their blasturbation habit. Even some of the more stagnant numbers that do blast to the point of excess without going anywhere interesting, such as the ennui-inducing "Through the Belly of Damnation," are almost saved by Arioch's steel lungs. Let's put it this way: the old vocalist, Legion, was the World Trade Center; Arioch is the plane. (Or explosives set off by the Government and/or Jews, depending on which theory you subscribe to.) His grotesque, nearly patternless vocalizations bring to mind some sort of demented zombie Hitler, and while he seems to think this gives him the right to never shut the fuck up, he's still one of the best voices in black metal. He's also as versatile as he is idiosyncratic; the song "Accuser/Opposer" features the Hansi Kürsch-esque wail of guest vocalist Naihmass Nemtheanga, who somehow complements Arioch's homeless babbling rather well.

Remember falling asleep during those sterile mid-paced Down Syndrome parades that Marduk tried to pass off as a doomier approach to their formula in Plague Angel and World Funeral for the sake of diversity? They're back. Wait, come back -- this time they're the best moments of the album. "Imago Mortis" is one of the finest songs Marduk has produced in years, festering with filthy, infectious major key grooves, sort of like Horna and AC/DC rocking in a parallel dimension with Satan on vocals. Almost as fun as the song itself is imagining all the kvlt kids cringing at the concept of Morgan neglecting the status quo of clicky norsecore and -- shock! -- writing good fucking riffs! Women and children first.

Even the artistic direction of Marduk is now superior thanks to Arioch. The band that once thought it would somehow be a good idea to hold their beer guts in with tight leather vests in photoshoots and to use midget skeletons on a gaudy red photoshop filter background for album art now look like badass shaman holding crucified rats in a huge booklet full of disturbing black plague-inspired art. The songs are also riddled with samples like hymns, Gregorian chants, etc., recalling Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" among other things, albeit not quite to the cinematic degree of Funeral Mist. That's a shame, because the album's best song isn't even metal, really; "1651" is an ambient Wagnerian neofolk piece with minimalistic, sobbing string arrangements and some sort of ghostly military percussion that wouldn't be out of place on the recent Diagnose: Lebensgefahr album. The whole thing bleeds a sense of impending doom, and, for better or worse, capsizes the subsequent second half of the album. More like this, please.

Bemusingly, Marduk's once clear bass sound has become a distorted death rattle that some have ventured to compare to nu-metal. I'm not quite that harsh -- it's strange, but it does give the album an air of dirty rawness I haven't heard from Marduk since, well, ever. My guess is that Marduk consider Rom 5:12 a significant point in their career, and made this arbitrary alteration in order to differentiate the songs from those on Plague Angel. But, at least this is a sign that Marduk have no intentions of mixing out their bass guitar yet (you listening, Dark Funeral? ... no, you're not).

Overall, these guys are getting better at slowing down; if only the same were true for their fast songs. In typical Marduk album fashion, Rom 5:12 is a formidable, if somewhat stilted effort that isn't really worthy of the praise or hatred thrown at it from both sides, but is still an unexpected musical step up for these blasphemous Swedes. And just when I thought they'd never surprise me again.

January 19th, 2008