Fear the coming of
Sweden's black metal monsters Marduk grace the world with their 10th album 'Rom 5:12', its title goes something like this:
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..."
(-Rom 5:12)
I've avoided the realm of black metal ever since Gorgoroth's album 'Ad Majorem Sathanas Glorium' left me feeling sick and uneasy, but thankfully Marduk's latest offering has restored my faith somewhat in the genre by being nasty, vicious, bombastic yet in black metal terms very palatable.
I'd read one review for 'Rom 5:12' which stated that Marduk haven't progressed very much with this album but I'm not sure how black metal can progress without losing the very essence that makes it black metal. Certainly opener 'The Levelling Dust' and the subsequent track 'Cold Mouth Prayer' hit you like a concrete slab dropped from a high bridge, the latter being a blast-beat heaven. It is at this point the album restrains itself as it launches into the epic 'Imago Mortis' which starts off with a simple mid tempo drum beat and develops from this point into a sweeping majestic song, and it is precisely this sort of idea that makes Marduk more accessible, willing to push the bands sound beyond the constant constraints of blast-beat thrashing.
The production is razor sharp and tight with the mix not being overly heavy to emphasise the intricacies within the wall of noise rather than letting the wall of noise become just a wall of noise so to speak. 'Through the Belly of Damnation' (great title) is my favourite on this disc because of the manic drumming of 'Emil Dragutinovic' and his ability to throw beats around as if they were little dolls. Vocalist Martuus excels with his gurgling and screaming that really reaches into the pit of the stomach and churns it with aural bile. Even in the sombre '1651' he still manages to sound like some evil motherfucker hell bent on doing Satan's will.
Overall this is an accomplished piece of work and is heads above anything I've heard from the genre for some time. The song writing is varied and is able to deliver its black metal message both at break neck pace with crushing riffs and with slower more melancholic moments, but what really holds this album together is the extra samples and effects between songs. From the rumbling crazed buzzing at the end of 'The Levelling Dust' to distorted chanting between the excellent 'Accuser/Opposer' and 'Vanity of Vanities' and finally to the rumbling old style radio at the end of 'Voices from Avignon' the whole album uses it's light and dark passages perfectly giving the listener ample rest bite and comedown before the onslaught begins all over again. If you're a black metal fan then this should be in your collection to let sin enter the world and death through sin, and in this way death will come to all men, because all men have sinned...or something like that.