marduk_2013_10

» Marduk 2013 10 03

Reviewed by Bjorn
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Special guests: Valkyrja, Ofermod
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Brewhouse
Date: 3 October 2013
Marduk set length: 65 minutes

Marduk

After touring all over the globe in support of their latest album, Serpent Sermon, Marduk are wrapping things up with seven final dates in Sweden. Having cancelled the Swedish fall tour of 2012, I was really looking forward to this show. There's a Swedish expression that literally translates to "to show where the cabinet should stand" and it basically means to show how it's done. And as usual, Marduk definitely showed where the cabinet should stand.

First of all I have to point out that the sound was close to perfect. The main problem with black metal concerts is often, according to my experience, that the guitars and the vocals drown amongst the bass and drums but everything sounded crystal clear this evening. The band seemed really focused and energetic as well and this affected the audience which really showed a lot of loud appreciation. And with the haunting Gregorian chanting in between songs, the atmosphere was just right.

Of course, it was incredible to witness Accuser/Opposer with the phenomenal Alan Nemtheanga from Primordial on guest vocals - if I've done my research properly this was the third time ever that this song was performed live. Alan also provided an energy boost - it's hard to explain but without even moving around very much, he gives an impression of kind of being everywhere on the stage at once.

The setlist is hard to criticize as well, with a seemingly perfect balance between full-speed songs - such as Slay The Nazarene, Christraping Black Metal, Azrael and Panzer Division Marduk - and slower, heavier songs such as Imago Mortis, Temple Of Decay and Materialized In Stone. This made for a very dynamic gig, keeping my interest at top from the first second to the last.

Naturally, I always want gigs I attend to be longer, especially from a headlining act on a club gig but 65 minutes is acceptable for a black metal gig, although I've seen Marduk play for 75 minutes before. And I have to say, I do miss the times when Mortuus would drink blood from a chalice and spit it out over the audience. But all in all this was an excellent gig, although not the single best Marduk show I've been to.

Performance: 8 chalices of 10
Stage sound: 9 chalices of 10
Best: Accuser/Opposer, hands down
Worst: Ten more minutes wouldn't have hurt

Setlist:
Serpent Sermon
Nowhere, No-One, Nothing
The Black...
Slay The Nazarene
Imago Mortis
Christraping Black Metal
Temple Of Decay
With Satan And Victorious Weapons
502
Accuser/Opposer
Azrael
Materialized In Stone
Wolves
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Panzer Division Marduk