Review: MARDUK – “Wormwood”

Marduk – Wormwood
released October 13, 2009 on Regain

Rating : 4/5

In a world where Darkthrone have turned towards crust punk and 1349 are attempting to be ambient, one is often left in a search for sanity. The classic black metal sound has been all but discarded, being overshadowed by the symphonic arrangements of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. However, some bands still have the goal of sending their listeners to hell, and Marduk has certainly maintained this set of ideals.

Their eleventh release, Wormwood, still features all the elements that used to be rudimental in a black metal band: screeching vocals, frenetic, high-pitched guitar riffs, and blast beats that make Atheist seem simple. They occasionally go into slower, doomy segments (2, 7, 10) but for the most part stay true to their roots. The bass does seems more prominent than on typical albums of the genre, though, with tracks 1 and 5 both featuring a bass solo of sorts and 10 opening up with just the rhythm instruments, giving it a bit of an OM sound.

Despite the generally unrelenting sound that is present here, there are a few moments that just feel disorganized. 2 and 7 have riffs that would kick ass on their own, but when combined, just don’t make sense. Overall, it does not really bring down the quality of the album, and this remains one of the best black metal releases of the year.

FCC OK
Try 1, 3, *6*, 8, 10

01. Nowhere, No-One, Nothing
02. Funeral Dawn
03. The Fleshly Void
04. Unclosing the Curse
05. Into Utter Madness
06. Phosphorous Redeemer
07. To Redirect Perdition
08. Whorecrown
09. Chorus of Cracking Necks
10. As a Garment