ALBUM REVIEW: Marduk – Viktoria

Here I review the new album from one of my favourite Black Metal bands, MARDUK!

01. Werwolf kicks straight in with old school Black Metal riffs, tons of aggression and the awesome use of one of my favourite sound effects, the haunting air raid siren. The guitars are simple yet effective, the drums blasting and the vocals tormenting. A great start to the new album!
02. June 44 continues the warfare themed Black Metal assault with tons of dark atmosphere and amazing musicianship. The drums blast so perfectly topped with tremolo picked guitars and tormenting vocals.
03. Equestrian Bloodlust has a really catchy and aggressive lead riff over chaotic backing music. The sheer attack of this song is gorgeously done and really has a classic Marduk feel to it. The ending of the song packs in so much force excellently.
04. Tiger I has a really awesome yet simplistic opening riff, counted in with cymbals and followed by a slower paced gorgeous track with a strong sense of raw emotion very present. The more Black n Roll paced track really changes the albums feeling up and breaks things apart into more digestible pieces so to speak which works very nicely. The song speeds up bringing back the full throttle aggression of the first 3 somewhat.
05. Narva once again gives us a bombastic assault of the senses with fast paced blast beats, amazing guitar riffs and Mortuus’ absolutely insane vocal talents. The song has perfectly audible bass which widens the mix thicker than a lot of Black Metal and the bomb drop samples sound really cool in addition.
06. The Last Fallen has a really strange sound on the guitar intro but it works well bringing a more Black n Roll vibe once again and apparently much less distortion than usual which certainly sounds very new for Marduk. The standard blistering attack does come back sooner rather than later and yet more amazing Black Metal madness befalls our ears.
07. Viktoria has a really awesome style to it that follows up from the sounds set on “Frontshwein” beautifully. The sheer aggression and speed of the song work amazingly and the production works so well with it. The way the guitars continue the riff but the bass goes for a more Doom Metal sounding riff sounds so cool in contradiction to each other. This song is definitely my favourite so far.
08. The Devil’s Song opens with great samples used of soldiers running and a bolt action rifle being reloaded, the high octane riffs following it sound amazing and a real suspense is created. The drums on this track are absolutely fantastic and the guitars really melancholic. The more (arguable) clean vocals sound really cool and seem to more fight against the screams rather than work with them giving an awesome dynamic to the track. The lead riffs are once again really catchy which Marduk always seem to excel in doing. The rather sombre ending of the song followed by an abrupt finish sounds really great.
09. Silent Night finishes the album with some quiet drums under ambient sounds and creeping guitars. The slower march of the riffs gives a really strong military feel to it. The vocals once more sound absolutely and grotesquely brilliant. The slowed down pace of the track allows for it to close with tons of atmosphere and headbang worthy riffs. As a final track this works wonderfully with the dynamic of the album set and gives a real sense of finality to the release.

The new Marduk album seems to be a bit less in-your-face than “Frontschwein” and although I personally preferred the prior release, this album is certainly going to be more appealing to a newcomer of the band. All the same it is absolutely excellent and a great return from Marduk! -8/10