Marduk - Serpent Sermon
I’ve followed Marduk for almost as long as they’ve been around. My first exposure to them was with Dark Endless and I’ve pretty much heard everything they’ve ever released. The evolution of Marduk from the blackened Death Metal of Dark Endless to the blisteringly fast and chaotic sounds of Panzer Division Marduk to the varied speeds but still dark and evil style of today has encompassed twenty odd years. Throughout that time, Marduk has been consistently pumping out extreme music. The only variation in their musical quality was in the production department. Some of their old stuff, particularly Opus Nocturne, was marred by among the most horrid production ever. Serpent Sermon, their latest release, is definitely a mixed bag of songs - and I mean that in a good way. While each one is different, they all sound like Marduk. They go from fast and furious to slow and heavy, sometimes in the same track. The songs that I like the most were slower and heavier. I’m a sucker for atmosphere and those are the ones that stood out as the darkest and most evil sounding tracks on the album. My favorite has to be the “closer,” “World of Blades.” I use the word “closer” in quotes because there is a bonus track called “Coram Satanae” that comes after it on the limited edition media book version. “Coram Satanae” has kind of strange air to it. It has a riff in it that is prominent in the beginning and near the end that I could swear that I’ve heard before on a Graveland album. I don’t know if that was intentionally done to sound like Slavic Folk or not (or I’ve been listening to far too much Graveland to have noticed it) but it stuck out to me. The song itself brings a slightly disruptive element with it because it comes in after the closer track and takes away from the “finality” that “World of Blades” brings. I’m not going to deduct any points for this because unless you pony up for the special edition, this track won’t even be on the version you get. Even with “Coram Satanae,” Serpent Sermon is a very solid and enjoyable album. If you’re a fan of Marduk, you’ll find something on here that you’ll like.
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