Opus Nocturne in Bloomington, MN

Marduk
has always been the Swedish blastaholic cousin of the '90s Norse underground scene, the group stripping itself down to the four basic elements of extreme
metal
-- drums, guitar, bass, tortured rasps -- while staring down their crooked, stubborn, corpse-painted noses at all the
black metal
pantywaists cradling their keyboards and speed-limit signs. Obviously, restraint was an underutilized entry in
's dictionary, and the band's hard-headed approach resulted in many albums like
Opus Nocturne
(the third full-length in a seemingly endless discography), which offers a few inspired moments -- an anthemic riff here, a bleak lyrical turn-of-the-screw there -- amidst a blurry avalanche of blastbeat-ridden deathrashola. Grandiose midtempo slog
"Materialized in Stone"
and artsy-fartsy,
classically
influenced,
spoken word
number
"Opus Nocturne"
(a bit of a stretch, yes, but admirable within the context of
's output) are the standouts here, while
"Sulphur Souls,"
"Autumnal Reaper,"
and too many others race by like highway traffic, occasionally meriting a reactionary nod or shrug, but little else. Sure,
is worthy of some acclaim, having carried the flag for no-bones-about-it, punch-in-the-nose
since the early '90s, but the band always struggled to put together a consistently memorable album -- especially one that didn't use blastbeats as an ever-present creative crutch.
, unfortunately, is no different. ~ John Serba