Twas a night to be jolly and grim; the 20
th of January at ye old faithful King's Arms Tavern in balmy, humid, mozzy-ridden Auckland saw the return of Swedish Black Metal stalwarts
MARDUK, returning once again after 2 years. Chaos NZ never disappoints;
MARDUK were all-too-happy to make a comeback under their wing. Supporting them were Wellington-based Blackened Thrashers
PERVERTOR, and the legendary, vicious Black Metal act
SKULDOM, making a vitriolic return after a 7 year hiatus. I hardly think a better line-up could've been devised;
SKULDOM were technically my first witnessing of a live metal act, supporting
IMMORTAL in 2008, so I had a warm, fuzzy idea of what I was in for.
What made a nice change was how full the venue was at the start of the gig; Metalheads of varying shades and sheens of black-clad were piling in, and everyone was talking about BURZUM and GORGOROTH. Jolly good show. Soon enough, PERVERTOR commenced their assault. Neither heard, nor heard of this band before, I didn't quite know what to expect, but the familiar, hyper-speed "VVVVHHHHHVHVHVHVHVHVH" of inhuman Blackened Thrash riffing washed over us. It was nearly impossible to differentiate between the tracks, especially after around 40 minutes, but it mattered not; each track comically announced by the imposing vocalist in garbled shrieks, they soldiered on through the set, the assault never quite dampening down. That is the point of such an experience, though, is it not? Whacked in the face many a time by flailing hair, the burgeoning crowd was brimming with energy and frenetic excitement; all worked up, as it were.
After PERVERTOR exited the stage, a short break was had, many exclamations of "pretty good aye" exchanged among the local populace. Soon enough, SKULDOM's trademark, skeletal mic stand was brought on stage; knowing them, likely real bones. I could imagine the shock and awe felt by new listeners; the band has no guitarist, but a drummer and two vocalists; one a woman, and a man with an enormous mass of dreads down to his knees, also on bass. An axe so overdriven, distorted and cranked, that it took on the role of at least 5 guitars. Many classics were spewed forth, especially the seminal (literally) "Orgiastic Blasphemy", and some "new shit", titles unintelligible. Thankfully, I had not forgotten the spectacle of their performance; they are certainly the most violent band I have ever come across, and if at least the most charismatic. Luckily, no… Unhygienic or sharp paraphernalia were thrown into the audience this time. Given that their last album, "Kill This Fucking World", was released in 2011, 8 years after "Nativity In Brown", I'm rather hoping their next recording isn't too far away.
The moment we had busted out our new merch shirts (and been waiting for) was upon us after a short and sweet breather; new drummer, Fredrik Widigs, an exceptionally talented new blood, hammering out a quick blat of a soundcheck before the Swedes emerged and unleashed upon is furious, war-like and unholy Black Metal. I chose not to view any live footage before the show; I love me some surprises, and that's what it was. However, I was kicking myself I hadn't seen their first performance here.
What initially struck me was the stage presence (what the hell is it with Metal Bassists and being massive, imposing figures?). 3 men at the front, and the modest stage at the King's Arms was well fleshed-out, clad in dark leather and grim corpsepaint and churned out monster after monster with precision accuracy. MARDUK are one hell of a tight band; Black Metal can be a messy business, but they didn't miss a beat.
They immersed us in dark hailings that spanned their entire career; "The Funeral Seemed To Be Endless" from their first release, "Dark Endless", through to two new tracks; the title piece, and "Wartheland" from the new beast "Frontschwein". For people who had not heard the new release, this was a mighty feast for un-bled ears. The setlist surprisingly, carefully crafted, the performance did not feel like a mindless tirade through a single 60-minute track, but a dimly-lit, nightmarish experience that provided a different sonic with each subsequent song; some groove-laden, some bass-heavy, some inhumanely brutal, and a handful of solos from Morgan who is undoubtedly a tremendous performer. Hell, Daniel Rostén even sounds better in a live setting than on studio releases.
