siLLy puPPy It’s always a good day for kvlt second wave black metalheads as well as owners of stock for face paint when a new MARDUK album is released. Staunchly stuck in the 90s and all the better for it, this is probably the one Scandinavian band (with the obvious exception of Immortal) that has really stuck it through despite the trends that have ebbed and flowed in the black metal world since the genre was declared independent and scored its own council at the Disunited Demonic Federation. And for anyone who thinks that black metal has become nothing but wimped out drizzle since Dimmu Borgir, a fine day indeed that they can raise their fists and scream at the top of their lungs, “yeah, now that’s fucking black metal!”

Yep, MARDUK are still going strong with their 14th album VIKTORIA which pretty much follows in the theme and approach of 2015’s “Frontschwein.” Once again we’re treated to a no nonsense blackened brutality bash that finds buzzsaw guitars blazings, blastbeats bantering and Mortus’ recognizable demented vocal style preaching the by now familiarity of Satanism, death, blasphemy and a morbid fascination with World War II and the Third Reich. Graced with a modern production, VIKTORIA allows the second wave black metal to shine through in, well, stereophonic lo-fi wonder! Seriously, it sounds authentically retro but not shitty retro. Somehow all the sounds are balanced into kvlt-o-phonic perfection.

Despite the numerous lineup changes over their almost three decade career, once MARDUK got past their death metal infancy, the black metal sound that they’ve so vehemently latched onto for over twenty years has remained amazingly consistent and on VIKTORIA they pummel out nine tracks of pure in-yer-face no nonsense black metal, 90s style! You know, the kind Darkthrone, Emperor and Ulver ditched so very long ago in order to get all snooty on us! MARDUK remain the working man’s black metal. No silly tricks and trinkets to distract from the raw filth and grime that is dripping from each and every sizzling hot riff as well as every member’s unkempt hair.

With nine tracks that are just shy of the 33 minute mark, VIKTORIA is balls to the wall and gets the job done quick. Starting out with a siren and instant bombastic riffing, the album instantly delivers MARDUK’s promise of remaining the stationary guide of the second wavers while almost everyone else went to a different party. Think of them as the preeminent dark candles that have burned for 25 years while even bands like Immortal went out to play in the rain before coming full circle. While it’s often difficult to gauge a MARDUK album because of the sameness that exhibits their canon, each album has slightly different personalities that emerge through the din.

VIKTORIA, while musically competent as always, seems to capture me a tad less than many of their recent albums. While starting out with a little variation between tracks, all tends to sound a bit repetitive by the end, possibly due to the less than flattering fact that Immortal’s return to second wave glory eclipses MARDUK’s humble origins with their outstanding “Northern Chaos Gods” also released in 2018. While i find VIKTORIA to be a tad less enthralling than “Frontschwein,” this is yet another wild romp in this Babylonian god’s namesake within the metal universe and as far as i’m concerned MARDUK can do no wrong even when they don’t blow away the competition or even themselves.