Marduk
Rom 5 - 12

The previous "Plague-Angel" made me shout for a miracle, despite a lineup now devastated with the legendary Legion, B-War, and Fredrik Andersson (who had already left a long time ago) deciding to leave our dear Morgan, and new shady characters arriving and ready to cause chaos.

So, after the much-contested "World Funeral" (which I haven't been able to listen to yet), "Plague..." proved to be an album capable of redeeming the Marduk name. So what to expect from the new "Rom 5 - 12"?? Well... the result is not the best.. The previous CD had already shown a slowdown in pace, but here it reaches the peak!! The opener "The levelling dust" starts martial, but gets lost in its trimmings.. It begins with a mid-tempo, also quite repetitive, which is not exactly a good sign.. Already with the following "Cold mouth prayer" we're back on track; it's a very fast song that winks at the past, considering the present. In any case, a total massacre in just 3 minutes!! "Imago mortis" is the song defined by many as the one of discord, the "rock" turn that should annoy long-time fans.. Apart from the usual ugliness concocted by the scribe of some prestigious magazine, this song isn't guilty of being too rock and commercial, but simply of being ugly and pointless.. ‘na true mess!! An experimental song for a band that has made coherence its reason for existence can be allowed, I don't think fans would go into a frenzy over this, but the fact remains that this is a slow, monotonous, and boring song.. Plus, it lasts more than 8 minutes!! Reaching the end seems like an odyssey that only a few could bear.

The following songs, between interludes, songs fired up to a thousand, as per tradition, and others more experimental (Accuser/Opposer) aren't bad, but they aren't the masterpieces one would expect from Marduk. "Vanity of vanities" could easily be part of "Plague-Angel" and the terrible "Accuser/Opposer" could easily be part of the compilation "The Worst Songs in the World" alongside "Womb of Perishableness". It's strange how the slowest, most monotonous, and extremely ugly songs are also the longest!!

In essence, "Rom 5 - 12" is a good album, there are some nice songs, but also others that are extremely ugly. I don't know if it's a merit or not, but after listening to gems of rare ugliness like the already mentioned "Accuser/Opposer", the other songs appear more beautiful.. There are despicable journalists who have praised this album, defining the most horrendous songs as splendid because they are more progressive, light, and because they deviate from what Marduk has done in the past, while defining the angrier ones as decent, but that say nothing new.. I don't comment on this because it might be too offensive, but I'll just say that those who love Marduk love the cold Black Metal and that's what they expect from them. Not progressive and experimental songs.