On a rainy Friday evening, Febuary 20^th 2015 we head to the Effenaar’s small hall in Eindhoven. We’re in for a night that will hopefully make the rain outside seem cheerful, as Belphegor and Marduk, presented by Eindhoven Metal Meeting, chilled us to the bone while pummeling us with blast-beats. Joining them today are Bliss of Flesh, a French black/death outfit and the Dutch melodic death band Spartan, who’re a bit of the odd ones out and have the challenge of opening.

Sadly Friday night is also the one evening the stores are open in Eindhoven and this added to the rain create a bit more traffic than expected, meaning Spartan are just launching into their last tune when we enter the partially filled room. The band’s happy and merry stage presence and party atmosphere with which they deliver what they call power deathmetal is admirable, but definitely not fir the crowd that has come to see Marduk, and while they come across as sympathetic their sound is a little confused and definitely not hitting the spot for the current audience.

After a brief changeover and a few more arrivals, the French Bliss of Flesh take the stage. They’re a lot more in line with the rest of the lineup in atmosphere they try to create. Unfortunately there seems to be something disjointed about the band. The singer has clearly studied Gaahl’s stage presence and attitude extensively, but doesn’t pull off the calm overbearing threat that man manages to present himself with. Instead it feels more like a trick. Added to this is the fact that two of the band members seem to be inclined to a more Deathcore or even nu-metal side of musicianship, with many scale running solos and posturing, while the drummer, other guitarist (who has his own solos, and adds to the somewhat messy sound in that way) and vocalist seem more black metal inclined. Added to this are near constant hi-hats and a almost complete lack of low regions in the mix and even the elaborate mic stand and growls don’t come across as particularly menacing. The drums being slightly sloppy and a near constant rumble add to the general feeling of not quite it, and I’m left with a particular sense of “nothing special”.

The room is now nicely filled, but no where near capacity, as two stands covered by black tarp are carried on stage. The Austrian Belphegor sets up their stage while the room socializes and the beer flows. When the first intro music starts everyone moves forward and looks up. Clearly Marduk aren’t the only reason people have come and in anticipation the audience waits for the band to appear. One intro tune passes, and the band doesn’t appear, the stands at the front of the stage stay shrouded in their black veil, and we wonder what the wait is. After a second intro starts and a roar from the audience a crew member quickly walks onto the stage and unveils two impressive bone and skull totems flanking the gasmask encased mic-stand. Shortly after an artificial fog rolls onto the stage and figures appear in it. The band is in a completely different league to the previous two from the first notes. The mix is suddenly clear and balanced and vocalist/guitarist Helmuth is a man who looks almost possessed while on stage. Though the glances at his hands while growling distract focus a bit, the general atmosphere the band creates is incredible. The more Deathmetal inspired song structures and differences in tempo and dynamics allow for breathing space in between the onslaughts of blastbeats to enjoy the more melodic layers under the onslaught. The layered nature of the compositions also gives the effect of a ghostly extra melody behind the vocals, even when the second set is yelled in by guitarist Impaler and drums fill the background. A thoroughly enjoyable performance finally warms the room up for the main attraction of the evening.

The Swedish quartet Marduk have a long history in their mix of black and death metal, and are currently touring their lastest album Frontschwein, released this year on Century Media. The wall of sound hitting you is utterly breathtaking, but unlike many bands Marduk know how to change the pace now and again, allowing for short periods to gasp for breath before the next wave of blastbeats and growling hit you. The utterly impressive and repulsing vision of front man Mortuus set the tone while changes in tempo and utterly catchy bass lines and tom rolls keep the music from forming an impenetrable wall and instead feels like being pelted rhythmically by different sized rocks. The sound in the venue is crisp, clear and heavy, but easily endured without any ear plugs. The minute Marduk take the stage a relentless moshpit is formed, which only subsides to throw horns of appreciation at appropriate times, but whirls and pummels all the way through the well over an hour set, peppered with both work from their latest album, and many classics judging by the ecstatic crowd’s reaction. Never does the pace let up, except for a brief moment in which a piece of intro music is played, after which the onslaught continues. The only minor errors I could detect were the switches in tempo not always being as tight on the drums as would have been preferable, but the impressive and almost offhand drum solos thrown into several other tunes well make up for that minor chink in the armor. In short Marduk live is the musical equivalent of being water boarded. The constant rush water taking your breath away let up for brief moments as you get pulled back only to be shoved straight back into that pummeling experience all over again. An excellent end to a slightly divided line-up, and more than worth the money.

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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE MAATHUIS