Dark Thoughts

"Be there and rejoice when we march through your country. This will be an audible assault of the blackest of metal there can be. Blood, fire, death… sweat and energy!”

If Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson wanted to be a subtle guy, he probably wouldn't have chosen 'Evil' as his black metal moniker. That he did is indicative of the guitarist's approach to his music, an approach mirrored in how he talks. Like a power-mad general in Satan's army, he issues statements about the long-running band as though he's rallying troops, whether it's describing Marduk's music (“the aural sense of war”) or his repeated, somewhat inexplicable, references to “blood, fire, death”.

Evil's menacing hyperbole is the perfect representation of what Marduk do as a band. Their first-ever release was a demo titled Fuck Me Jesus and featured a lady freaking with a crucifix (Cradle of Filth totally stole the idea for that T-shirt) on the front cover and over the past 20-odd years they've maintained a level of confrontational imagery and ideology while making harsh death metal-influenced black metal. Their latest chapter in the gospel of Marduk is Serpent Sermon, an album that will go down as another latter-day triumph, capturing the band artfully blending the speed and technicality of death metal into a music that maintains the integrity of black metal's form.

“What really matters are the reactions of the fans and how we feel about the music,” Evil says. “The critics' reviews are bullshit. We've been playing shows and watching the fans really appreciate the new material and then there's 110 per cent of ourselves in Serpent Sermon and I think that shows in the music and lyrics.”

A band that's never shied away from controversial lyrics, Evil totally stands behind everything the band has said.

“We focus on all the elements to get the full power contained within the music and the power of the lyrics unleashed right in your face. It's of equal importance to get the message of it becoming one with the listener. Wait and see, it's not something that should be explained but something you should see, hear and be embraced of and see how it speaks to you.”

And how do the band manage to choose a set list with 12 full-lengths, a slew of demos and even more EPs to play from? “Sometimes we can only play for an hour or so, so we always try to do the most from the new album because I don't want to be nostalgic and only doing the old stuff. We play three or four songs from the new album and then try and get something from more or less every album. But you're never strongest than your latest release.”

Evil is nothing if not still strong, and the guitarist assures that Marduk is right there with him. “We feel stronger as a band than ever before… We keep on marching. Since we did Wormwood we did 230 shows and we've already done 80 since the release of this one and we've got a lot more coming up and we can't wait to get back to work on the next album.”

Like any good war-time general, Evil is already considering that next move. Although Serpent Sermon has been out no longer than six months, the band leader is talking about what he has planned for album number 13.

“It's a vision growing in my mind every day. I've been working on new music and the other guys have also been writing stuff; we probably already have far more material than we would need for an album. We just have to get around to rehearsing it you know. Blood, fire, death. The way it should be.”

Marduk will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 10 January - Amplifier Bar, Perth WA
Friday 11 January - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 12 January - The Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW
Sunday 13 January - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD