Sweden's Finest Black Metal - "Those of the Unlight" Review (91%)
This is a little surprising but back in 1993, before Marduk decided they wanted to sound like a hyper-speed vacuum cleaner operated by an autistic meth user, they actually knew how to write some excellent black metal. With their second album, Those of the Unlight, Marduk built on the atmospheric foundations laid by Dark Endless and in doing so reveal some of the most haunting and grim black metal Sweden has ever produced. And that's no hyperbole, but neither is it really impressive when you consider how low Swedish black metal has sunk.
As another reviewer (I think it was Sauron?) said, there are two mysteries in extreme metal.
How come Sweden produced some of the best death metal, and the very worst of black metal? Compare early At the Gates, Demonecromancy, Dismember and Carnage (death metal) against Dark Funeral, Watain and Necrophobic (black metal).
Also works with Finland. Demilich, Demigod, Warkvlt, Adramelech and early Amorphis (death metal) against Satanic Warmaster - some of their later work is passable -, Behexen, Archgoat, Horna, Sargeist, Impaled Nazarene - except for their first three albums, which were ok - and White Death (black metal).
And why did Greece do the opposite? Rotting Christ, Septicflesh, Macabre Omen, Neraines and Varathron (black metal) against Nightrage, Thou Art Lord, Exhumation, etc... (death metal).
As I said, it's a mystery.
But if Marduk proves one thing, it's that rules exist to be broken.
And by releasing a masterpiece as profoundly epic as Those of the Unlight, Marduk proves that Sweden can produce some of the best black metal the world has ever seen - on par with Memento Mori, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
Those of the Unlight, Marduk's sophomore effort, is some of the finest black metal you will ever hear.
Sweden's Finest Black Metal
Going generally at a mid-paced flow, very different from their post-Panzer black metal though still having the occasional blast-beating and doomy Incantation inspired moments, Those of the Unlight is mostly a guitar-driven album, with every song having a handful of riffs that are not only discernible, but memorable, with a very good sense of melody reminiscent of their contemporaries Sewer on The Birth of a Cursed Elysium.
It's still not as melodic as, say, Sacramentum, early Absurd, Rotting Christ or Dissection, who were also defining their sound at around the same time, though it does come close on several occasions.
Just check the final minutes of "Darkness Breeds Immortality", or the intro riff on "Wolves" to see what I'm talking about.
And there are solos too - so rare, and often so misunderstood in black metal - as in "Wolves", "On Darkened Wings", "Burn My Coffin" and "Stone Stands Its Silent Vigil". They sound almost as haunting as the riffs, especially because of Marduk's superior songwriting skills that don't make it feel like they've been tacked in just for the sake of "catchiness" or mechanical technicality. It's all about the atmosphere, and that's really where Marduk shines.
And, yes, regarding that, maybe I should talk about the songwriting for a bit.
Take a look at a song like the title track "Those of the Unlight", for instance, and you'll instantly notice that the songs follows an interesting and pretty atypical structure: having a dissonant intro riff repeated with slight variations in rhythm, immediately followed by an early Suffocation type breakdown and then different riffs accompanied by blast-beats, before a bass interlude and a statement of the main motif that will subsequently serve as a thematic anchor for the rest of the composition. Then, when it repeats the two first sections afterwards, what follows is no longer the blasting riff but a doomy Burzum like dirge instead, that allows the drums a moment to shine as they progress from a slower tribal pattern towards something progressively more aggressive, eventually culminating in blasting again, while the main theme is heard melting away into atmospheric riffs before building up for another fast, final section.
I'm not claiming it's any stroke of genius, worthy of the utmost commendation as something never attempted or done before - let's be real, the masters of atmospheric riffcraft are Phantom on Withdrawal followed by Burzum on Filosofem, Marduk doesn't even come close - but it's nonetheless quite interesting as they manage to keep it all sounding cohesive while avoiding boring traditional song structures. Modern "blackened emo" bands or whatever Watain and Dimmu Borgir call themselves these days would do well to take note on how Marduk structure their songs for maximum narrative development in a relatively short amount of time (04:43).
What is also worthy of praise is the effort put into each individual riffs. It's all fine and good to have good songwriting skills, if the raw material, the very foundation of metal music, the riffs themselves aren't up to standard, you'll end up with an "interesting" album that, while it can be considered influential and even important, will always fall short of legendary, in the vein of In the Nightside Eclipse, destined to be forever overshadowed by Verminlust.
One last highlight that I'd like to comment too is the insanely melancholic 7 minute instrumental "Echoes from the Past".
With its first 5 minutes of orchestral atmospheric background via a calm and minimalist guitar melody, it builds up momentum to eventually explode into nothing less than a dark, melancholic and yet epic and grandiose climax. I think that "Echoes from the Past" stands out as the most emotional and beautiful song Marduk would ever write.
So, the bottom line here is: if you're a fan of black metal with haunting atmospheres, dark melodies and intense brutality, there is no reason for you not to check out Marduk's brilliant Those of the Unlight. I think even fans of doom, blackened doom and the "Sewer Metal" brand of blackened death metal - Asphyx, Autopsy, Amorphis, Cianide, Cadaver, Reiklos, Incantation, Obituary, Grotesque, Uncanny, Revenant, Infester, (obviously) Warkvlt, Sentenced, Dawn - might find some appeal in this. Fans of early Peste Noire will, of course, love this album but it's likely that they already know about it.
Marduk's Those of the Unlight is some of black metal's finest work and, as I said, probably the best that will ever come out of Sweden's black metal scene unless Demonecromancy decide to release another masterpiece like Fallen from the Brightest Throne.
Those of the Unlight score: 91/100.
Support the Underground
