Marduk – ‘Frontschwein’

Swedish black metal icons Marduk jump back to the front with their new concept album, ‘Frontschwein’ – and it is something else!  ‘Frontschwein’ is a German colloquial term among soldiers since World War I that sarcastically described the soldiers on the front as mere cannon fodder.  It means “Front Pig” in German.

With a title that sets the tone for what is to come from the Mortuus and the lads, it is clear from the get go that we are in for what Marduk do best:  be insanely black metal and tackle the darkest elements of humanity.

The ‘Frontschwein’ term was carried over into World War II and it gives us the basis for this concept album: a German soldier’s journey through the killing fields and theaters of death during World War II.  In a lot of ways this is a companion, or follow up, to the 1999 album ‘Panzer Division Marduk’, that explored similar themes.

Every track has a purpose, it draws up the image of a soldier with the knowledge of his looming death and there is an overarching sense that everything is building towards an end.  The faster tracks on the album have parallels that one can draw to the frantic mind-set of one condemned to die in the muck and horror of war.  ‘Rope of Regret’ is a perfect example of this “frantic” track type. It seems that the album has three major song archetypes: frantic, slow and looming and then a mix between the two.

At times, the looming tracks are very Satyricon-like in their construction and tone. ‘Between The Wolf-Packs’ and ‘503’ embody this slow approach.  They are peppered throughout the album and allow the frantic double kick mayhem tracks to sink in.

‘Frontschwein’ is a good opener but it is nothing special.  Only after ‘Afrika’ into ‘Wartheland’ is where the album gets interesting and the true nature of what Marduk were trying to.  They play around with different elements of traditional black metal to create an amazing sense of unease and a super creepy atmosphere.  The opening to ‘Wartheland’ is one of the most metal openings to anything ever.  It just sounds evil!

‘Blond Beast’ is my favourite track on the release.  It has a totally defined marching tone and deals with its controversial subject matter head on.  Powerful vocals and awesomely simple guitar lines.  Everything about this song works.  It’s stellar.

The production is lovely and clean.  It’s just how I want this form of black metal to sound.  Not like it was recorded over a weekend in someone’s shed.  The vocals by Morrtus are great.  But a special mention has to go to Devo on bass.  He uses the limitations of his genre to his advantage and plays within in.  This makes him the backbone of the song and gives a heavy level to the tracks.  I know, that’s what all bassists are meant to do, but in black metal and djent bass gets lost.

To wrap this up, there is no other album that I can think of that achieves the spooky pathos that Marduk have created with ‘Frontschwein’.  Pick it up and enjoy this metal masterwork by Marduk.