Their musical style was that of a straightforward death metal band, with an influenced take on black metal music. Having travelled around the globe and back again within a career spanning just shy of three decades, the band are super excited to bring their show to Australia.
It was a need for something different that brought the band together. “[We had a] desire to break the boundaries and push the limits of extreme metal, bring back the darkness and unleash the power,” Steinmeyer Håkansson says.
They can adequately tick that box as their shows have progressed to become a cornerstone of black metal music. Having firmly established themselves over their 27 year journey, they have faced unexpected challenges. “As the vision grew we realised the power contained within and that other peoples limitations weren’t our limitations. So we set out to make the march of something special, and we’ve only just begun.”
Rewind the clock to the very beginning, Marduk were fans of what was happening in Sweden at the time. “[We] saw a lot of great shows back in the day, mostly underground stuff with great memories of bands such as Merciless and countless more,” Steinmeyer Håkansson says.
The trek from Sweden to Australia is a long one and as Marduk prepare to share the tour with bands like Gorguts, MGLA, Ulcerate and Departe, it is an exciting time for them. “[It’s] great to return to Australia and to play the entire Heaven Shall Burn, When We Gathered album from 1996. We’ve always had strong support from over there, so it’s great to return to Australia for that mission.”
When putting the lineup together, they had only one thought in mind – to give people as much variety as possible. “All the bands do something unique music wise. It’s a great line up for anybody into extreme metal. Should be something for everybody’s taste,” Steinmeyer Håkansson says.
Marduk are packing more than beachwear into their suitcases when they make the trip over here. “[We’ll be] bringing northern darkness to your shores. The devotion and power we have put into our creations and hymns is exactly what we are bringing.”
Having previously been known as the pioneers of black metal, the band now describe themselves as the “audial essence of blood, fire and death.” The heavy themes touched on by Marduk are clearly evident throughout their discography, so picking it apart is a difficult task. “I love them all in a different way. They are all pillars upon which we stand on as a band. They all have their different agendas and visions,” Steinmeyer Håkansson says.
“We highly appreciate them all and they speak to us in a different way. They represent different aspects and chapters of Marduk’s history.”
That history is a long and treacherous one, but bringing together their whole discography into their current shows brings a new energy to even their oldest songs. “[We love playing] all the albums, as they each have a different energy. We can’t say that we love to play any song or album more than the other. You put so much energy into them so I think it’s as big a pleasure to play anything from our back catalogue live.” Steinmeyer Håkansson says. “Together with the audience, magic is created.”
This year is going to be a huge one for Marduk, as they are just coming off a huge American tour. “[We will] finalise the touring cycle for the latest album Frontschwein and then we’ll be back working on the next album, keeping busy.”
By Romy Elle
