Marduk
La Grande Danse Macabre
Century Media/Regain
Must’ve been talking shop with my metal brothers or something, but one of them accurately remarked that Century Media must’ve snatched up Marduk on the way down with their latest La Grande Danse Macabre platter • and know as much, too • the band’s budget-friendly contract most likely consisting of solely bullet-belts, corpse paint, and German beer. I mean, take a look at that cover! Where’d they get it from, a clip art program on closeout at K-Mart? Sheesh• Sad thing is, La Grande Danse Macabre’s music itself doesn’t fare much better, certainly not the way for Marduk to make inroads with American ears on their domestic debut, the record pretty much just blasting away to the same ol’ blackened grind n’ grime as if no pressure was on their backs to impress our fickle ears. See, Nightwing was pretty compelling, Panzer Division Marduk pretty fast, and two live records (Live In Germania and Infernal Eternal) have blown by since, so La Grande Danse Macabre’s just kinda there, further cementing an onrush of polka predictability on par with most of the Fat/Nitro camp that has now come to signify Marduk’s recording career. Really, it’s enough to make a smarter man wonder whether anyone would have given a shit by now had Marduk not released their infamous Fuck Me Jesus demo back in the early ’90s, and as evidenced here, song titles as “Jesus Christ• Sodomized,” “Death Sex Ejaculation,” and “Funeral Bitch” don’t make a strong case otherwise. Could’ve been a big event, but all for naught.
Century Media, 1453-A 14th St. #324, Santa Monica, CA 90404; http://www.centurymedia.com
