marduk live

Things kick off pretty early with Artisan playing whilst people are still drifting in. They certainly look the part, more spikes and studs than the whole crowd put together but due to a rather strange sound most of their songs fail to reach their potential as only the drums and vocals are decipherable.

Fortunately as Anaal Nathrakh emerge from backstage, after by the looks of it having polished off a large quantity of alcohol, the sound is suddenly perfect and Armageddon is unleashed. Opening with In the Constellation of the Black Widow the crowd literally erupts into a seething mass of chaos and the awesome intensity of Anaal Nathrakh is unstoppable as they launch into the rest of the set.

At one point singer Dave brings a crate of beer on stage and encourages the crowd to ‘come and get it’ which initiates a storm of stage diving the like of which Manchester hasn’t seen for years! Other highlights include older songs such as Submission is for the Weak, which stirs things up even more. The set ends with Pandemonic Hyperblast and culminates in Mick Kenny launching himself into the crowd! Watching this band is an awesome experience, albeit the experience of having your ears attacked by a pneumatic drill, absolutely bloody brilliant!

It is almost unfair on Marduk to follow such a spectacle as half the crowd have knackered themselves out but nevertheless they unleash the black metal beast and let the blasting commence. They play a number of tracks from the recently released Wormwood album, which are still new to many members of the crowd but match the precision that the album delivers as well as the power.

It still has to be said that the band are still at their best when they play some of the old classics, notably Still F***ing Dead (Here's No Peace) and the awe inspiring Baptism by Fire which still sounds like a nuclear holocaust condensed into four minutes! One of the most impressive things is how the band manage to play everything faster than on their albums!!

It is surprising that anyone can actually walk or hear after tonight but it was truly an experience that many will be happy they survived!

By Claudia Glazzard