New blood can rejuvenate. Plague Angel proves this. Arioch is a good choice for Legion’s replacement. When Legion took over vocals I was not won over for awhile. I got used to his style and started to think of him as one of the best of the more deathish black style even overlooking his rather monotonous delivery. Where I got sold on Legion over the course of his first decade with the band, Mortuus (why the name change?) I like right off. I knew his style from Funeral Mist. It is a big jump up in profile for him and he seems up to the challenge. Track six, “Perish In Flames” is the song that won me over to the new vocalist. It also boasts some cool riffs and ‘sedate’ drumming. The intensity of the music is still there with many memorable riffs but none that are particularly outstanding. The drums are clearly heard, the guitars are loud, it’s typical Marduk.

For these heavyweights the bar is higher and my personal Best of Marduk cd is full, mostly with pre Panzer stuff, but the closing song, “Blutrache” has forced its way on there. It is a bit of a throwback song with a slower pace and Emil competes well with the vocals. This song is nearly eight minutes and is preceded by 25 seconds of bomb bursts, which erupt full force from the previous song, “Everything Bleeds”, a nice short, chaotic, abrupt, disharmonious brush with speed and more speed. These two combine for a very powerful ending to a great album.

Only Marduk can produce an album that ranks sixth of seventh on their career list and still blow away nearly everyone else on the planet. Now I’m even more eager for a return to American soil.

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