Marduk, Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Black Anvil and Merrimack Concert Review

Tis the season for corpsepaint? The coal-in-stocking crowd was on hand at San Francisco’s DNA Lounge on December 6, 2009 to catch Marduk’s first proper trek around the country since dropping off the Blackenedfest tour earlier this year. A good portion of the crowd appeared to have already spent their Christmas money on elaborate spiked armbands that could be classified as weapons. Despite struggling with terrible acoustics and microphones that died mid-song the Swedes played a strong show.

Openers Merrimack played streamlined and fierce French black metal to a gathering crowd, bedecked in enough spikes to host a shish kabob dinner.

New York’s Black Anvil, which hatched out of the hardcore scene, took a different approach: plain jeans, jackets and beaten work boots. Vocalist Paul Delaney bashed his bass and screamed with such force that his teeth hit the microphone. The music was lean, efficient and cruel. I’m excited for their second album, due from Relapse this spring.

Final among openers were Pittsburgh’s retro-thrash outfit Mantic Ritual, featuring new singer and guitarist Dave Watson. The band sounded thin, lacking enough power to be classified even as a worthy thrash tribute.

Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd ripped into “Your True Enemy,” and the crowd came to life. Without pause the band hit “The Ghosts Of Grace,” with many singing along. The Gates of Slumber’s Bob Fouts filled in nicely as touring drummer. Guitarist Jeff Wilson played Jekyll to Judd’s Hyde all evening; he assumed a laid-back pose on stage but soloed beautifully during the Sonic Youth-tinged solos of “Seed of Suffering” and “Chosen By No One,” the best tracks on Instinct: Decay. Judd dedicated “Assassins" to “Marduk and the Frenchies” and another song to local Jef Whithead, better known to black metal fans as Wrest of Leviathan.

Marduk closed the evening with a set jinxed by sound problems that left vocalist Mortuus noticeably pissed. The band might have also been on edge; a fan at an earlier southern California show tried to torch a Bible and an overzealous security guard shot pepper spray, forcing the venue to clear for 10 minutes. In San Francisco, Marduk didn’t withhold crowd pleasers from Panzer Division, Opus Nocturne and early tracks like “Still F—ing Dead.” But the strongest moments were from recent albums including “Into Utter Madness,” and “Phosphorous Redeemer” from Wormwood and “The Leveling Dust,” from Rom 5:12. The more expansive Marduk tracks showed a side to the band neglected by fans who stick to earlier albums.

At times, Mortuus risked alienating the crowd who would have been enthralled regardless of admittedly bad acoustics. He kicked his microphone twice and often appeared ready to throttle the sound engineers. He also unceremoniously hip-tossed a stage-crasher who approached from behind and hugged him, but the crowd loved that: See video here

Some of the antics took away from an impressive feat; even when the mic basically dropped out his voice competed with the trademark Marduk blastbeats.

Marduk’s latest albums have showcased a rejuvenated band that is heading in more creative directions than at any point during their career. But on this night they might have been slightly bested by Nachtmystium, who buckled down and showed where black metal is headed as we enter the new decade.