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2018 saw the return of Marduk with there follow up to 2015s Frontschwein with new album Viktoria. This is another solid album from Marduk you get exactly what you expect every time with just enough new little tweaks to stop the feeling that they are just re releasing the same album over and over again.
At just over 30 minutes its short sweet and too the point they could go down the safe route and just pummel the listener with blast beats and speed but there are some slow down in certain songs and dare I say even some melodic parts. But these down moments seem to bring with them a lot of criticism from some fans calling the album boring and meh. For me it brings variety I don't want to just listen to blast beats non stop for an entire album so I really appreciate the slower moments. Marduk fans and fans of Black Metal in general need to stop comparing everything to one album from the past with Marduk its Panzer Division Marduk which came out 20 years ago.
A really solid albums with some highs and lows but refreshing to see they are not afraid to take a few small risks and as small as they are with such a rabid fan base this are still major risks.
7/10