Marduk - Those of the Unlight (1993)

Marduk's second effort, 'Those of the Unlight' marked a significant change in their sound from Swedish style death metal to a more fuller black metal sound, though still quite different from the Marduk most know from the mid-90's onward.

Musically, 'Those of the Unlight' is fast with some blasting and dissonant parts, though many calmer mid-paced sections can be found as well many melodious pieces. Largely a guitar driven record it has its worth of appealing and catchy riffs throughout its eight songs, as well many songs have utterly killer solos (Wolves, On Darkened Wings and Burn My Coffin, for example), which was something that disappeared soon enough from Marduk's sound. The duo of Magnus "Devo" Andersson and Morgan "Evil" Håkansson created an interesting mix of both pleasing melodies and harsh abrasive black metal licks, which in my own opinion was immense and why the band ever opted for a single guitarist is beyond me.

The bass guitar of Roger "Bogge" Svensson is also present at times during the chaos, sometimes even standing on its own, though the albums production would generally be considered lo-fi and the overall volume is very low, which means you'll have to turn the volume up considerably to hear everything properly. Joakim "Af Gravf" Göthberg's vocals remained the same on this record and its a fairly standard early 90's raspy black metal howl, while his drum work is fairly decent too.

It may come as a surprise but all eight songs on the album really stick out, the three aforementioned being the best since those solos really are marvelous, but the driving force and pure energy of 'Darkness Breeds Immortality' & 'A Sculpture Of The Night' can't be denied either. I've also absolutely always loved the instrumental, 'Echoes From The Past,' which starts out slow and rather melancholy if I do say so myself and slowly builds to be one heck of an epic jam by the time its seven minute duration expires. You'll never hear these guys make a song like this one again.

All in all, 'Those of the Unlight' is a true classic of the genre and definitely the best of the early years of Marduk. If you've only heard the newer stuff or albums from the late 90's then definitely look this one up. I'm told the re-issue corrects a lot of production flaws, but since I keep it grim, cold and old I rock the vintage pressing from the early 90's.