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Marduk (band)

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Marduk
Marduk at Hellfest 2017
Marduk at Hellfest 2017
Background information
OriginNorrköping, Sweden
Genres
Years active1990–present
LabelsNo Fashion, Osmose, Regain, Blooddawn, Century Media
MembersMorgan Håkansson
Mortuus
Simon Wizén
Simon “Bloodhammer” Schilling
Websitemarduk.nu

Marduk (/ˈmɑːrdʊk/[1]) is a Swedish black metal band formed in Norrköping in 1990. The band released their debut full-length album, Dark Endless, in 1992 on No Fashion Records. Their name is taken from the Ancient Babylonian deity, Marduk.

History

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Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson, the band's guitarist, formed Marduk with the intention of being the "most blasphemous band in the world".[2] In Marduk's two initial releases, the 1991 EP Fuck Me Jesus and their debut album, Dark Endless the following year, Marduk had a black metal style with significant influence from death metal.[3] For both of these releases, the band's lineup consisted of Morgan, vocalist Andreas 'Dread' Axelsson, guitarist Magnus 'Devo' Andersson, bassist Rikard Kalm and drummer Joakim 'Av Gravf' Göthberg; Dan Swanö of Edge of Sanity mixed both albums.[4][5][additional citation(s) needed]

Following the release of Dark Endless, both Dread and Richard Kalm left the band, after which Av Gravf took over vocals while Roger 'B. War' Svensson joined as bassist. This lineup recorded their second full-length album, Those of the Unlight, in April 1993, again mixed by Swanö. Their next album Those of the Unlight, released in October, showed a change of sound for the band, with a more melodic black metal sound and lacking the death metal undertones of Marduk's music up to that point. The band elaborated upon this style on Opus Nocturne, released on 12 December 1994, which featured Fredrik Andersson joining on drums while Av Gravf focused on vocals, and was the first album without Devo, who left earlier that year.[6][5][additional citation(s) needed]

Marduk performing live at Metalmania, 2008

Av Gravf left Marduk in 1995, citing boredom as the main reason for his decision.[7] Marduk then recruited Erik 'Legion' Hagstedt, formerly of Swedish black metal band Ophthalamia, as vocalist. This was followed by the band recording their fourth full-length album, Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered, with Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy fame at The Abyss Studio in January 1996. The album was released on 1 July 1996.[6]

This line-up of the band, aside from Fredrik Andersson being replaced in 2002 by Emil Dragutinovic, remained largely unchanged, releasing Nightwing, Panzer Division Marduk, La Grande Danse Macabre, and World Funeral between 1998 and 2003, all of these albums being mixed by Tägtgren. Due both to dissatisfaction with the band's musical direction and the deterioration of personal relationships within the band, Legion departed from the band in 2003, followed by B. War the subsequent year.[8] Legion was subsequently replaced by Daniel 'Mortuus' Rostén, known for his work in Funeral Mist, while Devo returned to the band as a bassist.[6]

Marduk planned to tour the United States in September 2016 with Carach Angren, Rotting Christ, and Necronomicon, but were forced to cancel due to delays in acquiring visas.[9] In late February 2017, a planned show at Oakland was cancelled by the venue for safety issues after a local anti-fascist group targeted the band and reportedly threatened the venue staff.[10] Marduk toured the US in the summer of 2017 with Incantation and Abysmal Dawn.[11]

In April 2018, accusations of neo-Nazi sympathies resurfaced after the news site Dagens ETC [sv] published an article alleging that Fredrik Widigs and Daniel Rostén had placed orders from the Nordic Resistance Movement web shop, according to leaked files from NRM servers.[12][13][14] The band have denied these accusations, as well as any connection to the Nordic Resistance Movement.[15][16]

Marduk released their latest studio album, Viktoria, on 22 June 2018.[17] In 2019, Devo announced that he was leaving the band to focus on studio work, being replaced by Joel Lindholm in 2020.[18]

Marduk toured the US with Incantation once more in early 2023.[19] In May 2023, Marduk announced that bassist Joel Lindholm had left the band, after video showed him apparently making a Nazi salute during their performance at Incineration Fest in London. Guitarist Morgan Håkansson called the incident "deplorable".[20] The band said they were not made aware until after the show, adding that Lindholm was "very drunk" and carried out "a variety of intolerable stage antics".[21] The band was booked to play Bangkok, Thailand in 2023.[22] The band performed at Milwaukee Metal Fest in June 2024.[23]

Former bass guitarist B. War (Roger Svensson) died in July 2026.[24]

Musical style and lyrical themes

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The band's two initial releases, the 1991 EP, Fuck Me Jesus, and their debut album, Dark Endless, combine black metal with death metal. The band's second and third albums, Those of the Unlight and Opus Nocturne, showed a more melodic black metal approach, with the latter hinting at a more chaotic, blast beat-driven style that would be further explored on subsequent albums like Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered, Nightwing, and Panzer Division Marduk.

Concerning the thematic nature of Marduk's lyrics, the lyrics primarily incorporate Satanism, anti-Christianity, blasphemy, death, Third Reich history, and World War II. Marduk began incorporating the war themes on their 1999 album, Panzer Division Marduk, which continued on in later years such as "The Hangman of Prague" on 2004's Plague Angel, the title being a reference to Reinhard Heydrich — second in command of the SS — in his capacity as the de facto Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia.

Legacy

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Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote: "Marduk's unswerving commitment to blasphemy and extreme music, a catalog of well-regarded recordings, and a relentless touring schedule established them as one of Scandinavia's best known black metal acts."[25]

Members

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Vocalist Daniel "Mortuus" Rostèn in 2015

Current members

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  • Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson – guitars (1990–present)
  • Mortuus (Daniel Rostén) – vocals (2004–present)
  • Bloodhammer (Simon Schilling) – drums (2019–present)

Former members

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  • Af Gravf (Joakim Göthberg) – drums (1990–1993), vocals (1993–1995)
  • Dread (Andreas Axelsson) – vocals (1990–1993)
  • Rikard Kalm – bass (1990–1992)
  • B. War (Roger Svensson) – bass (1992–2004; died 2026)
  • Devo (Magnus Andersson) – guitars (1992–1994), bass (2004–2019, 2023)
  • Legion (Erik Hagstedt) – vocals (1995–2003)
  • Froding (Fredrik Andersson) – drums (1993–2002)
  • Emil Dragutinovic – drums (2002–2006)
  • Lars Broddesson – drums (2006–2013)
  • Fredrik Widigs – drums (2013–2018)
  • Joel Lindholm – bass (2020–2023)

Live members

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  • Kim Osara – guitars (1995–1996)
  • Peter Tägtgren – guitars (1996)
  • Simon Wizén – bass (2023–present)

Timeline

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Discography

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Studio albums

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Live albums and compilations

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Demos and EPs

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Singles

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  • "Slay the Nazarene" (2002)
  • "Hearse" (2003)
  • "Souls for Belial" (2012)
  • "Werwolf" (2018)

DVDs

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References

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  1. ↑ "Marduk". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. OCLC 1120411289.
  2. ↑ Maki, Jeff. "Marduk – The fifteen year plague". live-metal.net. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2008. Guitarist Morgan Håkansson formed Marduk in 1990 with the vision to create the most satanic and blasphemous band, not only from the hallowed metal grounds of Sweden, but anywhere on the globe. In fact, he has said that death and violence are most inspirational to Marduk, with a particular focus on the violence in the Bible for lyrics
  3. ↑ York, William "Marduk Biography", AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation
  4. ↑ "Marduk Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | Al..." AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  5. 1 2 Macomber, Shawn (12 June 2012). "Into the Depths: Marduk's Morgan Håkansson". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Marduk Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | Al..." AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "Dimension Zero - Interview mit Jocke Göthberg zu "He Who Shall Not Bleed" - Interview - Death Metal - metal.de". Metal.de. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Singer Legion Says He Left Marduk Because of All the 'Shit-Talking'". 19 February 2005.
  9. ↑ "Marduk Drops Off Its US Tour With Rotting Christ and Carach Angren". metalinjection.net. 13 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Marduk's Oakland show cancelled due to security concerns". teamrock.com. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017. Loudwire report that the band were last week targeted by the Anti-Fascist Action Bay Area, who, in a Facebook post that has now been taken down, called them a "black metal band with known white supremacist ties from Sweden that profits off of glorifying Nazi imagery and songs about Nazi SS officers and anti-semitism." But after researching Marduk, the venue found no indications that they were "white supremacists, nationalists, or anti-immigrant" and wanted the gig to go ahead. However, after staff were reportedly threatened, and in consultation with police, it was decided the show would be scrapped.
  11. ↑ "Marduk Announce 2017 North American Tour With Incantation + Abysmal Dawn". Loudwire. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Marduks kopplingar till nazistiska NMR avslöjade" [Marduk's ties to nazi NRM revealed]. Gaffa.se (in Swedish). 3 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ "Black metal-band avslöjade med NMR-kopplingar" [Black metal band revealed with NRM ties]. Dagens ETC (in Swedish). 3 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)(subscription required)
  14. ↑ "Members of Marduk Bought Nazi Propaganda Tied to National Socialist Party". 3 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ↑ "Marduk make a statement on recent Nazi propaganda accusations". 3 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ↑ "Marduk Members Deny Purchasing Nazi Propaganda Tied to National Socialist Party". 4 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ↑ "Victoria album". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "Marduk Bassist Magnus 'Devo' Andersson Quits Band To Focus On Studio Work". Blabbermouth.net. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Schafer, Joseph. "Tour Dates: Incantation, Marduk". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  20. ↑ "MARDUK Guitarist Blasts Former Bassist Over 'Deplorable Behavior' At U.K. Festival". Blabbermouth.net. 19 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "MARDUK Blames "Covert Drinking" For Bassist Throwing A Nazi Salute During Recent Show". Metal Injection. 23 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Marduk Band Biography And History". Metallian database. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  23. ↑ Hatfield, Amanda. "Milwaukee Metal Fest reveals final 2024 lineup & preshow details". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  24. ↑ "Former Marduk bassist Roger "B. War" Svensson has passed away". Lambgoat. 5 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Marduk Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | Al..." AllMusic. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
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