Artist......: Marduk
Album.......: World Panzer Battle 1999
Year........: 2022
Genre.......: Black Metal
Label.......: Back on Black
Source......: WEB (16bit)
Encoder.....: libFLAC
Bitrate.....: 936 kbps avg.
F.Rate......: 44.1kHz
Playtime....: 01:07:28 / 477.56MB
R.Date......: 2024-02-02
S.Date......: 2022-07-29
Website.....: http://play.qobuz.com/album/nt3cvosds97hb
01. Intro 2:52
02. Panzer Division Marduk 2:57
03. Burn My Coffin 4:27
04. Baptism By Fire 3:52
05. The Sun Turns Black as Night 3:06
06. Of Hell's Fire 5:27
07. 502 3:20
08. Materialized in Stone 5:23
09. Beast of Prey 4:27
10. Those of the Unlight 4:59
11. Sulphur Souls 6:12
12. Dreams of Blood & Iron 5:57
13. Fistfucking God's Planet 4:05
14. On Darkened Wings 4:13
15. Legion 6:11
Considering this show was recorded the same year Marduk released Panzer
Division Marduk, it's no surprise that a third of the songs performed are
from that LP. Their second and third albums are decently represented as
well with three and two songs respectively, though they're performed such
that they wouldn't sound out of place on one of the Legion albums. Therein
lies my problem with World Panzer Battle 1999. Legion's tenure as
vocalistùespecially the first three albums and most especially the
thirdùmarked a turning point in the band's career, in which they adopted a
style that continues to be the one tied to Marduk (despite over a decade of
subsequent albums not constrained by this formula). It's also my least
favorite period in their career. A quick rundown of my opinions: Heaven
Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered is pretty weak, Nightwing is good, and
Panzer Division Marduk is their only album I outright dislike. This is not
a consensus opinion, but neither is it uncommon.
From a technical standpoint, this is adequate. Raw but not pure mud.
There's clear separation between the instruments with things like the
vocals and kick drums bearing a suitable amount of power. Only complaint I
have is the bass. It's definitely there, but it was more prominent in the
original recordings of the songs from Those of the Unlight and Opus
Nocturne (a trait not as rare in metal as some idiots would have you
believe, but I digress). The performances are up to par; if there are any
flubs, I missed them. In contrast to the melancholy of the melodic section
in the original ôSulphur Soulsö, Morgan Hσkansson plays it more as a
typical, big solo with embellishments, a fitting change in the context of a
live setting.
I appreciate the crowd noises. There's something amusing about hearing
whistling and yells of ôyippeeö and ôyee-hawö between Marduk songs. Legion
isn't big on stage banter, but he does get the crowd hyped up introducing
songs. ôCome on, are you dead? ... I want to see you fistfucking God's
planet!ö However, the intro, which is almost three minutes of ominous
violin music playing over the indistinct cloud of chatter, may have
produced the desired effect in real life, but it bores on CD. Happily it's
a separate track so easily skipped.
Were this the only live Marduk album, or even the only one with Legion on
vocals, it'd fare better, but fans already had an impressive selection of
live recordings to choose from and, with a single exception, all have
higher quality sound. Infernal Eternal, which was recorded during the same
tour, has fuller sound, contains about twenty minutes more content and came
out fifteen years prior. The bass-heavy Live in Germania is another one
with Legion, but having come out pre-Nightwing, it's a glimpse into an
earlier period of the band. Strigzscara û Warwolf, which Blooddawn
Productions released concurrently with World Panzer Battle 1999, shows the
band at an even earlier period, being the only live recording featuring
Joakim Af Gravf which forgives its sketchy sound quality. Finally, for
Mortuus fans there's Warschau, though unfortunately it hails from a time
when Plague Angel was the only proper album he'd appeared on. That leaves
this release as only essential for the most ardent fans of the Legion era,
but for them it will meet expectations.