Live Review: Marduk Live in Athens ~ 2-3 November 2024

Dagon M. April 6, 2025

Review by Dagon M.

The 2^nd and 3^rd of November marked two historic dates, as it was the return of the Swedish giants Marduk after 12 years in Greece. Marduk are well known as one of the genre’s defining bands and their explosive live performances. With one of their best line-ups to date, especially with Simon Schilling at the drums being a true driving force, they delivered 2 back-to-back nights, with different setlists, full of chaos. Twelve years was a long time with the band facing a lot of adversities in this whole hunt against free speech.

Both nights were full of adrenaline and anger, with the band playing a fair mix of newer songs and their timeless classic. The first night they opened with “On Darkened Wings “ on a Black Metal outcry full of images of war, with highlights of the show being “ Shovel Beats Sceptre”, “World Funeral”, “ The Blond Beast” and “ Throne of Rats”. Then the encore came to shutter everything into oblivion with one of two of my all-time songs, “ Wolves” and of course “ Panzer Division Marduk” to cap off a frenzy night. The sold-out crowd that gave the band the glorious worship that they deserved were the unfortunate witnesses to a cowardly attack by a bunch of demented hooligans that failed miserably in suppressing democracy.

However, the rats always returned to their sewers and the next day, people gave a strong answer by flooding the venue with their presence again. The Greek Black Metallers Winter Eternal opened the show with their first live performance to date. They offered a strong Black Metal showing with a journey through their creations, as well as some Black Metal anthems covers, that prepared the ground for what was about to follow. After an intro of Gregorian chants settled, Marduk stormed in with “Leveling Dust” and “The Hangman of Prague” to get the crowd for good. Then came a bombastic combination of “Of Hell’s Fire”, “ Imago Mortis” and the timeless masterpiece on the altar of Satanic bliss that is “With Satan and Victorious Weapons”. Other notable tracks that satisfied the fans’ appetite were “ Warschau”, “ Souls for Belial” and “Materialized in Stone”. The band kept only three tracks from the previous night’s setlist, with those being “The Blonde Beast”, “Wolves” and their existence defying to close a weekend full of war, misanthropy and hate “ Panzer Division Marduk”.

Marduk were spot on with their performances, delivering everything as in their studio recordings but at a faster tempo. Seeing the howling towers that are Mortuus and Morgan form up close is a sight to behold, with both keeping the spirit of Black Metal burning in an endless of constant touring all around the globe. Personally, the diversity in their setlists left me completely satisfied and the atmosphere created by the crowd is something that can’t be described. Hopefully, we get to see the Swedish Black Metal legends again in our country and this time sooner than last time. Black Metal has been and will always be music for the extreme and non-inclusive, with Marduk embodying this in spirit and flesh.