Black metal is death! Sweden’s Marduk returns for another reap of the grim on Memento Mori for Century Media. Requested by fate and realized by Morgan Håkansson (guitar), Daniel Rostén (vocals), and Simon Schilling (drums), Marduk’s 15th full-length was cast under the promised land of disease, famine, and calamity. Actually, it's more prosaic than that. The message on the surface and deep inside of Memento Mori is inevitability. By definition, the Latin phrase, ‘memento mori,’ translates as ‘remember you must die.’ The Swedes followed that motto to the Seven Trumpets of the Apocalypse—check out “Blood of the Funeral”—and the impending death to all that follows.

“In short, Memento Mori is a memento mori, a reminder of death!” says Daniel Rostén.

Whereas Viktoria was a salutation to the steely resolve and unimaginable strife of war, Memento Mori, though conceptually linked to the themes of its predecessor, is fundamentally another animal. Theological differences aside, Marduk have a clear-eyed affinity with the image of the Great Leveller as seen through the lens of the 17th-century clergy. Memento Mori isn’t ecclesiastical in sophistication or obfuscation, though. This is cradle-to-grave directness. From the bewilderingly fast speed runs of “Blood of the Funeral” and “Year of the Maggot” to the harrowingly heavy “Shovel Beats Sceptre” and “Marching Bones,” Marduk’s proclamations to our demise is manifest. Death's steady gaze stares eternally.

“Memento Mori is, all at once, a bold leap forward, a calculated sidestep, and a wistful backward glance,” Rostén says. “Meaning, we have broken new ground without forgetting our legacy or the journey that brought us to this point.”

Marduk’s accolades to death date back to the group’s founding in Norrköping in 1990. Only since Rostén, also of Holy Poison Design (Behemoth, Teitanblood), took over visuals on Rom 5:12 (2007) has the image of death (or quietus) been so stark. Whether it’s inspiration from artists in the Baroque period (Johann Ulrich Kraus, Salvator Rosa) or the Northern Renaissance (Albrecht Dürer, Pieter Bruegel the Elder), symbolism—skulls, bones, scythes, and wings—is at the heart of Marduk’s overall iniquitous aesthetic. In fact, all four are represented in Rostén’s gloriously frightful cover art for Memento Mori.

“Much of the imagery was based on the artwork of old masters such as Rudolf and Conrad Meyer and Jan Luyken,” says Rostén. “The overall art direction was, as per usual, entirely dictated by the album concept. Once again, we have taken it upon ourselves to continue the time-honored tradition of reminding people of their mortality—to underscore the fragility of life and the certainty of death. After all, we enter this world bestowed with the same true birthright: a hole in the ground. Whether it is a sinister message or a call to make the most out of this fleeting moment we call ‘life’ is probably best answered by studying the lyrics.”

Videos for singles like “Werwolf,” “Viktoria,” “Frontschwein,” and “Souls for Belial” set the palpitating precedent for the terrifying trinity that follows on Memento Mori. The tracks on offer will be buttressed by visual displays of sepulchral filth and the intoxicating aroma of carrion on “Blood of the Funeral,” “Marching Bones,” and “Shovel Beats Sceptre.” Håkan Sjödin (Setherial, October Falls) will handle the first two videos—released first and third—while Swedish filmmaker Claudio Marino (Erik Danielsson, Tid) of Artax Film is slated to helm the last. To wit, the final stanza of "Blood of the Funeral" informs: "There it is again… / That livid hue / The wind is growing stiffer / But then again…so are you!”. Death is contagious on Memento Mori!

“Without giving away too much,” Rostén says. “Let’s just say that these funerary hymns are being brought to life through a visual representation perfectly aligned with the subject matter.”

Tradition reigns supreme in Marduk. Just as they've held the black metal flame defiantly aloft for over three decades, the Östergötlanders remain dedicated to the production process and studio—Endarker Studio in Norrköping—they’ve held close since Plague Angel (2004). They return to long-time ally Devo Andersson (Funeral Mist, Eucharist), who produced, mixed, and mastered Memento Mori for the seventh time. Andersson’s history as a taskmaster and auditory precisian is renowned. He’s brought out the best in bands from Sweden and Australia to the United States and Italy. Tracks like “Wartheland,” “Serpent Sermon,” “Between the Wolf-packs,” and “June 44” attested to his craft within the Marduk sphere before. Andersson’s work on “Heart of the Funeral,” “Charlatan,” and Memento Mori tombstone “As We Are” continue to exhibit his mastery.

“It took us about six months to complete the album,” says Rostén. “We obviously didn't spend all that time actively in the studio. One of the many advantages of recording at Endarker is the freedom to come and go as we please, working at our own pace and without undue stress. [As far as the studio sessions are concerned], honestly, unless you find uneventful accounts of focus and determination to be riveting, there isn't anything particularly noteworthy to report.”

Marduk will release the bloodless winds of Memento Mori as if it was their last. It’s not obviously. The tireless group have more ominous decrees to follow. Until the successor to Memento Mori emerges like a pitch-black raven, the Swedes will embark on some of their most prolific touring to date—rota fortunae, as they say! So, legions await the breathtaking power of flies and maggots as Marduk decimate stages the world over on “Heart of the Funeral,” “Red Tree of Blood,” and proem “Memento Mori” in 2023 and beyond.

It may be cliché to say, "Only Death is Real!" but as Marduk pontificate, the axiom is nothing but cold, hard truth. Death unites us on Memento Mori!