There is a fine line between black metal and comedy. Some bands deliberately choose to walk on the comedy side and do a fine job, while others fall into the later category with an air of ridiculousness that is unintentional and all the funnier for it. It takes a truly great black metal band to play it straight. Marduk is that band.

Founded in 1990 by guitarist Morgan Steinmeyer HÃ¥kansson with the goal of being the most blasphemous and Satanic band in existence, Marduk have developed a cult fan following and not surprisingly, negative attention from religious organisations the world over. This negative attention followed them to Australia – while full details have not been divulged, promoters Just Say Rock Productions have stated that pressure to deny the band entry into the country on their first visit came from conservative groups, religious groups, and politicians. Fortunately for local fans, attempts to censor the Swedish extremists were unsuccessful.

Australia doesn’t get many black metal bands visiting our shores, so the question is: was Perth ready for Marduk?

Openers Malignant Monster and The Furor entertained the keen and early punters, then it was time for Marduk’s first exposure to Australian audiences. Other than the obligatory corpse paint and the odd pentagram, nothing in the appearance of HÃ¥kansson, bassist Magnus “Devo” Andersso, vocalist Mortuus or drummer Lars Broddesson seemed different to any other long-haired musicians, and despite rumours of previous shows with severed goat heads, the Amplifier stage had space for little other than the band members themselves. The copious amounts of blood seen on promo photos was also missing. Where Marduk chose to distinguish themselves to Australian audiences was with their music.

The current tour is in support of the recently released Rom 5:12, so a number of tracks from that release were played – notably Through the Belly of Damnation and the slow, brutal Womb of Perishableness, one of the highlights of the set. The Hangman of Prague and Perish in Flames, from previous full length release Plague Angel, were also played, but older songs made up the bulk of the material covered – Baptism By Fire, Panzer Division Marduk, Beyond the Grace of God, Still Fucking Dead, and Wolves, among others. With a back catalogue spanning ten studio albums, six EPs and two ‘demo’ releases, there was plenty to work with.

Songs ranged from the blisteringly fast to the slow and grinding, with surprising amounts of bordering-on-thrash melody in HÃ¥kansson guitar lines. The crowd response varied from furious head nodding to a small amount of crowd-surfing – always a challenge in a small venue – but was enthusiastic to the end. While some were obviously hard-core Marduk fans, others were no doubt along to see what all the fuss was about.

After the last song – The Black – the microphone was dropped and the Swedes left the stage. No encore was staged, despite some half-hearted chants, and the crowd dispersed, somewhat dazed, aurally assaulted and many converts to the church of Marduk.