The sell for me with Karg‘s Marodeur can be reduced to two words: post punk. It’s a genre that’s been attracting more and more of my attention recently so when I saw that Karg was a mix of atmospheric black metal and post-punk, I was immediately intrigued. Excursions into screamo have already convinced me that black metal and punk are naturally suited for hybridization, so why not explore further? As ideas go, it makes sense to Karg and it makes sense to me.
As ever though, the devil is in the details.
Marodeur leans a lot closer to post-punk than atmoblack as a result of the emo-esque vocals and the drumwork, which is mostly upbeat and high tempo without straying into black metal assaults. When we do get that ultra rapid drumming and tremolo leads, as on “Annapurna”, the black metal shines through, but it feels more like an accent note to a post-punk album with some blackgaze influence on the guitars. I enjoy the overall sound on any given song but when added together, Marodeur feels longer than its 55 minute run time. A lot longer. I put that down to Karg‘s songwriting retaining a lot of atmoblack’s meandering nature, which can be a challenge at the best of times and here the marriage with busy post-punk makes for the worst of them. Not only do songs outstay their welcome, but the density of what’s going on fatigues me.
I’d probably be into a more condensed 35 minute album from Karg. I don’t get the hyper-emotionalism that the promo notes for Marodeur promise but it’s still a punchy, interesting sound. As it is though, Marodeur‘s punch gets dissipated and my interest gets lost. I keep trying to think of a less blunt way of putting it, for Karg‘s best is good and the effort deserves recognition, but listening to Marodeur became a chore. Here’s hoping others get more out of it.
