"Opus and La Grande are the worst Marduk CD's. I would recommend Panzer Division instead its faster played Black Metal not repetitive like Opus and doesn't drag out to be unmemoriable."
this is an ocult masterpiece, foward step heaven shall burn, the ultimate act of a good and powerful vocal ( joakim grave) , maybe much people by dissapointing with this review, but I dont care, for me all marduk albums is a little operetta , fantastic, older sweden school black metal, blacker than darkness, hey you fans of true black metal try to hear this magnificent album, is a sweet sin in yours ears........."
Another excellent Marduk slab
Michael E. Mitchell | Minocqua, WI USA | 04/28/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I strongly disagree with all these "worst" reviews of this album. While I admit that "La Grande..." did kind've stink, "Opus.." is pretty good! I have the original version, not the re-release, so some of the following may not apply to the newer version. The sound is extremely raw (in a good way; if you want "nice" production, why are you even listening to Marduk!?)and some great guitar riffs are found here. It is not murderously fast throughout the album, but any fan of Marduk KNOWS that they are not always fast, faster, and fastest. There is a great mix of songs on here, and includes the fantastic stand-outs "Sulphur Souls", "Wolves part 2", and the unforgettable homage to NWOBHM "Materialized in Stone". It is a diverse album (not as "diverse" as "La Grande...", so don't fear that!) that doesn't deserve the abysmal reviews it's gotten. I was always quite keen on it, and was rather shocked to see that other fans hold it in such low regard. Though it isn't MY "favourite" of theirs, I think this album can be enjoyed by fans of other MeTal genres, as well as Black MeTal novices and veterans. I WILL say that the cover "art" stinks, though!"
BEST EARLY MARDUK !!!!!!!
JUAN MARTIN GABASTOU | Weston Hills, FL United States | 06/23/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Their 3rd lp at the time and the band had begun picking up their trademark ultra-fast playing style with lots of blast-beats but still keeping some melodic lines. Lots of tremolo picking here and the guitar sound is thinner as opossed to crunchier and with more open chord riffs as on later albums. The production is just as good as on ¨Panzer Division¨ , very heavy on the double-bass drums and somewhat more defined and brutal but not that much. The only slow song is the title one and has of lot of sorta tribal double-bassdrumming with little guitar; sort of atmospheric in a very weird way.
Conclusion: a great modern black metal album with a restrained but brutal sound and very good production and lightyears better than any of their previous efforts."